Vixenwriter

For me, this has been a week of reflection. When I started on this road to “sort of see if writing seriously can work” I had no idea it would be like this. I’ve had wonderful successes and I’m so blessed in so many ways I honestly can’t comprehend it some days.

1. First and foremost I’m thankful for you all. An author could not possibly have a better, more supportive and enthusiastic group of friends/readers than I do. I would not be here without you and that’s the honest truth. Thank you for the notes of encouragement, the kind words you say here and elsewhere online, thank you for buying and reading my books!

2. My husband. For so many reasons, most of all because he is there at my side no matter what. Even through the rough patches he was there. He’s my best friend, my partner, my biggest fan and the father of my kiddos. All things he does exceedingly well.

3. My publishers. With EC and Samhain I have the freedom to write pretty much whatever I want. That is so huge, hell, I didn’t understand how huge it was until I started submitting to NY and realized most of us don’t have that kind of freedom there, especially as newbies. I’ve been able to push envelopes with my books and that’s incredibly satisfying. And Harlequin, wow, I’m going to be published with Harlequin!

4. My editors. Ann Leveille and Angie James kick ass. Marie with Whispers is also wonderful! Clicking with someone enough to trust them with your words and your voice is so important. Ann and Angie make me a better writer with every round of edits. I may not agree with every single change or suggestion they make but I’ll sure as hell take them seriously when I think about them because I respect them both immensely.

5. My parents. My mom and dad are in my corner no matter what I do. And they adore my kids and respect my life and choices. Seriously, that’s so important to me.

6. My friends - oh man, I don’t know what I would have done without them! I can’t express how much they mean to me. I’ve learned a lot in the last few years about what a true friend really is. I learned the hard way by being hurt by people who I thought were friends but weren’t there when I needed them more than once. I suppose the hardest lessons are the ones that hurt the most. But out of that I can see the people who are unflagging in their friendship - enough to pet me when I’m down and kick my ass if I get whiny.

7. My Kids - monsters each one, but dear, special little monsters who brighten my life even as they’ve probably taken a few years off it.

8. My success. My goodness, as I said above I didn’t have any idea and I’m so amazed and overwhelmed by how blessed I’ve been that people want to buy my books (publishers and readers) and that they seem to be liked and appreciated. I’m living my dream. I don’t know how many people can say that truly, I’m just amazed and thankful and giddy with it all.

9. Cupcakes - because what list is complete without that?

10. (ETA) My fabulous Agent, Laura Bradford. I can’t believe I didn’t list her yesterday! I simply adore her! She believes in me and I feel believed in and man oh man, that means a whole lot.

So today, Shelley Munro’s Fallen Idol releases from Ellora’s Cave! I got a sneak peek at it and I have to tell you it’s really wonderful. First of all, it’s futuristic. A rarity these days, sadly. And FI is well done and a part of her Sex Idol series.

It’s well done MM romance. Romantic but also realistic in that her male characters are not chicks in man suits! I hate it when I read men who do and say stuff, even gay men, who don’t sound like men at all but like my mom.

Anyway, the secks is steaming hot! The plot is well done, funny, sad, wistful in places even. Go on and grab it!

That’s taken from my front porch in about three seconds because it’s 15 degrees and I was cold! Not a lot of snow but just beneath it is ice. About three inches thick.

I know that folks from parts of the country who routinely see snow laugh at Seattleites when it snows here and everything simply stops. But we have steep hills and essentially no infrastructure for big snow storms like we had last night. And oh did we!

The problem wasn’t so much the snow as the three inch thick sheet of ice beneath it. I am so glad my husband worked from home yesterday because it took some people up to seven hours to get home from work last night. There was also a Seahawks game and apparently there are people STILL on the freeway trying to get home! They’ve closed the freeways on and off, people abandoned their cars and some people just slept in them at rest stops and park and rides!

Anyway, pretty much all schools in Western Washington are closed today so we’re all here, tucked up and warm. The kids are watching Ice Age and the wee monster is tormenting them. All is right with the world, LOL.

I get to keep my title for Threat of Darkness! Yay! This makes me very happy, I love that title. I’m 28 thousand words into Chased and starting something else in between that’s been stewing in my head for three months. But of course Chased is my priority (I promise Angie!). I lurve me some Marc Chase!

Okay, off to get a refill on my coffee!

I just got news from my editor at EC that they want to contract Threat of Darkness! Sadly, I may have to change the title but I’ve gotten less sentimental about my titles over time (after having to change them from time to time). This one is Jayce’s story and a menage.

No other info for now, I’ll know more as it goes on.

My poor husband is now the sickest person in the house as my daughter and I begin to feel better. I can breathe about 30% of the time and my throat doesn’t hurt nearly as much. I did throw the turkey in the oven yesterday, it seemed a waste not to. Shoved some garlic cloves into the skin and meat, basted it every 45 minutes to an hour. It turned out quite nice. I had plans to make potatoes au gratin with leeks but that was way more energy than I had so I’ll make them soon, perhaps with a roasted chicken.

Finished Born in Death, Valley of Silence and Cold as Ice in the last few days. I really liked the whole Nora trilogy. For me, it was far more paranormal than romance so I wasn’t as agitated by the balance tipped by story over romance. In fact I enjoyed it more that way. BID was, as always, a fabulous read. I’ve given up thinking that Nora is going to miss one day with this series and just accepted that she’s like the magic eraser (her and Elizabeth Lowell for different reasons) I think they’re magic, could be made through a compact with satan but they work perfectly so I don’t question what’s in them. I liked Black Ice better than Cold as Ice but they were both very enjoyable reads.

I’ve also gotten a lot of work done on Chased and I hit 23 thousand words earlier this afternoon. Uh, Marc has turned out to be kind of kinky. Yep. That first sex scene was fourteen pages long and took place in three different venues. This one is probably going to end up hotter than Giving Chase and Taking Chase but Marc has been a surprise to me and to Liv.

Still sick. Ugh. Darned germ factories! My kids have given me the third major illness since school started only this one appears to be the flu and my 5 and 2 year old are similarily affected, poor things.

Still, I have a lot to be thankful for other than stanky old dayquil and as tomorrow I hope to sleep this off or at least snuggle in bed with my family for most of the day, I thought I’d do Thankful Thursday on a Wednesday instead!

1. The release of Taking Chase

2. The release of Thrice United

3. Continuing to write and be able to sell what I finish, what a blessing that is!

4. On that note, selling Stripped to Spice! YAY!

5. Selling Ascension to Ellora’s Cave

6. Hitting the sweet spot on Chased

7. My fabulous friends who are a neverending source of support

8. My fabulous readers without which none of this would be possible. The notes you send me totally make my day!

9. My husband, who is, quite simply everything. Supportive, kind, gentle, giving, handsome, smart, funny, a great dad and pretty much good at everything he tries.

10. My family - kids, parents, family of my heart

11. My agent - who is just wonderful. I am sooo lucky to have someone like her in my corner.

12. Cupcakes!

13. Great books to read

14. Oh and pumpkin pie. Oh how I love me some pumpkin pie.

Y’all have a lovely Thanksgiving in the United States!

Cassie Gambol is on the run. In what seems like another lifetime, her ex-husband nearly ended her life and effectively ended her successful career as a vascular surgeon. But even though the justice system found him guilty of attempted murder, he fled while awaiting sentencing and Carly Sunderland became Cassie Gambol.

Fleeing Los Angeles, she heads to small and off the map Petal, Georgia to start her life again.

Shane Chase, a man who’s held himself away from commitment since his fiancée dumped him several years before knows the beautiful newcomer is hiding something. He’s wildly attracted to her strength and her underlying vulnerability as well.

But the last thing Cassie wants is another big, overwhelming man who wants to control her life. A battle begins between Shane, who knows what he wants and Cassie, who knows she needs to do everything she can to keep a distance between herself and the very handsome sheriff.

But Cassie’s ex is back and he wants her dead.

It all started with a deck of tarot cards. Holly knew she had some kind of magical gift but she had always been forbidden to even speak of it by her now-deceased mother. Alone and suddenly free to explore her curiosity, Holly spreads the cards and has a vision and the first piece of the puzzle falls into place.

But there’s no forgetting that she’s got a past and a lot of unanswered questions, and her ignorance is putting her at risk. It’s a journey that takes her from Seattle to New Orleans, where she confronts her past and embraces her future.

Two new releases coming tomorrow, chocolate in the mail and…..

Selling Stripped to Harlequin Spice for publication in an anthology called What Happens in Vegas to be published in spring of 2008 with Anya Bast, Jodi Lynn Copeland and Kit Tunstall! More of the details as we go along. I’m ridiculously thrilled and proud to be in an anthology with three of my fellow Ellora’s Cave authors and writing for a house like Harlequin too.

Dayquil is a nasty substance. Orange, viscous, blech! The only reason I take nyquil is that it knocks me out and gives me sleep of the dead. But dayquil has made me nausated and dizzy. Or eh, maybe the plague that’s infested my system has made me nauseated and dizzy and dayquil does nothing to impede the killing of every cell in my body. Doesn’t help that all three kids are home sick today although thank god they are all watching cartoons and not fighting for the moment.

I’m at the Samhain Cafe on and off this afternoon. Despite feeling slightly “on another plane of existence” ish today, it’s been fun. I’m fixin to give some more stuff away soon. Yahoo is lagging which is par for the course I suppose but only by about 20 minutes, which for them isn’t bad at all.

Both Taking Chase and Thrice United release tomorrow! I’m pretty thrilled when I don’t feel dizzy enough to fall out of my chair. Excerpts are up at my website if you’d like a sneak peek.

Oh and a nice surprise via an unexpected review for Taking Chase!

Maura at The Romance Studio gives Taking Chase 4 1/2 hearts and says in part: I really enjoyed my second trip to Petal. The inhabitants are friendly and quirky and the Chase brothers are definitely worth revisiting. Cassie is an incredibly vivid character and the reader will be able to see her progress both mentally and in her romantic life with Shane. I like the way she refuses to let anyone boss her around and the way she stands up to the very intimidating Shane. Shane has his own issues with trust, but he makes a big effort with Cassie, he becomes a much better person than in the last book. Polly is as colorful as ever and the suspense over whether the ex husband will finally find Cassie will keep the reader at the edge of her seat. I can’t wait for the next one!

Chosen at random by random.org is….

NJ Walters!

Congrats, NJ! Just email me with your title and format preference and I’ll get it your way.

Lauren

Today I’m sleeping on the futon in Milady Insanity’s Blog Guestrooom! I’m talking about locations/cities as characters in books. Oh and there’s a wee contest.

Head on over and say hello!