Love Is What Makes The Ride Worthwhile

Today is the day!

2012-01-28T11:01:00.001-06:00

It's finally here!

I'm super excited because today is the day my latest book, No Greater Love is released!
It is the first of three books in the Sons of Aphrodite series. I had so much fun writing about Eros and Keith. I hope everyone who reads it will love them as much as I do.

I'm also taking over Silver Publishing's facebook page tomorrow. I know I'll be on there on and off throughout the day and I hope you'll stop by and say hello:)

This will be my last post for a few days. We're going to see my family and unfortunately they don't have an easy way to get online there. So, most likely I'll be internet less while I'm there. I hope everyone has a fun weekend and a great week ahead!

Here is the blurb for No Greater Love:

When it comes to love, Eros istired of getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop. An icon of love and romance, it’s ironic that Cupid is lonely. Now it’s onlya matter of finding his soul mate and keeping him.

Eros thinks it’s pretty ironicthat ‘Cupid’ wants nothing more than to find his own true love. Desperate, heenlists his mother, Aphrodite’s, help and she agrees to allow Eros thirty daysoff from his duties to possibly find the man of his dreams.

Keith Seeley is having thebirthday from hell. He’s not only just turned forty, he’s had one mishap afteranother all day. When his friends insist on taking Keith to the club, beingsurrounded by younger men just makes him feel worse. But, when he meets themysterious and sexy Eros, he immediately knows his life has changed forever. Astime rolls by, Eros continues to be secretive about his past, putting a wallbetween them.

When Eros comes clean about histrue identity, will Keith be able to accept him for whom he really is?

One day left....

2012-01-26T13:39:00.001-06:00

Hello Friends:)

I'm thrilled that there has been a huge response for my contest to win a PDF copy of my upcoming release, No Greater Love. If you haven't entered yet, don't worry. There is still time left. All you have to do is shoot me an email at: andianderson@live.com with the word contest in the subject line by noon Friday.

Thanks for entering! Good luck:)

A Little Eye Candy to get us through the week...

2012-01-25T05:41:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine encouraged me to have one day a week that I devote my blog to some delicious Eye Candy. Since I thought it was a brilliant idea, from now on, Wednesdays will be Eye Candy day.
(Thank you, Zeke) *hugs*

Contest

2012-01-20T05:57:00.000-06:00

Hello friends:)

Happy Friday!

I can't believe it's only eight days left until my latest book, No Greater Love will be released! To celebrate, I've decided to throw a contest to win a free PDF copy of it. All you have to do is email me at andianderson@live.com with the words 'Contest' on the subject line and you'll automatically be entered in to win:) I'll be drawing the winner's name on Friday afternoon and the winner will get his or her copy soon after.

Good luck, everyone!

Have a great weekend:)

Eye Candy and a beautiful smile to get us through the week

2012-01-17T08:03:00.001-06:00

So far, it's been a good week. I've been working hard on the next two books in the Men of Charlestown series, and I'm getting pretty excited about both of them. I hope to have them (or at least one) of them done by the end of the month. Plus, I've been anxious about my upcoming release 'No Greater Love' in two weeks and my all day take over of Silver Publishing's facebook page on January 29th.

To celebrate my upcoming release, I thought I might share a little eye candy with you. I love this picture because not only is he very nice to look at, he's got a beautiful smile too.

If you want to check out the official blurb on No Greater Love, here is the link to check it out:

https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/no-greater-love-ebook-p-725

Have a great week:)

Whew!

2012-01-12T02:07:00.000-06:00

I just finished the final edits of my upcoming book, No Greater Love, and I'm both relieved and excited about it. I'm relieved that the edits are o-v-e-r and excited about it being released on January 28. When I saw this picture of my niece, that was taken this past Christmas, I thought it portrayed how I feel about it. LOL!!!!

As you can tell, my niece is a character. She is so funny and has the best sense of humor. She had asked Santa to bring her a Dippin' Dot maker, but honestly didn't think she'd get one. When her grandfather got her one instead, she immediately pretended to faint from happiness. (note the tongue sticking out of her mouth...lol)

It's been a fairly busy week for me. I'm still trying to adjust to my husband's new schedule and I'm currently writing on two different books. I'm working on my next Men of Charlestown book and a contemporary book for Silver's 'The Mind is a Sexy Thing' submission call. So far, everything is going pretty smoothly, and knock on wood, I hope this continues.

Have a great week:)

It's been a busy week

2012-01-06T18:49:00.000-06:00

It's been a very productive week. I have a gorgeous book cover and I finished the final edits for my upcoming novel, No Greater Love. Now, I'm working on the second story in the Sons of Aphrodite series and so far it's going pretty smooth.

My husband started his new job this week. He was promoted to trainer right before the Christmas holiday season and this meant that his schedule and everything would change. He still works nights, but now he works at the end of the week instead of the beginning. This will be an adjustment for both of us, but it's also a good step in the right direction if he ever wants to be promoted to supervisor one day. I'm very proud of him. He's worked hard to get to where he is today so a little sacrifice for a while will be worth the outcome in the end.

We kept Snow White for several days a week ago. We had a blast playing dress-up and having endless tea parties and coloring many pages in her coloring books. She is such a joy to be around and when she had to go home, both my husband and I had a couple of days where we thought the house was eerily quiet.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll post the excerpt and blurb to No Greater Love whenever it's been given the green light.

New Year, New Cover Art

2012-01-02T16:16:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to all of my friends and family! We've had a great holiday season. We ate too much, had some quality time with family and had a blast drinking and playing video games on New Year's Eve! Now we're home and getting ready for a busy new year.

I'm about to start my final edits for my January 28th release of No Greater Love with Silver Publishing. I'm really excited about this release and as soon as the blurbs and excerpts are given the green light with my editor, I'll post them on here for y'all to check out.

Meanwhile, the amazing cover artist, Reese Dante, sent me the cover for No Greater Love and I love it so much I had to share it with you! She captured my main hero, Eros, perfectly! Isn't he delicious??

I hope everyone has a great week ahead:)

Happy Holidays

2011-12-23T19:47:00.000-06:00

The picture above is of my niece, Snow White. It was taken in December of 2008 for their Christmas cards. Tonight when I reminisced over some pictures, I came across this one and thought I would share it with you. She's grown so much since then...hasn't she?

Tomorrow we're off to Little Rock to spend a few days with my family. I can't wait to see my niece and spend some quality time with her. She makes Christmas fun.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Christmas and Holiday season. I'll see you before the New Year.

Daisie

2011-12-22T04:03:00.000-06:00

Two years ago my dog, Daisie, passed away. I've been told that time heals all wounds, but in this case, I'm not so sure. I've experienced a lot of loss in my lifetime, but losing her, was one of the worst. She was my companion, my best friend and my four-legged child for many years and when she died, it definitely left a big hole in my heart. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss her and wish that she was still with us. I don't think that will change. Ever.

Anyway, today will be my day that I'll actually allow myself to be a little weepy, so I'll not be around much. I'll be hugging up to my husband and our other little four legged children and cherishing every moment we all have together, but there will always be someone that's missing.

We love and miss you, Daisie. Forever.

His Christmas Wish

2011-12-19T04:02:00.000-06:00

His Christmas Wish is now out on audio at Silver Publishing's website!

You can check it out here:

https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/audio-books-c-84/his-christmas-wish-audio-p-422

Also, the amazing cover artist, Reese Dante is currently working on my upcoming release, No Greater Love, cover and I'm super excited about it! As soon as I get it I'll share it with you:)

Have a Happy Monday:)

Dippin' Dots and the Madness of Christmas

2011-12-16T10:52:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow starts the Christmas madness for my husband and I. We're going to incredibly small town of Keo, Arkansas (this will be a first for me) to celebrate Christmas with my husband's side of the family and next weekend we'll be with my side of the family. I have to confess, that family gatherings stress me out a little. When I'm with a group of people, even family, I have a tendency to become quiet and introverted. I've always been more of an observer than anything else, so most of the time I can be found sitting in the corner somewhere, watching others. It's really kind of funny because my husband is very extroverted and is often the life of the party. I do wish I had that particular trait to my personality, but unfortunately I don't. Still...it is fun watching him have fun.

My niece, Snow White, went to see Santa this week and I thought I would share her picture that was taken with him. It's unbelievable how much she's grown this year! As you can tell, she's going through the 'fake' smile phase, so some of her pictures here lately have really cracked me up! When Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas she told him she wanted "Dippin' Dots" ...isn't that funny? Only my niece would ask for ice cream for Christmas. LOL!!!

Have a great weekend:)

Got Mistletoe?

2011-12-10T05:35:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday, Friends:)

This has been a semi-productive week. I'm starting to feel better and finally able to do a few things. On the plus side, I've done some reading this week and that's always enjoyable. :)

In the past couple of weeks, I've had several very nice people write me to tell me that they've just read my first Christmas story, Got Mistletoe?, and how much they've fallen in love with the characters Ryan and Blake. This will be the third Christmas that Got Mistletoe? has been released and it really warms my heart that readers still love that story enough to take the time to write me and tell me that.

One of the questions that I've been asked about it is if there will be another story continuing Ryan and Blake's story. To be honest, when I finished the it several years ago I had intentions of writing more about this couple, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I've decided as soon as I finish edits on my January release, No Greater Love, and completing on my current WIP, I will start the sequel to it. I'm actually pretty excited about revisiting these characters and seeing where they take me this time.

Here are a few facts about Got Mistletoe?:

I started writing Got Mistletoe on September 11, 2009 andsubmitted it September 15, 2009. To this day, it's the fastest book I've wrote, next to TheSweet One, which I also started and finished in five days.

I received the acceptance letter and contract fromDreamspinner Press on September 18, 2009.

To this day, one of my favorite characters that I've createdis Ryan Jolly. His sweet disposition andzest for life was something I thought was different about some of the heroesthat are portrayed today. At the time, Ihad an Internet friend that was always upbeat and happy and he made everyonethat was around him feel happy too. Although I have never met him, I've pictured him being the type ofperson that was not only cute and adorable on the outside, but on the inside aswell. So it's because of him that Ryan was born and Got Mistletoe? waswritten. To this day, I still believethat Ryan’s sweetness and zest for life made him very suitable for a Christmasstory.

When I started Got Mistletoe? I was constantly in contactwith my mother and sister. I don't know how many times I practically blew upthe phone lines calling them to see what their thoughts were about what I hadjust finished writing. If it wasn't for them, I don't think I would have hadthe courage to finish and submit it. So in many ways, I owe my writing careerto both of them and I will always be extremely grateful that I had theirsupport and encouragement during the entire process.

I want to thank all of my readers and wish them a very happyweekend and week ahead.

For those who might not have read it...here is the blurb andexcerpt of Got Mistletoe?:

Blurb:

Blake Roberts just wants to buy some wrapping paper and gohome. That changes when he's surprised by a super center employee keeping theChristmas spirit alive by singing and doing some impromptu dance moves. RyanJolly is bouncy and a little flamboyant... and Blake is immediately smittenwith him. Despite being total opposites, Blake's heart is captured by Ryan’sbubbly personality and sweet smile, and when attraction flares between them,Blake starts to hope his new Christmas wish--to spend more than the holidaywith Ryan--might come true.

Excerpt:

“OHHH… the weather outside is frightful, but the fire issooooo delightful, and since we’ve no place to go… let it snow, let it snow,let it snooooow….” Ryan sang as he grabbed the last of the small boxes oftwinkling lights and started stacking them neatly on the shelf.

“Ryan! Spare me, please!”

Ryan laughed as he slowly spun around to face his bestfriend, carrying yet another huge box of lights to be stocked on the alreadyovercrowded shelves.

Angela was always a sight for sore eyes, even if she wasbeing grouchy. Her long brown hair was put up haphazardly with a sparkling redclip. Her sweet, round face always had a rosy flush to her cheeks, and her darkeyes glittered with mischief.

Ryan took the box from her arms, set it down, and grinned ather as she put her hands on her ample hips. “Angel babe, you know you love mysinging,” he said as he puckered his lips and made kissing noises at her. Shelaughed and shook her finger at him.

"Honey, just because you like Dean Martin doesn’t mean youcan sing like him! Besides, I’ve never seen Dean Martin wear reindeer antlerswhile he crooned “Let it Snow” on any of his Christmas specials he used to haveevery year.” Angela reached up and flicked one of the antlers on top of hishead, causing the bells to start jingling.

“And, he’s the lesser man for it,” Ryan teased as he wrappedAngela up in his arms and dipped her backwards, causing her to laugh, just likehe intended for her to do.

He heard someone behind him clear their throat.

“Excuse me, I hate to interrupt the newest solid gold dancemoves, but could you tell me where the wrapping paper is?”

The smooth and slightly tense masculine voice washed overRyan from behind. Angela immediately disassembled herself from Ryan’s arms andstood there looking over Ryan’s shoulder with a slightly embarrassed smile onher sweet face.

Ryan slowly turned around, and had to stop himself fromgasping with pleasure.

Standing a couple of feet from him was the most beautifulman Ryan had ever seen. At five foot seven inches, Ryan was used to mentowering over him, but not like this man. Tall, dark and handsome definitelyfit the bill for describing the stunningly beautiful man before him. Beneath awealth of gorgeous black hair shone the bluest eyes Ryan had ever laid eyes on.They seemed to twinkle from within. His smooth olive skin, tousled hair andfive o’clock shadow gave him that sexy, just-got-out-of-bed look that Ryanalways found so adorable. He was dressed casually in a worn brown leatherbomber jacket, red T-shirt and jeans that were so old and tight, they huggedhis muscular thighs and encased a prominent bulge at his crotch that made Ryanwant to fall to his knees and worship the ground he walked on. He was gorgeous,and Ryan knew he was totally and utterly in love.

The man’s full lips formed a half-smile and he cocked hishead to the side as he looked expectantly at Ryan, as if waiting for something.

Ryan felt himself cringe as he felt the unwanted heat of aflush come over his face and body. Damn! Being a natural redhead definitely hadits drawbacks. Ryan knew his face was probably as red as Rudolph’s red nose,which caused him to blush even more.

The man’s crooked smile turned into a full one, causing hisblue eyes to light up and small wrinkles to appear beside each, proving thatthis gorgeous hunk of a man smiled often. Between his brilliant white smile andocean blue eyes, Ryan found himself immediately captivated with him.

“Can we help you?” Angela asked, apparently not having anytrouble finding her own voice.

The man looked slowly from Ryan to Angela, and his smiledimmed a little.

“Could you point me in the right direction of the wrappingpaper?”

God, even the man’s voice was amazing, deep and smooth, witha slight Southern accent. Ryan would bet his measly year’s worth of salary thatthe sexy man standing before him could sing “Let it Snow” and women as well asmen would be throwing themselves at his feet to hear more.

“Um, well, I’m not exactly sure where it’s located at, butmy associate Ryan would be more than happy to show you where you need to go,”Angela said sweetly as she indiscreetly shoved Ryan in the right direction,bringing him out of his trance.

Feeling totally off balance, Ryan felt himself flush evenmore as he stumbled toward the man. God, even his feet weren’t working right!

The man reached out and grabbed Ryan lightly by the arms,keeping him from stumbling further into the man himself. Through the warmth ofthe handsome stranger’s hands, Ryan felt a tingling sensation from the top ofhis red hair to the tips of his toes. “Are you all right?” that deliciouslydeep voice asked softly, causing Ryan look up into those concerned blue eyes.Ryan could feel the warmth of the man’s hands through his long sleeved T-shirtas he started rubbing his hands up and down Ryan’s arms, as if to soothe anypain away.

He’s talking to you! Say something, idiot!

Ryan cleared his throat and attempted to smile at the man.

The man smiled back and slowly let go of Ryan’s arms as hetook one small step back as if to put some space in between them.

“Ooops! Sorry about that! I must’ve had too much eggnogduring break,” Ryan joked, as he shrugged his shoulders and smoothed down his“Got Mistletoe?” T-shirt.

The man laughed.

Oh my God, he’s got a gorgeous laugh too!

“That eggnog will get you every time!” the man said, almostreaching out to touch Ryan’s shoulder but stopping himself midway.

At the sound of the stranger’s joyful laughter, Ryan felthappiness flow through him and a genuine smile come across his face.

How can it already be December 6th?

2011-12-06T06:04:00.001-06:00

I'm ready to get into the Christmas mood. It doesn't help that I've been sick on and off for over a month, but today I'm actually feeling better so I hope I'm finally about to get over this cold/flu that has held onto me forever.

For over the past week, my husband has also been under the weather so it's really been pathetic at the Anderson household. We just look at each other, cough and hope that the other person will get up off of the couch and fix the other one something to drink or eat. LOL!!!!!

This weekend we plan on doing some decorating and wrap the gifts we've bought. A lot of our friends already have their tree trimmed and house decorated, so we're already two steps behind everyone else. It seems like everyone starts decorating earlier every year, which is normally fine with me because I love the twinkling lights and the spirit of Christmas. It's just taking me a little longer than normal to get there.

Happy Friday and my interesting Thanksgiving

2011-12-02T11:29:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had a festive holiday last week. I had a blast spending time with my grandmother, but I admit that although I did have some nice moments spending time with my family in Little Rock, I was definitely ready to come home.

One bad thing was my mother was sick on Thanksgiving. Instead of postponing it, she decided to do the big dinner anyway. I begged her to put it off because of two reasons.
One: When you're extremely sick the last thing you want to do is cook a huge meal.
Two: I didn't want everyone else to get it.

Thanksgiving dinner was really good, but as soon as my husband and I finished our meal we immediately went outside to start putting lights on my mother's house. Over the years my sweet and very agile husband has graciously put lights on my mother's large two story house. Because her house has many peaks and because the roof is not level, he can't just get on top of the house and put lights on that way, instead he has to do however much he reaches every time he goes up and down the ladder. This way unfortunately takes time. A LOT of time. So, he and I spent the rest of the day and into the evening putting lights on her house. On the plus side, it looked really good when we were finished with it and my mother loved it, so it was worth the time and effort we had to put with it.

Another thing that happened was I totally came out about my writing to my extended family. My mother, grandmother, stepfather, sister, brother in law and a few cousins already knew about my writing. Almost all of them own my books and are very supportive of me. Well, my stepsister and her husband and kids didn't know about it. My mother and I were talking about it when they walked up and overheard some of our conversation. I told them about my books and that I write AND read gay romances and my step sister's husband about had a fit. Basically, he told me that I was going to hell in a hand basket and that it's bad enough that I write romances (he actually called it porn) but now that he knows that I write GAY romances I'm doomed to fry in hell for all eternity. He was so upset he left the dinner early. Well, I was glad to see him go, but sad that he's homophobic religious zealot that doesn't have a clue about how beautiful love truly is. How sad it must be to have such hatred and...well fear in his heart. I hope that one day he'll wake up and realize that love is love irregardless of race or gender. At least that's how my God intended it to be.
Of course we did the black Friday thing. We fought the crowd, bought a Wii cheap and finished our Christmas shopping and then went back to mother's house and crashed.

I woke up Sunday with a sore throat. Since then I've been sick. This is the third time in a month that I've had some sort of head cold/flu. Because I've gone through five...that's right...FIVE boxes of Kleenex this past month, I'm thinking of buying some stock with them...LOL.

On a positive note: I've completed my first round of edits for my upcoming release, No Greater Love. I'm super excited about this book and I'm working with a new editor whom I really like. I haven't heard from the cover editor yet, and I'm anxious to see what the cover will be.

I'm also excited and looking forward to reading some Christmas stories from some of my favorite authors this year!! I hope I'll be up to putting up the tree this weekend...if not it looks like it'll be another week. I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready for some Christmas cheer!!

I'll hopefully be posting some pictures from last week on here in a few days, in the meantime I thought I would post some eye candy and my baby girl.

Have a very happy weekend:)

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T21:53:00.001-06:00

Hey y'all:)

For the past two days I've had a really great time with my grandmother. We've talked, watched the movie 'Water for Elephants' and have had an all around fun time together. I spent most of the day today cooking and getting ready for our trip to my mother's house tomorrow.
Since I'll be away for a day or two, I thought I would wish everyone who celebrates it a Happy Thanksgiving.
I promise to take many pictures and post them soon.
Have a Safe Holiday and Happy Week Ahead.

Preparing for the busy week ahead...

2011-11-21T21:40:00.001-06:00

Friends,

I was an exciting weekend on my blog. Amber Kell graciously allowed me to post a part of her ongoing story on Friday and my little blog lit up like fireworks on the fourth of July. I want to thank Amber Kell and her amazing fans for stopping by...it was a blast!

Today, I've been cleaning, doing laundry and preparing for my grandmother to spend a few days with us. I'm picking her up tomorrow and we'll stay here until Thanksgiving morning. We are driving to my mother's house for Thanksgiving supper and will be spending a few days there. As much as love spending time with my family, it's always stressful to me too. Plus, my loving husband always puts lights on my mother's massive house the day after the holiday and between the house lights and the lights and lawn ornaments in her yard, it's an all day affair. But, since my sister will be working on Thanksgiving this year, hubby and I plan on at least putting the lights on the house after we eat. This way it won't be such a long day on Friday.

Gosh, just thinking about it wears me out!

My sister sent me this picture of my niece and I had to share it. I swear I could stare at that smile all day and be happy doing it. Isn't she growing up fast? She's starting to lose that babyish look and more like a little girl. I have mixed feelings about this....

I plan on blogging before Thanksgiving, but if for some reason I can't, I would like to wish those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving a very happy one AND may all of you have a great week ahead.

*hugs*

Amber Kell's November Birthday Extravaganza!!

2011-11-18T14:50:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday everyone!

Today, I have the honor of posting the 18th installment of Amber Kell's captivating free story, Accidental Alpha, on my blog as part of her fun filled month long birthday extravaganza! It is truly an honor to be part of her birthday celebration and I want to thank Amber and welcome all of her amazing fans to my blog.

So, without further ado...here is Amber's 18th installment of Accidental Alpha!!

Accidental Alpha #18

Fenris watchedStanley’s parents battle for a while though he had no doubt Millie would getthe upper hand. He almost felt sorry for the guy if the Overseer weren’t suchan ass and trying to arrange Stanley’s life in a way that didn’t oppose Fenris’claim.

“Are they alwayslike this?” he whispered in Stanley’s ear. The slight shudder his mate gaveover Fenris’ breath against his lobe made Fenris smile. The beautiful man wasputty in his hands. Stanley might be a natural Alpha, but Fenris knew it wouldbe his job to make sure things ran smoothly for his mate.

“Yeah,” Stanleywhispered back.

Done bickeringMillie turned back to Fenris. “I’m sorry my husband was so rude. You can’t helpwhat family you were born into. Are you estranged from you family?” Hersympathetic expression almost made him lie.

“Um, no we’reactually pretty close,” he said with a rueful smile. “We get together once aweek for dinner.”

The Overseerstayed silent during the gentle interrogation. Fenris almost wished theStanley’s father would jump in and say something to draw attention away fromFenris.

“Tell me aboutthem. Are both your parents still alive?”

“Yes, his fatherruns a import business and his mother sells drugs,” the Overseer drawled.

Sure now he talks.

“My mother is apharmacist, not exactly a cocaine peddler.”

Millie gave him anapologetic smile. “Sorry about my husband. He hates it when his plans don’twork. And your father’s import business what does he import?”

Fenris leaned backin his chair. “Mostly stolen goods. My cousins help him.”

Stanley stared athim with an appalled expression on his face. “Your father is a thief?”

He bit back asmile. He really was starting to enjoy himself. “Don’t you want me for a mateany more dear?” He dramatically batted his eyes at Stanley.

“I guess thatdepends on whether you help him or not,” Stanley’s eyes narrowed. For anadopted child he’d definitely picked up some of his father’s mannerisms.

Fenris bit hislip. His family secrets weren’t his to share. He’d have to check with hisfather firt. “Why don’t you wait for judgment until after you meet them?”

“Why don’t we havethem over for dinner? I love to meet new people,” Millie gushed.

“You like tointerrogate new people,” the Overseer muttered, loud enough for Stanley andFenris to hear but quiet enough to be safe from human ears.

“I’m sorry sir, Ididn’t catch that,” Fenris said politely. He’d vow to Stanley later that thedevil made him do it.

“I said that was agreat idea,” the Overseer said with a snarl.

If looks couldkill Fenris would’ve died about ten minutes ago. He gave his father-in-law acheery smile before turning to Millie. “I’m sure my parents would love to havedinner but I should warn you I have two sets of parents. Mine are divorced.”

“Oh,” Millie gavehim a shocked look. “I thought wolves mated for life?”

Amber Kell is Coming!

2011-11-16T15:58:00.001-06:00

Hi Y'all:)

GREAT NEWS! My fellow Silver Publishing author, Amber Kell, is celebrating her birthday all through the month of November. As part of the celebration, she is sharing some of her ongoing free story with her fellow co-authors and their followers.

A part of Amber's ongoing story will be posted here on Friday the 18th! I don't know about y'all but I can't wait!

Have a great day:)

Daylight Saving Time and a few updates

2011-11-05T21:23:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow starts Daylight Saving Time so don't forget to set your clocks back an hour.

Since my last post, things have continued to be quiet. Ivan asked me when my next release is (Thanks for asking Ivan :) ) and since I never know when I can comment or not on Blogger, I thought I would let all of y'all know that I don't have a release until January. It's called No Greater Love and it's the first of three books in the Sons of Aphrodite series.

I also have a release in March. It's called Kissed By Death. It's a darker tone than what I usually write, so I'm nervous about how it's going to be received.

I don't remember if I told y'all that I'm doing NaNoWritMo this year. So far, I'm on schedule with my current WIP and I hope this continues. We'll have to see...

Have a great weekend:)

Snow White was an awesome Dorothy!!

2011-11-02T17:50:00.002-05:00

Here's my amazing niece on Halloween. Many of you know that she is the apple of my eye. Every year she just gets smarter and sweeter and she's so darn beautiful (At least to us) she lights up a room as soon as she enters it. I'm so proud of her, and I'm thankful many of you often write me and ask me about her. So, I had to share some pictures of our Halloween with you.

As you can see, my niece made a stunning Dorothy. She really hammed it up all night long. Since my sister lives in this huge suburban neighborhood, there were hundreds of children trick or treating Monday night and even though there were many adorable looking children, I definitely believe that our little Snow White held her own. She really looked like a believable Dorothy and so many people were charmed by her. As she went door to door to get her candy, and after she said trick or treat, she would sing the first few sentences of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This was so cute because her childlike four year old voice was so sweet, everyone loved her. We definitely made some beautiful memories Monday night and this past Halloween will always be counted as one of my favorites.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T01:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween:)

Isn't the picture of Laurie Strode and Michael Myers kissing creepy in a fascinating way? When I found it on the net for some reason I had to post it. The movie Halloween is something we make sure and watch every year. Is there a horror movie that you must watch on Halloween?

I'm still under the weather, but I'll be celebrating Halloween with Snow White today.I'm headed her direction and tonight I'll go with her as she goes Trick or Treating. In the past she's gone as a Disney princess, but this year she's going as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I can't wait to see her all dolled up! I still feel under the weather, but I can't resist going to see her. I'll post of pictures of her in her costume next week:)

I'm returning home Tuesday. For some insane reason I decided to join the craziness of NaNoWriMo this year. We'll have to see how it goes. If anyone would like to buddy me my link is:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/andi-anderson

Have a great holiday! Eat lots of Candy:)

Tissues, tissues and more tissues...

2011-10-26T14:39:00.000-05:00

I've been extremely unproductive this week. I'm still feeling terrible so I've been living on the couch, surrounded by tissues, medicine and cough drop wrappings. I've watched more television this week than I have in months and I've barely been online longer than to check my email and check out a few sites. I'm keeping this one short because the couch is calling my name, I just wanted to briefly check in and see how everyone is doing. Hopefully, I'll be on the mend soon, but either way I'll be lurking around is anyone needs me.

I hope your week is going great.

Head colds and sweet cheeks

2011-10-19T23:58:00.000-05:00

I'm still feeling under the weather. I've got a full blown cold and it's drained any energy or motivation to do a lot. So my current WIP has suffered these past few days. Eye Candy always makes me feel better so hence those sexy cheeks pictured above! LOL
On a positive note, I received a copy of my first audio book. I'm supposed to listen to it and tell them if I hear anything wrong with it. It should be an interesting process to hear my book, His Christmas Wish, being read to me...I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Pumpkins and Craft Shows

2011-10-18T03:44:00.000-05:00

I had a really fun weekend. My mother, sister and niece came down Friday night and spent the weekend with us. We had a good time catching up and doing those things that we all do when we are reunited with our loved ones after spending some weeks apart.

My husband has started a new tradition with my niece. Up until last Friday, she had never helped carve a pumpkin before. Friday night, she and her favorite Uncle went and picked out two pumpkins came home and carved them. Uncle Boo (this is what she calls my husband) found a stencil of the princess, Snow White, and together they gutted, traced and then HE carved the pumpkin. It turned out really great and she was tickled about it and obviously had a wonderful time.

On Saturday, we got up early and went to the War Eagle craft show. We ate too much junk food, bought some Christmas gifts and all and all had a fun time. I hated to see them go Sunday, but in a way it was good because I have the beginnings of a head cold and started to feel rather yucky.

So now I'm nursing a sore throat, sniffles and a cough. Because of this, I can't seem to concentrate on anything, much less writing. I plan on taking lots of NyQuil and sleeping this off. I hope everyone had a great week. I'll post pictures of Snow White and her Uncle Boo later this week. In the meantime, Uncle Boo carved Pinhead and I thought I would share this masterpiece. It took him over two hours to carve it. I think it looks just like Pinhead. What do you think?

Have a great week:)

Eye Candy does a body good

2011-10-11T03:25:00.001-05:00

Bleck! For the past couple of days, I've been feeling a little under the weather. I thought sharing a little eye candy might make me feel better.

Have a Spooktacular Week!

2011-10-09T02:35:00.000-05:00

My husband and I had a really good weekend. Yesterday we celebrated our anniversary early and went out to eat and went to see the movie, Abduction, which ended up being a better movie than we both thought it would be. Today, we've done nothing but laze around the house all day.
One of the many things I love about my husband is that he's creative. He's pretty artistic, so every year he likes to carve several pumpkins throughout the month of October. As you can see, he just finished Michael Myers.
I think he did a pretty darn good job of it.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday and week ahead:)

Happy Weekend!

2011-10-07T02:32:00.001-05:00

It's been a slow week for me. I've done quite a lot of writing and that's been a very good thing. It's really been a quiet week and that's been a good change.
I do have a couple of things going on next week...

First, my husband and I are celebrating our 9 year anniversary on the 12th. When I look back, I can't believe we've been together that long. He's really the best thing that ever happened to me. I've been a very lucky woman to have such a phenomenal man. I'm looking forward to at least 50 or so more.

Second, I'm thrilled that my niece and mother are coming up next weekend for a visit. There's a huge craft fair we're all going to next Saturday and it should be a lot of fun! Since this will be Snow White's first craft fair, it'll be interesting to see how she does. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to share too!

Y'all have a great weekend and happy week ahead.

*hugs*

Lucky

2011-09-20T21:33:00.001-05:00

Last week my mother called to tell me that she and my stepfather were going to raise a two week old squirrel. You can imagine my surprise when I heard this. Yes, it's true both my mom and step dad are crazy about the wildlife that lives around their house. The animals are so used to being fed by them that it's not unusual for squirrels in particular to venture up onto their porch and take and eat peanuts from their hands.

My stepfather found this baby squirrel on the ground, abandoned last week. Apparently, the momma squirrel either kicked the baby out of it's nest or my mother said (hopes) that high winds somehow blew it out of it's nest onto the ground. When my stepfather spotted it, he immediately wrapped it up in a warm towel and took it to the local vet. The vet told him it looked to be around two weeks old and gave him instructions on what to do to feed and take care of it until it was at least 12 weeks old. The vet admitted that he didn't know a lot about squirrels, and he couldn't tell my stepfather if it suffered from any internal injuries or anything like that. He suggested that my mother and stepfather take care of it and then recommended for the squirrel to be released when it was old enough to take care of itself, because apparently squirrels DO NOT make good pets.

So, he brought the baby squirrel home, went to the local pet store and bought a lot of supplies and they started taking care of the newest family member of their household. Since my sister was working, my mother was also watching my niece, Snow White, and when four year old took one look at the baby squirrel she decided right then that she would be the official adoptive mother of the sweet little thing. She of course wanted to call it 'princess' but after a close examination, they decided since it was a boy they should call it Lucky instead.

For two days, my mother and niece did everything they were told to do to take care of the baby squirrel. Lucky was fed, taken care of and loved. My niece even cried when she had to go home. But, since she knew Lucky would still be there when she returned in a few days, she eventually went on home without much fuss.

I knew something was wrong when I got the first text message from my mother at midnight on Friday:

Little Lucky isn't going to make it....I think he is dieing. He's not eating and breathing with
a gasp. I hate it but I did everything I could for him. If he lives the next hour I'll be surprised.

Then fifteen minutes later she texts:

Poor little Lucky did die. I really hate it. He really didn't have much of a chance. He was a
sweet little squirrel. I wish I could have saved him.

I immediately called her and when she answered, she was crying. She kept blaming herself and was worried how Snow White was going to take it. Now, I don't know about y'all, but when my mother cries, I cry. I don't know why, but it's something that I've always done. So we both cried and I reassured her that they did everything they could for Lucky. In all honesty, Lucky probably had more love in the last 48 hours of his little life than he ever had.

Unfortunately, this was going to be one of those life lessons for my niece. The next day she was told about Lucky's passing and was devastated from the news. When my stepfather heard this, he wrapped Lucky in a hand towel, put him in a shoe box and buried him in the backyard. He then made a small cross and painted the word "Lucky" on it and put it on the grave. I thought this was very sweet. He wanted there to be a place where Snow White could put flowers and visit it should she want too.

Since then, my mother and I have talked several times and just by talking to her I realize that for a couple of days, Lucky brought joy and happiness to my mother, stepfather and a to my niece. It reminds me and my family that life is precious and that every minute of it should be cherished. In the end, I think it was fate that brought Lucky into my family's life and wherever he is, I hope he's happy, carefree and has more peanuts to eat than he can handle.

Have a great weekend!!

2011-09-15T22:26:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all:)

I hope everyone has had a great week. Mine has been pretty good. I've been working on my current work in progress, Angel's Redemption, and so far everything has still been going pretty smoothly. I don't think I'll be finished with it by the end of the week though. Both of my main characters are being quite talkative, so I believe this book will be my longest to date. I have a feeling it's going to be around 40,000 words when completed.

I've been feeling bad all week. I've had some complications with my hysterectomy a couple of years ago and I've experienced some pain this week. So for the past two days I've been laid up on the couch when I've wanted to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather we've been experiencing here. Tonight, I'm still in some pain so it looks like I'll be going to bed shortly and hopefully sleep this pain off, and I hope I'll feel better tomorrow.

Until my next post, I hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoy the eye candy. Aren't they sexy?

Happy Friday

2011-09-09T13:38:00.000-05:00

Hello friends:)

Well, not much has happened this week. I've been working hard on my latest book, Angel's Redemption and I hope to have it finished by next weekend. Happily, the hundred plus degree weather seems to have passed us by here in the sticks. It's starting to cool off and even the nights are nice and chilly. Admittedly, I'm thrilled to say goodbye to summer. Honestly, summer is my least favorite season. Between the heat and humidity, I turn into a wilting flower when I'm outside so I have a tendency to hide in my dark, cool house until September.

One crappy thing that's happened is my husband's job has cut out overtime. This is something they usually do every year around the holiday season, so we have to watch out nickels and dimes until the end of the year. Thankfully, I thought ahead this year and I've already bought Christmas gifts this year, so that won't be an added expense we'll have to budget for. Speaking of Christmas, my mother informed me a couple of days ago that Christmas will be celebrated at our house this year. Just thinking about cooking and getting everything in ship-shape makes me want to break out in hives. Thank god I'll have a few months to prepare for it!

I've been flirting with the idea of writing a paranormal/shapeshifter book. It seems to be the trend right now and I've had an idea floating around in my mind for a couple of weeks now. So I'm not sure if I'll jump on the werewolf bandwagon or not. I know I enjoy reading these types of books, but I'm not sure if I want to write one or not. What do y'all think? Do y'all enjoy shapeshifter books a lot or do you think these types of books are just a trend right now?

Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend. We plan on hanging out at home, hubby might be going fishing and I hope to get a lot of writing done. Heck, I might even leave the dark cave of my living room and sit on the back porch and enjoy the nice weather for a while.

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T01:44:00.000-05:00

Friends,

It's been a good weekend for me. We watched a few rentals and I did some writing. I've been working hard on my next Men of Charlestown book, Angel's Redemption, and my goal is to finish it within the next two weeks. Luckily, my muses have been both very talkative and cooperative so far. Let's hope that continues!

I also took some time to read Shawn Lane's latest book, Can't be His. I've never tried to hide that Shawn is one of my favorite authors. She's such a versatile writer she keeps me, as a reader, always guessing what kind of book she's written this time. She writes great angsty stories, but I also believe she writes wonderful sweet stories too. Since I needed a sexy, romantic story last night, Can't be His was a perfect read for me. I loved it and I hope y'all all check it out at Amber Quill Press.

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day. I plan on cooking out, watching some television and doing a lot of writing!

Happy Early Holiday Weekend:)

2011-09-01T01:07:00.000-05:00

Friends,

Well, as all of you probably guessed, we made it back from Las Vegas safely. We left Friday morning and drove 23 hours straight through. Even thoughit was very tiring, it was worth seeing all of the beautiful desert and other things we don't normally get to see in Arkansas. As beautiful as the desert is, I don't think I could ever live there. The dry heat does something to my throat and I'd miss the lush trees and greenery of where I live.

Las Vegas was a lot of fun, but it'll probably be a while before we go back that direction. We had a horrible time finding a decent place to eat off the strip. Everything was overpriced and I wasn't happy about the huge amount of children there. (Thanks for the information about Vegas on my last post Shawn)We spent a lot of time sightseeing, so by the time our vacation had come to an end, we really were ready to come home. There is really nothing like sleepingin your own bed!

I started working on a Christmas themed story, but since my heroes are being too talkative for a short story, it looks like there will be no Christmas story from me this year. Instead, I'm writing on Angel's Redemption, that is going to be my next book in my Men of Charlestown series. It's a story about Jackson, who y'all met in Daniel's Dream, and Riley his new but mysterious and younger neighbor. So far I'm about seven thousand words into it and I think it should be between 30,000 and 40,000 words when it's complete. My goal is to have it completed by the end of September.

The other thing that happened on vacation was I turned another year older. It was a quiet birthday and I have to admit that I'm glad it was. After I turned 40 a couple of years ago, birthdays aren't as fun as they used to be! LOL!

I just signed my Cover Art contract for Kissed By Death. I can't wait for this book to be published! It's going to be the first of three books in my Kissed by an Immortal series and I'm anxious to see how everyone will like it. It has a darker feel to it than my other books, but it also has a very romantic side to it too. I still don't have an assigned date for when it's to be published, just sometime in 2012. As soon as I find out, I'll let y'all know!

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! Since my husband is working overtime, I'll have plenty of time to write and watch a few movies on television. Have a great weekend and week ahead:)

Vegas, Criss Angel and Book News

2011-08-23T06:17:00.008-05:00

Friends,

How is everyone doing? My honey and I have had a great holiday in Sin City. We left last Thursday morning around 1:30 AM and arrived in Vegas 23 hours later. We drove straight through with the exception of stopping to eat, gas and bathroom breaks. Both my husband and I were exhausted and extremely happy to arrive here and to FINALLY get out of the small car we own for more than a few minutes.

It's been so freaking hot here. Every day the temperature is over 100 degrees, which has been as hot as Arkansas weather, but the difference is the type of heat Vegas has versus Arkansas weather. For one thing, Vegas has a dry heat. Even though it's barely tolerable, it's still better than the intense humidity we have at home. Even though the heat isn't quite as bad, we decided to see Vegas mainly at night. So far, it's been a good decision for us because it's not as crowded and we can walk around the strip without the sun beating down on us the entire time.

One of the surprising things about Vegas has been the amount of children that are here. My husband and I were both shocked that people bring their kids here. Maybe this is an old fashioned way of thinking, but Vegas is so sexualized that I'd be afraid to take any minor here. This of course is my opinion. Please remember that I live three miles off a dirt road so seeing huge billboards with mostly naked women and other suggestive things practically does not exist where I live. I can't imagine my four year old niece being here, but that's just me. I'm not judging those parents that bring their children here at all. To each his own, and I'm sure if I lived somewhere other than a small town I'd think differently too.

One of the great things about Vegas has been the variety of people we've seen. I love seeing same sex couples walk the streets holding hands and even kissing. This is something I hope will hurry up and change where I live.

Since we are here on budget we've been doing more sightseeing than anything. We did go see Criss Angel's show. My husband is a huge Mindfreak fan, (I'm not) we decided that seeing him would be the big splurge we'd spend on ourselves. Well, one thing that I noticed about Criss was how small he is. On television he appears larger than life, so it surprised me to see what a small man that he looks to be in person. We sat two rows from the front of the stage and I have to admit that Criss really put on a great show. He's also better looking in person and he really enchanted the audience with his magic and bubbly personality. If you're ever in Vegas and like magic, I do recommend seeing him. Plus, he really inspired the writer in me and gave me a great idea for a story...

Speaking of books, Silver accepted my Kissed By Death Manuscript! YAY! I just signed the contract and it'll be published some time in 2012.

We'll be in Vegas until Friday morning. We'll be leaving here around six am and driving straight through home. If I don't post anything again until after I return home, I hope everyone has a great week.

Sin city here we come...

2011-08-14T22:48:00.007-05:00

Friends,

It's been a hectic week for me. I've been writing like crazy to get my Christmas story completed. I'm still stalking my email in hopes that I'll hear something about my Kissed by Death submission, and so far I've heard nothing. UGH!

I'm also getting ready to go on vacation. We'll be leaving for Vegas in a couple of days and will be gone for over a week. Both of us are ready to get away from everything for a while. It'll be nice getting away from it all...even if it's for a few days.

I plan on posting some pictures of our trip next week and I'll also let y'all know when I find out if Silver liked Kissed by Death or not. The waiting really is the hardest part.

In the meantime, I thought a little eye candy might just start off the week with a bang:) The man makes tighty whitey's look good!

Have a great week:)

Sometimes we need something pretty to look at...

2011-08-09T03:24:00.006-05:00

Hey Y'all:)

While I've been working hard on my current WIP, I'm still waiting to see if they liked Kissed by Death or not. I'll be checking my email constantly until I hear something. I hope I don't drive myself crazy in the meantime. LOL!

I also need to let y'all know that blogger is not allowing me to comment on my blog or other people's blogs. I've been to the 'help' department and apparently it's been happening to more people than myself. I'm trying to figure out what's going on, so in the meantime, please know that I'm reading all of my friends blogs and the comments you make on mine. Thank you for your comments. I really appreciate them.

I came across this picture and knew immediately that we all needed some delicious eye candy to gaze upon today. I hope you enjoy him...I sure have!

Have a great day!

My Reason to Smile

2011-08-06T06:00:00.008-05:00

Hey Y'all:)

It's been a busy couple of weeks for me. I submitted a story to Silver Publishing called Kissed by Death. Now I'm obsessively watching my email like a crazed fan at a Adam Lambert concert. The waiting is always the hardest part. I'm nervous about this book because it's darker than my normal stuff. Also, it's a paranormal...but it's not a typical one. If it gets contracted I'll tell y'all more about it then. Until I find out one way or the other, please wish me luck!

My grandmother's birthday was a couple of days ago. We brought here out to our house and had a big birthday shindig out here. She had a blast and of course my niece Snow White was in rare form as usual! I managed to snag a picture of her and my two year old sheltie Lily. Both of them never fail to bring a smile to my face and I want to share one of my reasons to smile with you:)

We had a great time but now that every one's gone it's time to work on my current WIP and get it submitted hopefully by the end of the week.

I hope all of my friends here will stay out of this heat and have a great week ahead!

If you believe homophobia is wrong...

2011-07-13T17:28:00.006-05:00

IF YOU BELIEVE THAT HOMOPHOBIA IS WRONG... REPOST THIS

((This is not something I wrote, but it touched me deeply so I'm reposting it))

I am the boy who never finished high school, because I got called a fag everyday

I am the girl kicked out of her home because I confided in my mother that I am a lesbian.

I am the prostitute working the streets because nobody will hire a transsexual woman.

I am the sister who holds her gay brother tight through the painful, tear-filled nights.

We are the parents who buried our daughter long before her time.

I am the man who died alone in the hospital because they would not let my partner of twenty-seven years into the room.

I am the foster child who wakes up with nightmares of being taken away from the two fathers who are the only loving family I have ever had. I wish they could adopt me.

I am not one of the lucky ones. I killed myself just weeks before graduating high school. It was simply too much to bear.

We are the couple who had the realtor hang up on us when she found out we wanted to rent a one-bedroom for two men.

I am the person who never knows which bathroom I should use if I want to avoid getting the management called on me.

I am the mother who is not allowed to even visit the children I bore, nursed, and raised. The court says I am an unfit mother because I now live with another woman.

I am the domestic-violence survivor who found the support system grow suddenly cold and distant when they found out my abusive partner is also a woman.

I am the domestic-violence survivor who has no support system to turn to because I am male.

I am the father who has never hugged his son because I grew up afraid to show affection to other men.

I am the home-economics teacher who always wanted to teach gym until someone told me that only lesbians do that.

I am the woman who died when the EMTs stopped treating me as soon as they realized I was transsexual.

I am the person who feels guilty because I think I could be a much better person if I didnt have to always deal with society hating me.

I am the man who stopped attending church, not because I don't believe, but because they closed their doors to my kind.

I am the person who has to hide what this world needs most, love.

I am the person ashamed to tell my own friends im a lesbian, because they constantly make fun of them.

I am the boy tied to a fence, beaten to a bloody pulp and left to die because two straight men wanted to "teach me a lesson"

I am girl who had to break up with my lover because my parents found out it was another girl.

---IF YOU BELIEVE THAT HOMOPHOBIA IS WRONG... REPOST THIS

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T02:15:00.002-05:00

Happy Independence Day!

Prayers for my Sister

2011-06-25T07:10:00.004-05:00

My sister is sick again. She was recently promoted to another floor at the hospital she works at. In this area, she works with many kids who are extremely sick and contagious. When they promoted her, they told her she would constantly be sick until she built up immunities to these things and everyone who works on this floor stays sick on and off for at least a year.
Well, she's very sick again. If all of my friends here would keep her in our thoughts and prayers I would really appreciate it.
I hope everyone has a great weekend:)

The Birthday Girl

2011-06-20T00:54:00.008-05:00

We just arrived home from Little Rock a few hours ago. We had a great time with my niece. Her party was a huge success and she had the time of her life! It was held a place called Party Central. It's one of those places where there are tons of blow up slides and places where kids can jump around in without getting hurt. She had a blast and the kids that were at her party did too. One of the funniest moments was when after everyone sang Happy Birthday to her and she blew out the candles, Snow White stood up and said, "Thank you for coming to my party everyone" and then she curtsied like a princess. The 'Princess in training' at Disney World must have paid off because she did this totally on her own. She really is a sweet little Princess!
The picture above is of her before her big party.

The second and third picture was taken yesterday at my mother's house. We gave her a small family pool party, and she had a blast. This is the first year she's really expressed any interest or had fun at my mother's pool. Before we know it, she'll be swimming like a fish! I love how excited she was as she blew out the four candles on the cake. I wish she always has this kind of enthusiasm and excitement about all of her birthdays and special occasions for the rest of her life.

I'm glad we're home. After I get some much needed sleep, tomorrow I've got tons of writing to catch up on. I'm excited about Daniel's Dream being released, and happy that it's number 6 on Silver's best selling list right now. YAY!

Have a great week, y'all!

Guess who's turning four next week...

2011-06-10T23:57:00.006-05:00

Hey Y'all:)

Well it's been a good week. I finished my edits for Daniel's Dream and should be receiving my ARC copies for it sometime this week. Daniel's Dream was really a fun book to write. I really enjoyed revisiting the characters from His Christmas Wish and I'm looking forward to one day writing Daniel's own book.

I spent some time this week with my niece and sister. Snow White's 4th birthday is on the 15th of this month so we've been looking for things for her party. Her theme is rainbows, hearts and flowers so everyone who comes has to bring her a flower of some kind (they can even be flowers from a field) so she can put them in a special vase for her party. She's excited about it and I plan on posting some pictures of it next week so y'all can see how much she's grown since Christmas.(Pictured above)

We've been doing some home improvement projects at home too. We've put a very nice cover on our back porch and now we're looking for some nice lawn chairs to relax comfortably out there while we enjoy out backyard. But, after seeing some of the outrageous prices for lawn furniture, we're obviously still on the hunt for it. I couldn't believe that outdoor furniture is as expensive as some indoor furniture! How in the heck did that happen? I remember the days when you could find a very nice chairs for fifty bucks or so. Now they want a hundred or more! UGH! Maybe we should hit some thrift shops or something... :)

As soon as I receive my ARC copies of Daniel's Dream I'll hold a contest for a freebie. I hope everyone has a great weekend:)

A few updates and a much needed Vacation

2011-05-31T22:28:00.010-05:00

It's been a great week so far. Saturday my first book in print, Men of Charlestown Volume One was released and I'm still super excited about it! I've also completed the first round of edits for my third book in the Men of Charlestown series, Daniel's Dream. I figure the second round of edits will arrive in my inbox any time now. I'm ready to get them done and for Daniel's Dream to be released on June 18th. I really enjoyed writing more about Nick, Josh and Daniel. They are some of my favorite characters and it was fun revisiting them for a while.

I've had several people write and ask me how many books will be in the Men in Charlestown series. As of right now, there will be around eight of them with the last book being Daniel's. I figure since he started it all with his Christmas wish, he deserves his happy ending too!

I'm currently doing last minute pre-edits for No Greater Love (due to released in January) and my current work in process, Angel's Redemption, is going going fast and smooth. I love it when that happens:)

My husband is off of work this week. He's taking a well-deserved vacation and we've been hanging out around the house, catching up on movies we've missed and we plan on having one day where we just get in the car and see where it takes us. I think we'll probably go into Oklahoma and maybe hit a casino or two. :)

So, if you don't see me around very much this week, you know why. (It's my husband's fault) Y'all have a great week!

I had to share my exciting news!

2011-05-24T16:37:00.004-05:00

I had to let my friends here know that I just found out from my editor and the amazing Cover Artist, Reese Dante, that Volume One of my Men of Charlestown series in print will be released this Saturday through Silver Publishing! YAY! I'm so excited!

Tea Parties and Gorgeous Cover Art:)

2011-05-14T23:26:00.007-05:00

Hey y'all:)

For the past two days my husband and I have been visiting my family in Little Rock. Of course, we had at least a thousand tea parties with my niece complete with lots of snuggles and kisses from her too!

When we arrived home, the amazing cover artist, Reese Dante, had this little jewel waiting for me in my inbox! Here is the official cover for my next book, Men of Charlestown 3: Daniel's Dream. It's going to be released Father's Day weekend and I can't wait!

My goal this week is to finish No Greater Love and get a lot written on Angel's Redemption, will be the 4th book in the MIC series.

I hope y'all have a great weekend:)

Great News!

2011-05-09T23:21:00.004-05:00

I have some great news I had to share with y'all!

Silver Publishing accepted both my Father's Day submission, Men of Charlestown 3: Daniel's Dream and Sons of Aphrodite 1: No Greater Love today.
I'm very excited and thrilled to continue to be part of the Silver Publishing family.

Daniel's Dream will be published on the 18th of June.

No Greater Love will be published on January 28th. (When you read the story you'll definitely understand why!)

I spent all day today with my Mother, Grandmother and Niece. We celebrated a belated Mother's Day together and had a great time today. I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day too!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T17:09:00.003-05:00

To my Mother and every amazing Mother out there...Happy Mother's Day!

Men of Charlestown

2011-05-04T21:51:00.004-05:00

I recently got the news that Silver Publishing decided that both His Christmas Wish and Yummy Indulgences were chosen to be in print. Needless to say, I am extremely excited about my first book going to print in the near future. I honestly never expected to have any of my books becoming a paperback, so this is like a dream come true for me.

Silver's Art Director, Reese Dante, is an amazing artist and so much fun to work with. When Reese sent me the finished product for it, I was thrilled to see how it turned out, and I had to share it with my friends.

What do y'all think of it? Isn't it beautiful?

I've been working hard to meet my Saturday deadline for my Father's Day submission for Silver Publishing and so far it's coming along great. I'm continuing Daniel, Nick and Josh's story from His Christmas Wish, and it's been a lot of fun revisiting these characters again.

I'll keep y'all informed of my progress.

Have a great night:)

Back from OZ

2011-05-03T23:23:00.003-05:00

Hey y'all:)

I'm sorry I've been away so long. I've had some interesting things happen to me and my family these past couple of months and it's taking some time to get back on track.

My sister has been fighting pneumonia for over the past month. At one point she had to be hospitalized, but now she's doing better and was given the red light to go back to work as long as she doesn't overdo it. This is hard for her, because of my almost four year old niece and well...my sister doesn't know what the word "Relax" really means. That just simply isn't in her vocabulary. Hopefully, after all of this, she'll learn to slow down a little and not push herself so hard.

My grandmother is practically blind now. She's been taking treatments to try to help her eyesight, but it hasn't worked. She also insisting on NOT moving in with my husband and I, so we're still fighting to get her out here with us. Whether she will or not remains to be seen. Otherwise, she's still strong and wonderful and she amazes me everyday.

I don't know if y'all have heard about the tornadoes that hit Arkansas. We lucked out that they didn't hit our area, but it did do some damage to relatives of ours. We've been trying to help out, and the community has been great. Strangely, up until this year I've never worried about tornadoes, but after all of the damage they've done this year, my opinion has changed.

On a much happier note: Silver Publishing has decided to put my first two books in the Men of Charlestown series in print! YAY! Reese Dante has worked hard on developing an amazing cover for it and I can't wait to show y'all when I get the green light. I don't know when it will be out in print yet, but as soon as I do, I'll let y'all know.

I hope everyone has been doing great! Thanks to everyone who has dropped me a line and has been concerned about me. I have wonderful and caring friends. Thank you.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T17:43:00.003-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone! I'm off to see my niece, Snow White, tonight. We're going to spend the rest of the week visiting family. It's going to be fun. I hope everyone has a great weekend and a happy holiday:)

It was inevitable

2011-02-21T14:39:00.005-06:00

Hey Y'all:)

Had a long weekend. My husband was sick pretty much all weekend long. He has strep throat and the flu. He hasn't had fever today, so I hope he's on the mend.
Unfortunately, I haven't fared too well. I'm running fever and coughing my head off. What's bad is I've had the flu shot, but it looks like it's either a different type or I'm just unlucky.

I hardly got any reading or writing done this weekend. I doubt that I write or read any tonight either. I hope everyone else is doing good. I'll check in with y'all in a day or two. Time to get back to bed...

Happy Weekend!

2011-02-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

It's amazing that sometimes there are times when nothing is going on in my life. I'll go through days where I don't hear from anyone and I'm pretty much just going with the flow. This hasn't been true for me for weeks now.

I haven't had a quiet moment since the New Year.

Since my last post, Kelli, who has been one of my best friends for over thirty years, mother passed away. That makes two deaths of friends and family this year already. She was a wonderful woman whom I loved dearly. She had Kelli late in life (she was almost fifty when Kelli was born) and she thoroughly loved raising Kelli in her mature years. I loved spending the night with Kelli and hanging out with her mother. We had many sweet and fun moments together.

A few days after the funeral, we had a massive snowfall. It's not fun being stuck somewhere you don't want to be!

I finally return home and my loving husband is sick. He's been ill for the past few days and has missed work. This is a rare for him. He's one of those people who rarely calls in sick, so if he wants to stay home because he feels bad, then he's very sick. Since it's going into his chest, we've got him an appointment to see his doctor this morning. I hope he'll be able to get on antibotics and will feel better soon.

I plan on getting caught up on my writing, blogging and emails this weekend. Lets hope that things slow down a little. I need a break!

My goal is to finish book one of my new Sons of Aphrodite series, No Greater Love by next Tuesday.

I hope y'all have a great weekend:)

Wish me Luck!

YAY! I'm home!!!

2011-02-04T20:59:00.004-06:00

YAY! I'm finally home! I missed y'all! We had a family emergency come up and I've been out of state for several days. Even though we had to drive through hours and hours of snow and ice, I'm glad we're home.
Now I just need to get caught up on my laundry, emails and get some rest in my own bed.
Tomorrow I'll probably watch my husband play in the snow and do as little as possible. Sunday I'm have to get back on the writing wagon again and get my current WIP completed.
Have a great weekend, y'all!

Snow Fun and Upcoming Reads

2011-01-10T06:28:00.009-06:00

I have a feeling that this is going to be a busy week! Even though we've had our first batch of snowfall here at the Ozark National Forest, it really looks beautiful outside. What's funny our sheltie, Lil, does not like snow so it's been creatively interesting to get her to go outside to do her business. I've had to bribe her with extra cookies and/or go outside with her AND I've even thrown one of her toys out to get her to chase after it.

Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't.

On the bright side, when I'm not cleaning up dog puddles on my floor, there are some really great releases this week in the gay romance world. Two of my favorite friends and authors, Shawn Lane and Ava March both have releases this week. Pulling Apart by Shawn Lane was released over the weekend and it's a great quick read. It's the continuation of Noah and Charlie's story from Pulling Away.

Ava March's book His Client, is being released tomorrow by Loose Id.and I can not wait to read it! I love Ava's books and I have a feeling by all of some of the teasers she's given us on her blog that this is going to be an exceptional book. (I love her cover!)

When I'm not reading, I'll be finishing up my book, No Greater Love finished, sent off to my friend Linda for her approval, and submitted. I'm ready to write next book in the Men of Charlestown series. Shiloh and Allen from Yummy Indulgences will be making an appearance in it, and so will Nick and Josh from His Christmas Wish. I'm also going to be guest blogging at Silver Publishing's blog on the 19th of this month, so I hope everyone will stop by and say hello.

It looks like my week is going to be full! I'm tired already:)

Yummy Indulgences is Released

2011-01-08T22:17:00.004-06:00

I'm so excited! Yummy Indulgences is finally released through Silver Publishing. It's the second book in my Men of Charlestown series. If you've missed the first book in the series, His Christmas Wish, you missed the introduction of Shiloh, who is a main character in Yummy Indulgences. Otherwise, it can be read as a stand alone read if you're not in the Christmas reading mood.

I've had several people ask me how many books I think the Charlestown series will be. As of right now I see about four more books that will evolve around these men. In the end they will all tie in together, but as of right now, I'm getting them all introduced one book at a time. The last book will be set several years down the road. It will be Daniel's book. I figure since he was such a major part in the first book he deserves his own book when he gets older.

Right now I'm still working on No Greater Love and then I'll get back to the Charlestown series. I hope everyone has a great weekend:)

Happy Reading!

2011 looks to be a promising year

2011-01-04T18:19:00.010-06:00

I've been thinking about what my goals are for this year. I'm really not one to set resolutions like many others. The most common goal between most of my family members is lose weight, and while I need to probably jump on that bandwagon, I'm pretty happy with who I am in that way.

After some thought, I decided the goal I have for myself is to continue to write and hopefully write stories that people continue to like. My goal is to write at least one book or more a month. I'm in the process of finishing my latest work in progress, No Greater Love. I hope that I'll have it completed no later than the beginning of next week. I still have at least three more Men of Charlestown books to write and I'm about to start another series about 5 friends, which will be called the Circle of friends series. Somewhere in all of that, I'm planning on writing a western romance soon...if I can come up with a good plot that is...LOL.

All in all it looks like it's going to be a pretty busy year! I keeping my fingers crossed that 2011 will be the best and happiest year for all of us:)

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T14:47:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year to all of my friends! Thank you for all of the love and support you've given me this past year. I couldn't have done it without you!

Yay! We're home!

2010-12-29T21:27:00.006-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We were out of town for several days. My husband is on vacation for two weeks and we've really enjoyed traveling and seeing family. Admittedly, I'm thrilled to be home. I missed sleeping in my own bed. My favorite part of Christmas was playing with my niece, Snow White. It's always hard leaving her pretty face. She's so sweet and smart, she's really a joy to be around.

Tomorrow I have final edits to do on Yummy Indulgences and then after this week, I'm hoping to get my current WIP completed so I can move onto different heroes that has been impatiently waiting for their story. I've been trying to come up with a western/cowboy themed story, but I'm not having any luck with it. I'm hoping something will come to me really soon.

If I don't see y'all before the new year, I hope all of you have a fun and very safe holiday:)

I can't believe it has been a year

2010-12-22T01:19:00.006-06:00

It was exactly one year ago today when we lost our eleven year old sheltie, Daisie. Most of you know that we now have a sweet girl named Lily, whom we love dearly, but it doesn't ease the pain from the loss of losing Daisie any less.
It's crazy to think of how much we become attached to our pets. In all honesty, Daisie and Lily are almost like our kidlets. My husband and I will not be blessed with children, but we will always have the four-legged variety. I guess that is one of the reasons why I've (we've) taken Daisie's death so hard this year.
I know in some ways I'll always grieve for her. She was my constant companion for so many years, I know I'll always love and miss her.
I hope this year will be easier.

His Christmas Wish is released today!

2010-12-21T13:27:00.002-06:00

YAY! His Christmas Wish is released today by Silver Publishing. I'm always anxious when a new book of mine is released. I hope y'all like it!

Here is the blurb and the excerpt:

About the book
For most children, all they want for Christmas is the latest video game or the most popular toy, but thatâ€™s not what Daniel wants. He wants to be a family again. Since his parents were killed in a horrific car accident over a year ago, Daniel had been living with his beloved Uncle Josh. Even though Daniel knows his Uncle does his best to make him happy, Daniel still longs for the contentment and secure feeling he felt when his parents were alive. He wants a family, and on the first magical snow of the season, he wishes to have a family again.

When Nick is interviewed by Joshua Thomas to be a live in nanny, he is immediately drawn to the young boy and his Uncle Josh. Even though both of them obviously love each other, there is something missing between them. When Nick gets the job, he becomes determined to bring laughter and happiness back into both of their lives. As Christmas quickly approaches, Nick decides to do whatever it takes to bring them together as a happy family forever.

An excerpt from the book

Daniel looked at his sleeping Uncle and felt sad. His sight became blurry and tears welled up in his eyes then slowly ran down his cheeks. He sniffled and wiped quickly at his face and blinked furiously to keep more from falling. He didn't want his Uncle Josh to wake up and notice him crying and being a big baby. The past year had been a difficult one for both of them. Ever since his parents went to Heaven, he'd been living with his uncle, and things had never been the same again.

This was their second Thanksgiving together. His uncle tried his best to make their holidays good, but things always seemed to go wrong. Even today, when Uncle Josh tried to cook a delicious meal, nothing went like they wanted them to. The turkey was dry and the stuffing so bad they ended up eating TV dinners while watching the Thanksgiving parade on television. Uncle Josh tried to keep conversation fun but it fell short somehow, and the holiday ended up being filled with a lot of silence and awkward moments.

Not like life before his parents went to heaven.

Daniel missed the bedtime stories and the loving hugs his mother gave him. He didn't get to toss the ball in the front yard or go on Saturday fishing trips with his dad. The laughter and happiness he remembered having every day of his life were gone. In their place were lots of quiet nights eating supper with his uncle while they watched television; or he was alone in his room, reliving every joyful memory he had with his parents.

He got used to being alone. He knew Uncle Josh loved him, but for some reason they just couldn't bridge the gap between them. So many times it looked like Uncle Josh wanted to say something, but for some reason or another a sad look would gleam in his uncle's eyes, and the moment would be lost.

Daniel so wanted to know what Uncle Josh had to say.

Daniel gently eased off of the couch and silently made his way over to the front door. He quietly opened it and stepped out onto the front porch. The cold November wind blew right through him and Daniel wrapped his arms around himself to try to keep warm. Even though it was past ten at night, he could see the heavy snowfall on the ground, covering it with a sparkling pureness that glimmered like diamonds in the darkness.

Daniel knew he should be excited. After all, it was the first snow of the season. Uncle Josh had even mentioned it was rare for Charlestown to get snowfall this early in the year. Daniel couldn't ever remember it snowing this early before. In his mind's eye he could remember his parents making snow angels and building a lopsided snowman with him in the few weeks before they went to Heaven. They had laughed and played together, and after they all felt frozen, his mother warmed him up with homemade chicken noodle soup and wrapped warm blankets around him until he was snug and content.

He'd felt happy. He'd felt loved.

He figured Uncle Josh would be too busy to play with him in the snow. His uncle always worked, and when he didn't, a lot of the time he was tired. Daniel missed how safe and loved he had when his parents were alive. His heart craved the closeness of having a happy family again.

Daniel understood his parents were gone and would never be back. But in his heart, he knew they still watched over him and did their best to take care of him, even though they were in Heaven. He smiled, visualizing them popping popcorn, singing songs, and playing games like freeze tag and hide and go seek with God and all of the other guardian angels. He'd bet that when God was 'it' he'd easily find wherever his parents and all of the other angels were hidden. It was probably one of the advantages of seeing all and knowing everything that was going on with everyone.

Lucky God.

He hoped that his parents and God were looking down at him now.

As Daniel gazed out into the shimmering snow, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and began to pray.

"Hi, God, it's me. I know you're taking good care of my parents and you're probably in the middle of playing a game or something, but I wanted to ask you a favor. I know you missed Mom and Dad and you had to have them with you instead of them being down here with me, and I understand that. After all, Mom and Dad are fun to be around. But, I wondered if there was any way you could send someone here with Uncle Josh and me. Uncle Josh works hard and he's a good guy, but it would be really cool if we had someone here that could take care of us. Sometimes Uncle Josh forgets things. He can't help it, and I know he's busy, so I'm not complaining. I just wish we had someone here to take care of us, love us and make us both happy again."

Daniel looked out into the cold, snowy night and suddenly saw a bright star flicker in the winter sky. His cold body became warm and it reminded him of when his parents would sandwich him between them so they all could have a three-way hug.

Knowing God and his parents would grant his Christmas wish, he suddenly felt a peace within his heart and big smile formed on his face.

Cover for Yummy Indulgences

2010-12-19T16:27:00.004-06:00

I wanted to share the cover for my upcoming release, Yummy Indulgences in January. Reese Dante did a great job capturing both heroes in the book. I love the cover and I hope y'all will too:)

Contest to win His Christmas Wish

2010-12-15T17:15:00.005-06:00

Hey y'all:)

I just finished my final edits for my Christmas story, His Christmas Wish. Whew!
It's due to be published the 21st of December. So, I decided to hold another contest to win a copy of it. All you have to do is send an email to andianderson@live.com with the word contest on the subject line. You have until 11:59 pm on the 20th to enter. I'll send the winner a copy of the book first thing on the 21st.

I've been fairly busy. I'm working on my current WIP and I hope to have it finished by the end of next week. I've read some really great Christmas stories this week. One of my favorites was The Naughty Ones by Shawn Lane. If you haven't read this book, don't hesitate any longer and buy it and read it soon!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Silver Publishing is Giving Away a Free Kindle!

2010-12-10T17:52:00.004-06:00

Silver Publishing is celebrating their 100th release and now you can reap the rewards!!

CELEBRATING OUR 100TH RELEASE!

On January 2011 we will be releasing our 100th book. Come celebrate with us! We’re giving away a Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology to one lucky winner. This contest will run from December 10, 2010 until January 1, 2011. DO NOT ENTER BEFORE THE 10TH. Entries before this date will be disqualified.

This contest is only open to US residents.

To enter the contest, please go to http://silverpublishing.info/contest and enter your name and email address. Don’t forget to answer the very simple question!

Good Luck to everyone!

Being sick, tons of cooking to do and home for the holiday

2010-11-22T17:47:00.007-06:00

I've been fighting the flu for a several days now. I am feeling a little better today, and I hope that I'm on the mend because of the amount of cooking I have to do in a couple of days.
We're going to Little Rock for Thanksgiving. We celebrate it with my mother and stepfather's family. It's always hectic, but in the end we have a good time. We'll be doing the Black Friday shopping early Friday morning and coming home Saturday morning. I'm already tired just thinking about it!
I haven't written any this week. Don't know if I'll get anything done tonight either. I'm still pretty excited about getting it done. I'm over halfway there, so hopefully it'll be done by next week.
I have had some good reviews on both A Realistic Romance and The Sweet One this week! Elisa read and reviewed A Realistic Romance and liked it (Yay) and Lily, Eyre, Ivan and others have read The Sweet One and liked it. I'm very happy about that. The Sweet One really does hold a very special place in my heart and I'm glad it's been liked.
If I don't see anyone before Thanksgiving, I hope everyone has a great one!
Take Care!

The Picture is of My Beloved Niece, Snow White, at the Pumpkin Patch last year. The pumpkin is bigger than she is!

Love is Love

2010-11-15T16:58:00.004-06:00

The Sweet One was released on Saturday. I admit that I was very nervous about its release because I both Noah and Micah hold a special place in my heart. Out of all of the books I've written, I wanted this book to have a positive message. At first, I was a little afraid of what some might think of a male Angel who fell in love the man he's been guarding over all of his life. But, then I realised that neither God nor anyone should think twice about it because Love is Love, regardless of gender, age or race. Love is the most precious gift that God has given us, so he rejoices in anyone who accepts this gift and falls in love with another.
I've been thrilled with the positive responses I've got from readers that has read this book. I'm so glad that people have gotten the message and feel happy when they finish the story.
So, no matter what critics or what other people may say against it, I'm happy that most people will like it and embrace the message it gave.

Win a Free Copy of The Sweet One!

2010-11-09T18:17:00.003-06:00

I'm very excited about my upcoming release, The Sweet One this Saturday! I'm so thrilled about it's release I'm going to hold a contest to win a free copy of it. I'm going to run the contest until Midnight on Friday night and will pick the winner Saturday morning.
If you are interested in winning a free copy of it, please email me at andianderson@live.com with The Sweet One under the subject.
Good Luck and Happy Reading!

Here is the offical blurb to The Sweet One:

Since the beginning of time Noah has guarded over many souls. He has always followed the rules by never getting emotionally involved with the souls he watches over. He is to supervise their lives and report any misdeeds they have done to Him. At the end of their time on Earth, he is to guide them into the afterlife and to their justly rewards, wherever that place may be. Noah has always excelled at being the best of the best…that was until the Sweet One was born. The minute Micah Thompson was took his first breath; Noah felt an emotional connection with him that he had never felt before.

Throughout Micah’s childhood and early teenaged years, Noah would briefly show himself and comfort Micah whenever Micah was sad or just had a bad day. Noah’s soothing presence always made Micah feel better. One day Noah decided Micah was getting too attached to him, so he never appeared to Micah again, but he always watched over him and loved him from afar.
Micah is now a popular kindergarten teacher. He’s had some boyfriends, but always compares them to his Angel he saw as a child, and so his relationships never work out. One day on his way home, his Angel interferes with Micah’s destiny and it changes both of their lives forever.

The Golden Years are the Hardest

2010-11-08T18:01:00.006-06:00

My Grandmother once told me that Getting Old wasn't for sissies. After today I believe her. We met with my Grandmother and discussed her moving in with us. She has a severe eye disease and is losing her eyesight and had a bad scare driving last week. Once she gives up driving she'll lose her independence even more than she already has.
At first she thought we asked her to move in out of pity. This is not the case. Before I met my husband, she and I lived together. When my grandfather passed away, she needed help with the bills and I moved in and stayed with her for years. I really love her and enjoy her company. These past years has been hard on me because I know she's miserable where she's at, so I'm relieved that she's agreed to move in at the first of the year.
The hardest part about today was watching her cry. She told me that she sometimes thinks that she has outlived her usefulness and doesn't want to be a burden on anyone. I hope that after today's talk, she believed my husband and I when we told her differently.
It's going to be my mission to make her feel better about herself. Her remaining years should be happy ones, not miserable and lonely ones. She's been a great grandmother to my sister and I. It's time to give her all the love and acceptance she's always given me all these years.
As you can tell the picture I posted is very old! My Grandmother is wearing the big glasses, I'm in the Cloverdale shirt, mother is beside me. My cousins are in front of Grandmother and me. Ashley is the small one on the bottom. We had some great times back then and it's time to make more good times like those were.

In case you're wondering, Chocolate Milk will put out engine fires after all...

2010-11-01T19:10:00.013-05:00

We had an exciting weekend. We decided to go see my mother and niece Friday and stay until late Saturday night. Because Little Rock chose to celebrate Halloween on Saturday night, we had a chance to see our niece Snow White in her Halloween costume.
On the way to Little Rock, my husband's GMC Jimmy started acting a little funny. The gear started slipping and suddenly there was this sickening burning smell. Suddenly, the vehicle was filled with smoke and when we immediately pulled over, we realized the engine was on fire.
Luckily, we had earlier stopped and both got ourselves a drink, so we ended up pouring Chocolate Milk and Diet Coke on it and after my husband unhooked the battery, the fire stopped. We had to call the police for a report for the insurance company, and my parents to pick us up, so we were stranded on the side of the interstate for two hours.
NOT FUN!
We're currently waiting on what the insurance company is going to do. Because the Jimmy is over ten years old, we're not sold on sinking a lot of money into it to get it running again. The one thing we will invest in is a fire extinguisher for the car. If we didn't get that fire under control that could have been very dire for us and possible someone else as well.

On a positive note, we did get to spend time with our amazing niece and see her all decked out in her costume. NOTE THE STRIPED SOCKS! LOL!
She wasn't in complete costume when we took these pictures. They were going to a Halloween party, and my sister felt because of Snow White being 3, the finishing touches should be put on at home. As you can tell, she went as Belle and used the costume she got when she was at the Bibbibobidiboo boutique in Disney World.

I started my Valentine's day story and it's coming along much faster than my Christmas story did. I'm pretty excited about this one, and I'm anxious to get it submitted.
I hope y'all have a great week ahead:)

The Sweet One

2010-10-22T15:36:00.003-05:00

YAY! I'm so excited! Reese Dante cover artist extraordinaire did a phenomenal job on the cover to my upcoming release, The Sweet One.
Silver Publishing asked me early on what I wanted my cover to look like. Reese not only listened to what I wanted, but she knocked it up a notch and made the cover look beyond my expectations.
Thank you, Reese! I love it!! :)

Purple is my favorite color

2010-10-21T00:55:00.004-05:00

I wore my purple proudly yesterday. Since we're only supposed to wear black and white at the school, I was promptly sent home for breaking dress code.
It ticked me off, but at least I got to state my case before I left. It's hard living in a small southern town. A lot of people are still very narrow minded about homosexual relationships, and any kind of alternative lifestyle that other people have.

It angrily frustrates me.

There was a gay teenager on Fort Smith that was suspended for wearing a Gay Pride t-shirt. Here is the news report, reported by KFSM the local newcast up here.

Fort Smith couple demanded change Wednesday after they say their 15-year-old daughter was suspended for wearing clothes that support gay pride. The teen's parents say a t-shirt cost the Ramsey Junior High School student three days suspension.

The teenager wore a t-shirt to school Tuesday with phrases like "100% gay pride," "proud to be a lesbian," and "support homosexual love" written on it. The teen's father, David King, said, "It's not profane. It's not vulgar and if it offends somebody they need to get over it."

King says administrators asked his daughter to change the shirt, but when she refused she received a three day suspension. "I'm not a homosexual rights activist. I don't agree with it, but just because I don't agree with something doesn't make it wrong," said King.

The Fort Smith School District would not comment specifically about the incident, but did confirm they suspended a student at Ramsey Junior High School for insubordination. "If they refuse to change their clothes the issue then becomes not what they're wearing, but their response to the direction from the school administrator," said Dr. Gordon Floyd, Deputy Superintendent for Fort Smith Public Schools.

District leaders say students have the right to express themselves through clothing, but if it disrupts school it is not allowed. "There's just a line between expressing yourself and doing so in such a manner that becomes a disruptive in the school," said Dr. Floyd.

School leaders say if a student is suspended he or she cannot make up the work. David King and his wife officially filed a complaint with the school involving the incident.

Not only are these views ignorant but they're dangerous, too. I still dream of a day wear people aren't bullied and frowned upon because of who they love.

It's a good dream and I'm holding onto it.

Snow White and her special day

2010-10-15T23:45:00.004-05:00

Recently three year old niece, Snow White, was taken to Disney World for the first time. While she was there, she luckily met all of her favorite Disney characters.
Of course, her dream is to be a Disney Princess. Lucky for her, Disney has a several ways for little girls to be a Disney princess for a day.

Snow White got to be part of the Bibbidibobadeboo Salon. As part of the program, she got to pick out the dress she wanted to wear, the hair style she wanted, and how she wanted them to do her makeup. After she was made up at the salon into a beautiful Princess, she got to have breakfast with all of the real Disney princesses in Cinderella's castle. Afterward, while she was at Magic Kingdom, she was called Her Majesty and Princess (her name) by all of the employee's there.

My sister said that Snow White was on cloud nine all day long.

I think it's great that for one day, Snow White really thought she was a Princess. Wouldn't we all like to have a day like that?

Eight years ago today

2010-10-12T18:35:00.007-05:00

Today is my wedding anniversary and we're spending it apart. He's working and
I'm home and writing. It's unfair, but bills must be paid.
It's been a great eight years!

October 20th is a day of Honor

2010-10-08T23:56:00.002-05:00

It’s been decided. On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes at at their schools. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools.

RIP Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase, Billy Lucas and Cody J. Barker (picture not shown). You are all loved.

REBLOG to spread a message of love, unity and peace.

Whew! Is it only Tuesday night?

2010-09-28T18:03:00.008-05:00

It's been a busy week. I've been overwhelmed with tests, haircuts, father in law's health, reading, reviewing and writing on my Christmas story, His Christmas Wish...WHEW! I'm already tired and it's not even October!

I thought I would share a picture of one of my heroes, Carter...okay it's really Nate Berkus, but Carter looks like him. Isn't Nate a cutie pie? He is so adorable and he seems super nice, too. Carter is a little nerdier than Nate AND he wears glasses.

I hope y'all are all having a great week! I know I'm on the countdown to Shawn Lane's newest release, The Beach House, on Saturday. It's going to be my reward for working hard and getting a lot of writing done this week. :)

Have a great night:)

I can't believe it's already Sunday!

2010-09-26T11:40:00.006-05:00

It's been a crazy week here. It seems like I've had to do things twice to get things right.
My Father-in law continues to struggle with poor health and we've been trying to talk my Grandmother into moving by us. Talk about stubborn!

Not a lot of news with me. I've been pounding away at my Christmas story that will be published the 22nd of December by Silver Publishing. (Yay!) It's called His Christmas Wish and I'm pretty determined to get it done and submitted within the next week or so.
Then I'm starting my Valentine story, which I think will be the beginning of a series I've been flirting with. The pretty man pictured above is definitely an inspiration! He looks like he needs his happy ending next doesn't he?

Now I just have to find the time to get it all done before the deadline. UGH!

Thank You!

2010-09-15T19:16:00.005-05:00

I can't believe my newest book, A Realistic Romance, is finally released! I'm very excited and anxious about it. In a way, this feels like it's my baby. It definitely holds a special meaning for me. It's the second book I wrote and it's also a story that I had thought about writing for a long time; even before my first book Got Mistletoe? was written. I remember sitting with my sister, Ashley, and discussing the characters and the story itself. Ashley even came up with Merrick's name. (Kudos to my sis on that one)
Originally, it was supposed to be a M/F romance, but then I realized that I should write what I love to read the most which is homoerotic romances and Samuel Meriwether was born.

I really hope that those of you who will read this book will like it. I know I'm still a newbie at all of this writing and publishing stuff, but I'm particularly proud of my boys and I hope I wrote them a story that served them well.

Here is the official blurb:

Merrick Kitchi was once a famous rock and roll star. Now at the ripe old age of thirty-two, he‟s quickly becoming a has-been in the fickle music industry. Desperate to rise to the top again, he agrees to meet with some network executives to discuss participating in a reality television show. To his dismay, he finds out his roommate, Samuel Meriwether, is not only the sexiest thing he‟s ever seen on two legs, but he‟s gay as well. This is a problem for Merrick, who has kept his homosexuality a secret. Desperate to be a household name again, he agrees to become roommates with the sexy Sammy, vowing to keep his hands and his secret to himself.
No one is more surprised than Samuel when he is chosen to be roommates with the sexy Merrick Kitchi. He‟s not sure what a gay librarian and a womanizer like Merrick will have in common, but he‟s willing to give it a shot. Soon Samuel realizes there‟s more to Merrick than meets the eye and not only do they become good friends, but there‟s an attraction between them that neither man can deny. As their feelings and attraction to each other grows, will Merrick be able to step out of the closet and into the light, or will fear of the unknown keep him deep inside?

Thanks to all of my friends who have been supportive throughout this past year. Y'all are the best!

A Realistic Romance

2010-09-11T11:27:00.002-05:00

Hey Y'all!

I just got my cover for A Realistic Romance that will be published by eXtasy books! I'm very happy with it and I had to share it will you!:)

It's Only A Year...

2010-09-08T00:40:00.004-05:00

I have something I want to share with y'all. I've made it no secret that in my neck of the woods the economy is still terrible. There are NO jobs out there and my poor husband has had to work over sixty hours a week to make ends meet. After being off of work for over a year, my husband and I sat down and tried to come up with a game plan. We decided one of us needed to go back to school. Since he is the main breadwinner, it has fallen on me to (at 41) go and learn a new trade of some kind.
When I was much younger, I flirted with the idea of becoming a beautician. Since the course is just under a year, I decided to give it a go.

Yesterday was my first day of school. In a class of 23 students I'm the oldest by far. That's a little odd, but I'll survive it. Most of my fellow classmates are nineteen. NINETEEN! I'm old enough to be their Momma! UGH! School went pretty good. I just finished homework *cringe* and I'm giving myself some computer time so I can relax and get ready for bed.

I wanted y'all to know because if you don't see me or Daisiemae around as much, you'll know why. I'm still going to read and review books, but I'll be slower at getting them done. Plus, I've got a Christmas story to complete for Silver Publishing by the end of the month, so I'm going to be swamped with getting that done too! My Christmas story is scheduled to be published on the 22nd of December,so I'll have a new release for three months in a row! I'm very excited about that! :)

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day holiday:)

Happy Reading:)

I'm so Happy!

2010-08-31T22:02:00.007-05:00

I received some great news this evening. Silver Publishing has contracted my newest manuscript 'Yummy Indulgences' and it's going to be published January 8, 2011! YAY! This is the second book I'll have published through them. I've loved being a part of their company, and look forward to *hopefully* having many more books published with them.
Both of my heroes look a lot like the pictures I've uploaded. The above picture is Charlie David. He's the very sexy gay actor that I modeled my working class hero, Allen, from. Below is just a picture I found of a very sweet young man. When I found this picture I knew immediately that I had to write a character that looked as pretty and as sweet as this young man looks. Shiloh looks almost identical to him, except he is a sexy older version of him.

I'm currently working on a Halloween themed story. This has been kind of a stretch for me, but I've really enjoyed working on it, and I'm hoping that it will be my best book yet. My plan is to get at least two or three chapters done by the end of the weekend. I don't know if I'll make it, but it should be fun getting there!

It's only Tuesday?!

2010-08-10T00:47:00.007-05:00

I'm trying to do some deep cleaning this week. I admit I'm not a fan of housework. My house is never spotless, but we always keep things picked up. We definitely have a comfortable, lived in look. But, it's time to do some deep cleaning so that's going to occupy my time for the next day or so.

Hopefully in the next day or so, I'm going to tweak up my Yummy Indulgences story to get ready to send it to the publisher. I'm pretty excited about this story. I really enjoyed writing it, and I love my heroes, I hope everyone else will feel the same.

After I do that I plan on writing a Halloween themed story to submit to Silver Publishing. I'm playing with several ideas and doing some research, so I'm hoping to start getting that started by next week. I also have another Christmas story I want to write, I just have to find the time to do it!

My friend Devon Rhodes ,has a new release with Total E-bound books Monday. It's called,Sex on Summer Sabbatical, so please check it out!
Even though it's a M/F book *We still love you Devon* *wink*you know when you read one of Devon's books the hero is always going to be sexy as hell and the sex scenes are going to be Smokin' hot! I know I can't wait to read it:)

A step in the right direction

2010-08-04T18:05:00.004-05:00

YAY! Finally a federal judge has ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional! Hopefully the Court of Appeals will rule the same. We'll keep on fighting until everyone has the freedom to marry who they chose.

Great News!

2010-08-03T13:36:00.007-05:00

I got some very Good News yesterday!
I don't know if y'all remember me talking about my book The Sweet One several months ago. Yesterday I got the happy news that a very upcoming publishing company, Silver Publishing, wants to publish it. YAY! I'm even more pleased that I've already been given the release date of November 13th of this year.
I'm honored to be published with some other authors that are definitely some of my favorites!

I've been revamping my Work in Progress, Yummy Indulgences. I'm also in the mist of writing a Halloween and possibly a Christmas story, but both are going rather slow right now.

I hope y'all are all doing great and have had a fun summer. It's been so miserably hot here, I'm really ready for it to cool off and for it to be fall again.

UGH!

2010-05-18T13:58:00.005-05:00

Not a lot has been going on with me. I've been bothered by self doubt and stress over doing a good job with my writing. I wonder if that gets any easier. Do we build more self confidence in our abilities as we gain experience and get older and wiser?

I have a lot of writing to do, and very little time to do it. I keep writing, re-reading, re-checking and writing over what I've done. UGH! I think I'm working myself up too much, but I'll get it done or kill myself trying to do it.

I hope it gets easier as time rolls on!

Happy Birthday Drew!

2010-05-09T18:30:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Drew!
I'm sorry that my birthday greeting is late! I just got home today and I finally have signal again! YAY!
May you have many happy years to come! Happy Birthday!

I'll be back

2010-05-02T18:09:00.006-05:00

I don't know if you've heard, but Arkansas has been hit by tornados two days in a row. It hit the East End community twice and has destroyed a church, homes and taken lives. I grew up and spent half of my life in that community.
My mother still lives there, and was lucky enough to escape the tornados path. Twice.
I'm going to away for a few days because I'm going to my mother's house to spend some time with her and see if there is anything I can do in my old community and to be perfectly honest, to hug my mother's neck.
I really need to write, but right now I need to see my mother more.
This could have ended up a lot differently.
Thank God it didn't!

I'll probably be away for several days. I'll let you know when I'm back.

Y'all have a great week.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

2010-04-23T20:02:00.003-05:00

It's done nothing but rain all day. According to the weatherman, tomorrow promises for much more. UGH! It's been so pretty outside all week, but now that it's hit the weekend, it looks drab and dreary.

Not much is going on this weekend. Chris and I are going out tomorrow morning to get groceries, other than that, it's going to be a nice and relaxing weekend at home.

Y'all have a great weekend!

Charlie always makes me feel better

2010-04-22T20:40:00.004-05:00

I keep seeing on the news that the recession is over. I find that hard to believe because here in the backwoods of Paris, Arkansas is still feeling the sting of hard times. Everyone I know is struggling to make ends meet. I, myself have been looking for a job for several months now, and despite submitting countless resumes, have yet to get an interview. Chris said that maybe it's different in other bigger cities and states, but I'm not so sure. I really don't believe it, so I'm curious if my friends here have seen any changes in the cities and states you live in.

Chris is working an extra day today to get some overtime. Thank goodness his job does allow overtime sometimes, or we'd be in trouble. Since I'm alone again tonight, I'm going to work on Allen and Shiloh's story. That ought to cheer me up!

Here's a picture of Allen...I mean Charlie David! Looking at him always makes me feel better:)

Y'all have a great night!

"Spells", Shawn Lane, Writing and Sexy Heroes

2010-04-21T18:58:00.008-05:00

I've had an interesting week. My 82 year old Grandmother had a "spell" last week. After taking her to the hospital that "spell" was a minor heart attack. She is the type of person that could be on her death bead, and still want to cook and please everyone. She is one of the strongest women I know, so when she says that she had a "spell" then we know something is wrong.

After surgery, she's doing much better. I wanted to stay with her a few more days, but she insisted that I come home. The only reason I agreed was because my mother is now there with her, otherwise I would have been as stubborn as she is and just parked it at her house anyway.

When I got home last night, I really re-read one of my blue collar stories and totally hated it. So, I threw it out and started over. Last night I wrote a little over four thousand words and tonight I hope to do close to the same. I'm very happy with how this one is turning out, and is totally in love with my heroes Allen and Shiloh.

Allen is my blue collared worker. He's a supervisor at a rendering plant, and has worked there for 15 years. Because he lives in a small town, he's very discreet about his homosexuality and because of that, he has closed himself off emotionally from others in the process. When I started envisioning Allen my mind immediately went to an actor named Charlie David. He stars in Dante's Cove and admittedly isn't the best actor in the world, but he sure is nice to look at.

Shiloh owns a bakery and is very out about his sexuality. He's fun and flirty and the minute Allen comes into his store to order his parents anniversary cake, sparks fly and the hormones start raging! But, with Allen being in the closet, this will cause problem between the two men. Not to mention problems Allen will have if he comes out at work.

I admit I surf the web a lot. I'm always looking for ideas and when I come across pretty or interesting men, I usually save their picture and put it under my inspirational men file. This picture of a young man struck me for some reason. I don't know if it's the sweetness in his face or the lost look in his eyes that called out to me. Yes, he's very young, but when I saw him Shiloh was born. Just add about ten years and he's the perfect Shiloh.

I'm really excited about this story. I'm anxious to get it done. Shiloh has been bugging me for a while now. He's even more persistent than Sidney, and believe me, that says a lot! I think this book will be a longer one than I've written in the past. Both men have a lot to say and I think it'll be a fun ride watching it come together.

I want to thank Shawn Lane for my interview last Friday. I had a great time answering her questions, especially about Jack. *wink* I also read both Only in his Dreams and Only for Him and fell in love with this series. If you haven't read them yet, you should. They were awesome and Barnaby will be a favorite character of mine. I can't wait until next Only book comes out!

Y'all have a great night!

Shawn's Meme

2010-04-12T21:05:00.004-05:00

I had a good day today. It was one of those slow and easy days. I've sat around and gave myself permission to read some. One of the bad things about writing is it cuts into my reading time, so it was really nice to read a few books.

I'm planning on doing some more writing tonight, but I've been struggling with finishing the current book I'm reading. I keep losing interest in it, and I'm about to abort it and maybe try again another time.

Since Devon tagged me with Shawn's Meme, here are my answers ;)

Book I am most looking forward to in 2010: I'm not really looking forward to specific books, just books by my favorite authors. Right now I'm waiting impatiently for Shawn's newest book, Only for Him, to be released.

Book I read again and again and never seem to tire of: Hell by Jet Mykles, The Curtis Reincarnation by Zathyn Priest and Where Flows the Water by Sean Michael, The Tin Star by J.L. Langley and Lawyers in love by Shawn Lane about a thousand times. It's easy because I have them all in paperback and read them before I go to bed.

First M/M book I ever read: The first gay interaction I read was Something More by Amanda Young. I loved the two heroes in the book and never understood why they added the girl. LOL The first actual gay romance I read was either The Tin Star by JL Langley or the Heaven Sent series. I can't remember which one was first.

Last M/M book I read: The last book I completed was Talk Dirty to Me by Jack Greene, I'm currently reading An Unexpected Vintage by Andrew Grey, but I'm having trouble getting into it.

First M/M book I wrote: Got Mistletoe?

Last M/M book I wrote: My last completed book was A Realistic Romance

Work in Progress: No titles yet. I'm working on Dave and Chase's story as well as Shiloh and Benjamin's books. They are my two blue collared worker stories. I'm also working on Samuel's brother, Sidney's, story as well as my may/december romance with Jack and Riley's story called, Angel's Redemption.

First Book I wrote: My best friend from High School and I used to write books (over a hundred pages by hand) about both of us having a romance with John Taylor and Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran. I wrote at least a hundred of those! I read them now and wonder what in the world I was thinking...not about Math that's for sure!

First Book I Published: Got Mistletoe?

First M/M Book I Published: Got Mistletoe?

Will I ever write another M/F book: A Realistic Romance started out as a M/F romance. I aborted it when I fell in love with Gay romances. When I started to visualize Samuel with Merrick I re-wrote it as a gay romance. I have no intention of ever writing M/F romances because I don't read them anymore and I want to write what I love.

Favorite gay porn sites: Brent Corrigan's site (Blame Jack for that one) I've watched youporngay.com a lot. I pay for Brent's but youporngay is free!

Favorite Heroes Someone Else Wrote: Hell from Heaven Sent, Alec Tyler from The Curtis Reincarnation, Kevin from Car Wash, Oliver from Bound by Deception, Keegan from Ero's Rising, Ren Boone from ReneCade, Sidney from Murder by Design, Keaton with Without Reservation, Aiden from My Fair Captain and Will from Handyman.

Favorite Heroes I Wrote: Ryan from Got Mistletoe, Sidney from A Realistic Romance and I have a feeling that Sidney and Riley will be a favorite.

Looking at my previous two answers I think I must be attracted to the pretty boys that aren't quite beta. LOL

Y'all have a great night! I'm going to try to finish this book and get some writing done.

My Little Rant on a Beautiful Day

2010-04-11T17:44:00.009-05:00

What a beautiful day it is today! It's been hard staying inside and pounding away at my keyboard today. I've written about two thousand words on one of my blue collared labor stories, and I plan on writing more tonight.

One story will be about Chase and David. Chase is an emergency room RN and Dave is a mechanic. Chase has been out of the closet for years. He's recently gotten out of a bad relationship and is looking for a man who isn't ashamed to be seen and to be out and proud with him. Enter Dave, who has lived firmly in the closet all of his life. Dave knows that if he gives into his desires he will be disowned by many family members and friends. Once Chase and Dave meet, sparks fly and both men have to decide if their love is worth fighting for.

When I've pictured Chase in my mind, I've thought of Paul Walker. Paul has been in several movies, but he's best known as being in the Fast and Furious movies. There is something sexy about him, not to mention he has that boy next door quality about him that I absolutely love!

Dave has been a harder character for me. He's older than Chase and has had a rough family life and a tough time keeping his attraction for men under wraps all of his life. Chris and I watched Road House the other day and once I saw Sam Elliot, Dave was born. There is something about Sam's tough exterior, including that sexy voice that makes him the perfect example of male heterosexuality. Personally, I think he's even sexier once I thought of him being with another man; especially Chase!

I just read Still the One by Shawn Lane. I LOVED IT! My good friend Jack and his wonderful partner Shayne have both pointed out that I need to continue reviewing books on goodreads. I admit that I've been very slack at writing reviews. It's not that I don't want to write them, but finding the time and well having my own book on the chopping block has made me Leary of reviewing. It's not that some people didn't like it because not every book will appeal to everyone, it's the way it's reviewed and said that is often hurtful and sometimes downright mean.
So after much thought, I've decided to try to review at least a couple of books a week. I'm making it a goal of mine to make sure and point out good things about the book,even if it's not a favorite of mine. Since some of the reviews on there have been spiteful and just cruel, and as Jack and Shayne pointed out, it's time for us more positive people to keep reviewing and block out the people who constantly write negative things about books they supposedly love.

For those who are on goodreads, I heartily recommend becoming friends with Erotic Horizon and Lily. Both of them are outstanding and fair reviewers. They are not spiteful and even when they aren't crazy about a book they've read, are tactful about it. It's apparent that both of them actually love what they do and what they read and I know when I read a review by either of them, it will be fair, entertaining and unbiased.

There are several other friends I have on goodreads that write great reviews. Eyre, Maggie, Shayne (Yes you Shayne), Jack, Drew and Lindsay. I'm hoping they will start showing up more often and reviewing more books, too. After all Lily and Erotic Horizon can't do it all by themselves! LOL!

I've decided to put my money where my mouth is and try to show up on Goodreads more often. Shayne pointed out that there has been some negativity there, but instead of giving into it, banding together with other positive friends and make it fun again. So, I'm going to join Jack and Shayne and make an effort to make it a more positive place.

Now, I'm taking a few hours off and I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine! Y'all have a great rest of the night and a great week!

Weekend Plans

2010-04-09T17:24:00.005-05:00

I've been visiting with some family this week. Ashley and Snow White spent a couple of nights with us and we had a great time! The bad thing about company is that I haven't wrote a single word this week! Now I've got to play catch up, but it'll be worth every second because I really enjoyed their company.

I mailed my contract for A Realistic Romance out to Extasy books and now I'm waiting to hear from them. I'm sure I'll be getting some edits soon, and hopefully I'll have a release date for y'all pretty soon as well.

I've got three books I'm working on. Two Blue Collared Hero books and my book about Samuel's brother Sidney. I've got to get a system together where I work on them equally, which will be easier said that done because I am not the greatest at keeping organized sometimes. I'm determined to give it a shot though.

Chris is dragging er...taking me to a car show in the morning. I enjoy going to them sometimes, but I'm not in the mood to go. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll feel differently about it, especially if it's as pretty a day tomorrow as it has been today.

I am reading one book this weekend.

Shawn Lane will have a new book out from Amber Quill Press this weekend called Still the One. YAY! It's a continuation of Malcolm and Dusty's story. I'm pretty excited to read that. Otherwise I plan on doing a lot of writing.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Happy Reading!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T14:05:00.005-05:00

Well I've been a bad girl this weekend. I haven't written a single word. I think I might be suffering from Spring Fever! I can't resist being outside, even if it's just to sit and watch my husband work on the car.

Chris works tonight, and we live over two hours away from our nearest relative, so we don't really have a chance to celebrate Easter like a lot of people do. I admit, I do miss the big family gatherings we used to have on Easter, but we haven't done that in a long time. With no children, it's almost like another day for us. I did tell Chris a couple of days ago, that sometimes I feel cheated because since we will never have children, we never will get to experience being the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus. I guess that's what being a good Aunt and Uncle is for. I hope Ashley will send some Easter pictures of Snow White. If she does, you know I'll have to post them and share them with my friends here.

I've had a pretty busy day today. I put a lot of books up on Ebay and they've all sold. So I'm packing them up to ship them out. Later, I plan to put up even more. Since I'm not a paperback reader any more, I'm trying to get rid of books that I've held on to for years and never read anymore. It's a chore, but I'll be glad when most of them are gone. It's time to let someone else enjoy them for a while.

I hope everyone has a great Easter! Have a great day!

I'm going out into the Sunshine!

2010-04-03T15:58:00.006-05:00

It is so beautiful outside. I really should be writing today, but between the sunshine, the spring flowers blooming and the arrival of the first hummingbird I just can't resist being outside any longer!

I'm going to hopefully write some tonight. Have a great Saturday!

Great News for Merrick and Samuel!

2010-04-01T20:33:00.006-05:00

For the past couple of days, I've been floating on cloud nine. As y'all know, I've been hoping that Merrick and Samuel's story, A Realistic Romance, would find a good home. I'm very proud to say that Extasy books offered me a contract for it, in which I happily accepted it.

I really think I'm going to enjoy being part of the Extasy family. I've been impressed by the way they've communicated with me and I'm very excited to start a new venture with them.

Once we get through all the legal stuff, I hope I'll be getting my edits so we can get a release date. Of course, I'll keep y'all informed of everything as it happens!

So, I'm planning on writing about Samuel's brother, Sidney, in the very near future. I'm still working on my blue collar books which is coming along nicely too!

I want to thank everyone for being supportive and has encouraged me to continue to write and keep trying. I truly have the best Internet friends around! I don't know if I could have done it without you!

Sometimes I need to be reminded...

2010-03-28T18:26:00.007-05:00

I saw this picture of Adam Lambert on Face book and I had to share it because I really liked it. He's definitely taking glam rock to whole other level! Plus, he's an inspiration to a character I'll be working on real soon. :)

Not a lot has been going on this past week. The weather has been beautiful, which was nice. Chris and I splurged and went to see Hot Tub Time Machine Friday night. It was interesting seeing how different we are now, especially with technology, than we were in the early eighties. It's hard to believe that we survived without cell phones and internet!

It was a funny movie, but of course I enjoyed looking at John Cusack more than anything. *wink* I think he'd be great with Samuel's brother Sidney. John is almost like the boy next door, I bet it wouldn't take a lot to make him a little nerdy...hmmm....

I admit I've had the hum-drums this week. It's been hard to stay motivated for some reason. I don't know, maybe we all get this way at one time or the other. Then suddenly Chris does something that reminds me how lucky I am. Out of nowhere he picked some daffodils and wildflowers this afternoon and brought them to me. It reminded me that no matter what, I know I can always rely on him in the end.

AND Shawn Lane wrote a short about Kevin and Michael from Car Wash! If you haven't' read it, you should go over there and check it out! It was great! Here is the link if you are interested http://smlgr8.blogspot.com/2010/03/kevins-interlude.html .

I still haven't heard anything from any of the publishers. Of course I check my inbox a thousand times a day! I've been told the waiting is the hardest part, and I certainly believe that. UGH!

I'm going to start my blue collar book this week. I've been hashing out a plot in my mind, so hopefully it'll go really smooth!

Sick husband means no writing

2010-03-16T14:26:00.006-05:00

I haven't been able to get much writing done this week. Chris is still not feeling good, and I've had to spend most of my time entertaining and taking care of him.

One good thing that has come from not being about to write is that I've been able to really think about my newest book. So instead of writing I've been doing a lot of research for both books I'm planning to submit to Amber Quill Press. I've even been able to start one of them and have written a little over five hundred words.

I hope tomorrow Chris will be feeling much better and I'll be able to get more progress than I've been able to do this week.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Y'all have a great day:)

Spring Forward

2010-03-13T15:59:00.008-06:00

Can you believe it's already time to spring our clocks forward? I don't know about y'all, but I've been ready for Spring for months! I've missed the colorful flowers and lush green leaves on the trees. I'm ready to break out some of my cute sandals and put away my clunky winter shoes! Woo Hoo!

It's been a busy week this week. My mother, Ashley and Snow White came over and spent a couple of days with us. It's amazing how fast my niece is growing! It was great having some quality time with them and as usual, time flies when we're all together. Lucky for us we'll be seeing them this coming Friday. We're all meeting at my Grandmother's house and spending the day with her. That will be a fun filled day for sure!

Unfortunately now, my husband Chris is sick. He's running a temperature and has a bad head cold. It must be going around because Ashley said that Snow White is sick, my mother-in-law is sick and I've read that Shayne is sick. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for everyone to have a speedy recovery really soon!

I haven't had any time to write this week. Staring tomorrow (hopefully) I'll be working on my two projects. I'm continuing to work on Angel's Redemption which is Jack and Riley's story and I'm starting a new book tomorrow. I'm planning on submitting at least two Blue Collared themed books to Amber Quill Press within the next couple of months. I've been brainstorming the storyline with my sister and Jack and I think I've got a good handle on what I'm going to write.

Now all I have to do is get it written and submitted. Whew! I'm already tired!

I will have to take time out to read Shawn Lane's newest book, Only in his Dreams, tomorrow. This is the first book in her highly anticipated "Only" series and I can't wait to read it! It's going to be great!

I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Eye Candy and Questions Answered

2010-03-09T12:15:00.004-06:00

I was surprised that all of you didn't get both answers correctly. Seems I'm a better liar than I thought! ;)

1. I was a cheerleader in junior high school. False. Ashley was the cheerleader.

2. I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. False. I was born in Pine Bluff, AR.

3. I met my husband Chris through a mutual friend of ours. False. I met him in the Little Rock Chat Room online.

4. I lost my beloved dog Daisiemae a few months ago. True.

5. I love to watch sports. FALSE. Hate it!

6. I hate to read gay romance novels. FALSE!

7. Up until this past year, I worked with Mentally Ill children. True! I worked as a MHPP for the past 11 years.

8. I won the lottery and is currently enjoying my millions. False. Darn it!

9. Our puppy Lily is a Border Collie. False. She's a Sheltie.

10. When I talk about Snow White I'm referring to my daughter. False! I keep trying to talk Ashley into giving Snow White to us, but she keeps refusing! (Wink)

Which two statements are true?

2010-03-07T17:52:00.004-06:00

Hey y'all:) I was tagged by Devon to do this, so here we go!
Two out of the ten statements will be the truth about me.

1. I was a cheerleader in junior high school.

2. I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

3. I met my husband Chris through a mutual friend of ours.

4. I lost my beloved dog Daisiemae a few months ago.

5. I love to watch sports.

6. I hate to read gay romance novels.

7. Up until this past year, I worked with Mentally Ill children.

8. I won the lottery and is currently enjoying my millions.

9. Our puppy Lily is a Border Collie.

10. When I talk about Snow White I'm referring to my daughter.

Since just about everyone I follow has already done this list, I have no one to pick, but Jack to do this. It's up to him whether he wants to participate or not:)
I'll post my answers Monday night. Y'all have a great night!

My week so far...

2010-03-03T01:26:00.012-06:00

I've read some really great books this week. If you haven't already, read From Afar by Ava March. It's a great Historical/Vampire/Gay story that's very fast paced and I loved it.

I also read Liquid Glass by Zathyn Priest and just like everything else he writes it was great!

I've done some writing of my own over the weekend. I'm currently working on two stories. One is about Sidney, who is Samuel's artistic/goth brother in A Realistic Romance. He's been really impatient to get his story told, but unfortunately for him, his partner to be is being strangely silent. I've been struggling with it some, but I know as soon as his partner starts talking it'll start flowing pretty easily.

The second story I've been working on is called Angel's Redemption. My friend and Shayne's partner, Jack, has been brainstorming this one with me. He loves a young man named Brent Corrigan and has wanted me to write something loosely based on him. As you can see he talked me into it!
For those who do not know who Brent Corrigan is, he is a popular gay porn superstar who has had a very interesting career in his young life.
So Riley is going to be quite a challenge to write. I plan on him being very redeemable and very lovable despite the mistakes he's made in the past. Of course, his future soul-mate and partner Jackson will have a lot to do with that.

Snow White has been sick. She's been running a low grade temperature and Ashley knows she is doomed to get it too! Chris has been working a lot of overtime to keep us a float. I'm just glad he really likes his job and doesn't seem to mind doing it that much. I've been looking for a job, but in Arkansas as in most places, they are few and far inbetween. I've put in several applications, and hopefully I'll be hearing something from someone soon!

In the meantime, I'll just write and enjoy what time I have left off.