Surprises

Just when you think you have someone figured out, after decades of marriage, and they go and surprise you.

Yesterday my hubby suddenly announced he’d ordered something and had forgotten to pick it up. Did I want to go with him? (I had no clue what he was talking about and he didn’t offer any hints.) Um, no. I had other things to do. So off he goes. I figured it was just here in town, but 2 hours later he still wasn’t home. I was getting worried.

He finally pulls into the drive, admitting he’d gone to Tulsa. Yes, there’d been an accident – a 4 car pile-up – but luckily he wasn’t involved. Still didn’t tell me what he’d gone after. Whatever.

An hour later, while sitting in our recliners, he hands me an unwrapped small box. “It’s a really late Christmas and New Year’s present,” he states. What in the world? I pull the lid off, and there I find a silver business card case with what looks like wood and Mother of Pearl along the lower edge.

My name is engraved on the top.

My heart does a little flutter. How sweet. And thoughtful! He just sits there grinning, not saying much.

As most women do when buying a new purse, I have to look inside. Heck, I know it’s empty, but have to look anyway. Boy, was I surprised!

Engraved on the underside of the lid is: Grave Secrets, then Alaska Heat.

(The story I just sold and the one I’m polishing before I submit it for consideration.) THAT’S when I went all gushy!  Getting a card case is one thing. Having the names of my stories engraved on it is just SOOO romantic!

I still smile as I think about his thoughtfulness, even if he did forget about the gift after he’d bought it. Silly man.

Friday the 13th

Do you go running the other direction when a Friday the 13^th rolls around? Hide in your home or office, refusing to come out? Blame absolutely everything unpleasant that happens on what day it is? It won’t matter if you’re normally a clumsy person. If you trip and fall today, it’s only because today brings bad luck. Trust me, you aren’t alone.

Me? I embrace it. Yeah, I’m weird like that. You see, I grew up just down the road from a cemetery. I went past it almost every day of my life before I got married. Once, a black cat run out of the cemetery and across my path on a Friday the 13^th. Odd thing was, it seemed to bring me good luck. From then on, I look forward to a day that a lot of people dread.

However, I don’t have any major plans to go anywhere today…just work on my book. But I will tell you I’ll be wearing black. Hmm. Maybe I’m more superstitious than I thought, only bassackwards from everyone else.

Enjoy your Friday!!

It’s Mmmaagic!

I’ve mentioned on here a time or two about RWI’s unpublished contest. Even though I was the coordinator, I still wanted to enter. I had this really strong feeling it would be the last time I could, so I entered a couple of different stories. As it turned out, I was right about it being the last time. About a week after I entered, I received notification from The Wild Rose Press wanting Grave Secrets. As long as you haven’t sold before you enter the contest, you’re still eligible. Boy, was that good timing!

Let me explain our rules…members DO NOT judge fellow members. No ifs, ands or buts. So the people judging me had no idea whose story it was. I’m happy to say, my story, THE LAST REFUGE finaled in the Sensual Series category. Not only that, but it {drum roll} came in FIRST! Yep, I finally got a gold Magic pin. J I jumped up and down with joy when I found out. On top of that, the editor loved the story so much she requested the Full. I was blown over!

So while waiting to get the edits back from my editor at TWRP on GRAVE SECRETS, I worked like crazy polishing THE LAST REFUGE. I can guarantee you I’ll have that baby squeaky clean before sending it in.

Wish me luck.

Trippin’ Along

After wrapping up the unpublished contest for RWI, my hubby and I took off for Colorado for a few days of much needed R&R. it was really nice. Took our time getting there and coming back. Stayed in South Fork, a small town about an hours drive east of Wolf Creek Ski Resort. We had a full kitchen, dining room, etc. Didn’t have to eat out every night.

We did make day trips out from there. Where we stayed was at the base of Del Norte Peak and we hiked up it the day before we left. Well, guess I should clarify. We drove as far up as we could (13 miles worth), THEN did some hiking.

And only then until we got to the snow line. I just wasn’t in the mood to tromp through the mud and snow. But we got a couple of pictures of the area. Had some great views coming down.

One day we drove over to Lake City. Check out the view from their city park. Isn’t that gorgeous?

Went over the Continental Divide so had to get some pictures of the snow.

My hubby was running around in a t-shirt. LOL I’d post a picture, but he’s camera shy.

In the higher elevations the trees had already dropped their leaves. But in South Fork there was still plenty of color on the Cottonwoods and Aspen. It was getting cooler at night, but we missed the early snow they’d gotten a couple weeks earlier, as well as the cold and snow that hit 2 days after we left. You know, timing is everything. Hehe

However, as nice as it was, it was still great to get back home. As Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home.”

Veteran’s Day

Seems like just yesterday it was veteran’s day. (Actually, 3 weeks ago.) Every year on November 11th I’d spend my lunch hour out on the street watching the Veteran’s Day Parade and cheering for the men and women who have served our great nation. My husband is a retired Marine and I like to show my support. Since I’m no longer working, I didn’t get to do that this year.

However, there was another celebration going on that touched me even more personally. My father is a WWII Vet and he was honored by the Fort Gibson, OK school system in their Veteran’s Day ceremony.

Dad's Army picture

His great-great niece helped present him with a wreath as the entire auditorium stood and applauded. It brought tears to my eyes. (Still does.)

BG Perry 11-11-11

Budo G. Perry is 88 years old. He was one of the youngest men in his unit and was an anti-aircraft gunner. i.e. he shot down planes. The ole country boy was pretty good, too. He served in 6 different campaigns and spent 3 years overseas before finally coming home with the Purple Heart.

He has a harder time getting around now, but his spirit is just as strong as ever. I’m extremely proud of my father for not only serving our country, but for being my dad. He’s a great role model and I love him dearly.

He's overwhelmed

May God bless all the veteran’s and God Bless America!

Romance Writers Ink Retreat

Last month RWI held our annual retreat and as our guest speaker, had Jean Brashear from Austin, TX. I’d never met Jean before and found her to be an absolute delight! She fit in with us so well I could’ve sworn she was a member of our chapter. Here’s Jean sharing her knowledge with us.

Jean Brashear

Don’t you just love it when you meet someone like that? My only regret is that she lives so far away and ISN’T a member of the chapter.

Marilyn, Jean, Linda

When we have a retreat, we try to go out of town – someplace fairly secluded – so so we can concentrate on our writing. And did we ever! Even after we concluded the workshops, we didn’t talk about families (much ), the day jobs or anything else. We immersed ourselves in all things writing related. Exactly what we wanted.

We have some new members who are just starting their writing careers, and I have to tell you, they were like sponges! They wanted to know everything. The neat thing about our chapter is the more experienced writers are more than willing to help the newbies. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that I was one of those sponges, trying to learn as much as I could as fast as I could. It’s always nice to be able to pay it forward even as I’m still learning myself.

Here’s a picture of most of the gang. We should’ve gotten a picture Saturday afternoon when a couple of the other members were there. But here we are.

back: JB Maxwell, Jean Brashear, Susan Shay, Marilyn Pappano, Anne Mathews, Jackie Kramer. front: Marion Grace, Linda Trout, Lynn Somerville

I’m already looking forward to next years’ retreat. Wish you could be there, too.

If You’re a Writer, Raise Your Hand

Do you consider yourself a ‘real’ writer? Someone who is worthy of calling themselves a writer? Or do you think of yourself as someone who plays at being a writer? I think a lot of us fall into the latter category, at least when we first start writing.

My concept of a writer had always been someone who sits at their keyboards for hours on end, cranking out page after page of wonderfully written stories. Someone who comes up an idea for a book, zips out a proposal, ships it off to their editor or agent, then BAM!, they’ve got a contract lined up. Within just a couple months they have the book finished, polished and shipped back to said agent or editor, then sit back and wait for the book – and the royalties – to come out. Oh, if only it were that easy.

The people who ‘seem’ to be doing just that have also paid their dues. They’ve taken classes and workshops, attended conferences, entered contests and learned the craft. They’ve deleted or thrown away countless pages while learning. They’ve cried with rejections and danced with joy when they won awards and eventually sold. It’s a tough world out there. Like growing old, writing isn’t for sissies.

But folks, if you’re stringing coherent sentences together and forming paragraphs and pages of prose, then guess what? You’re a writer, pure and simple. Congratulations!

Now go forth and conquer. 

At Long Last!

The long awaited day has arrived. I can finally announce…

THE SALE OF MY FIRST BOOK!

YAH!!!

Yep. I sold GRAVE SECRETS, a Romantic Suspense, to The Wild Rose Press. I’m so excited I can’t see straight! I’ve worked for a long time, and looked forward to this day for what seems like forever. (Bet you were beginning to wonder, too.) But it’s here. Finally {Someone pinch me to make sure it’s real.}

It’s way too soon to have a release date, but will be sometime after the first of the year.

I’d like to thank everyone that has supported me, pushed me and encouraged me over the years. Your standing beside me (and sometimes even on my back!) has kept me going when I got discouraged.

I’ll post more info when I have it. I just wanted to let the world know that I’ve finally achieved my dream…of being able to hold my very own book in my hands. Well, once it’s published, anyway. {Can you see the big stupid grin on my face? Trust me, it’s there. }

My How Time Flies

I can’t believe today is the last day of August. And on the downhill side of it at that.  Sheesh. Where has the year gone? Oh, I know. Record snowfalls and record low temps in February, stress over missing dog in February and March, record setting heat and drought in July and August. Good golly, Miss Molly. What’s next?

Never mind. I really don’t want to know ahead of time. Spoils the ‘fun’. Har

There is one thing I forgot to mention. My hubby spent two months at a National Wildlife Refuge in King Salmon, Alaska this summer. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Well, not really. For either of us. But he did what he hired on to do, which was help out with some miscellaneous projects they needed help with. They’d tell him what they wanted done and before they could blink, the task had been completed. Yeah, the man is fast. And thorough. That’s why I missed him around here so much. Well, that and the fact I just missed HIM. Know what I mean? hehe

It was good for both of us, though. He got to go off and play mountain man — to a degree — and I got to see just how independent I could be. We have ‘acres’ of land, you know. The lawn mower and weed trimmer and I became very good friends.

But we both survived and are stronger for it.

Now he’s on to his own projects around here and I’m continuing with my writing and RWI’s unpubbed contest. Never a dull moment at the Trout House.

Anything interesting happening with you?

Contests and Judging

My RWA Chapter, Romance Writers Ink, is in the middle of our unpublished author contest. We weren’t able to have a contest last year, so I was worried about getting enough entries. Btw, I should mention I’m the coordinator this year. Never been this involved with a contest before. Boy, talk about a behind-the-scenes eye opener! I have a new appreciation for those that do this year after year.

At any rate, I shouldn’t have worried about the number of people entering. We have a terrific line-up of final round judges and we received almost as many entries as we did two years ago. Woot! Oh, gulp. Wasn’t ‘quite’ prepared for that many. Now we’re short on judges.

So if you’re published in romance, or are an aspiring romance writing with some contest-judging experience and can help us out, please let me know. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, everyone!