Serious fan-girl moment coming...

Okay, imagine if you will how you would feel if you had the opportunity to meet someone who seriously influenced you in your life.  Not a family member.  Not a co-worker.  Not a friend.

Are you with me so far?

I started reading romance books in the 7th grade.  Harlequin.  My lab partner used to read them all the time and she got me hooked on them.  As I got older, I continued to read and I enjoyed them but it wasn't until I picked up a Sandra Brown book (back when she was writing romances) that I took a step beyond hooked.  Her stories transported me, mesmerized me and made me want to be a writer. 

Well, fast-forward to current day and I have found out that my idol, the woman who
inspired me to really want to write, is going to be at the same convention as me in May.  I KID YOU NOT.  I seriously almost hyperventilated when I saw her name on the roster and in the promotions.  Me.  In the same building - possibly the same room - as Sandra Brown!

What the WHAT???

So when I just ran around the house yelling that to my husband, he was like "You're looking at this the wrong way.  Sandra Brown is going to be in the same building as YOU". 

God I love that man!

So I may have to let my editor know that there is a very real possibility of her having to shoot me with a tranquilizer dart at some point during the convention.  If she's at the book signing and it's any kind of alphabetical order...well...let's just say that B and C are NOT that far apart. 

Can you just imagine how giddy I'm going to be?  Practically bouncing in my seat!! 

And don't even get me started on the fact that Jill Shalvis will be there too.  Love, love, LOVE her too!!  I go through her books super fast because I can't put them down!  I've lost many a night's sleep because I had "one more chapter" syndrome.  But she's an S and I'm a C so I won't be anywhere near her at the signing.  Dang it. 

I may spend a bulk of the time breathing into a paper bag. 

In case I didn't mention it, I'm talking about the RT Book Lovers Convention in Dallas, Texas!  If there is any way you can get there, you totally should.  I have never gone before - this will be my first year.  I've heard it is amazing and now that I see who is going to be there, I will be having my own little countdown calendar in my office crossing off the days until I can be there! 

Such a fan-girl opportunity.

And did I also forget to mention (or remind) that RT Book Reviews has me as their cover story for their March issue?  "Return to You" - the newest in my Montgomery Brothers series - is the feature story.  Well, they talk to me too, but primarily the article is about the book and the characters but I get some time in there too.    I do believe that I'm crushing on them too.  I may need therapy by the time the convention is over.  

If you're coming, bring your camera.  You can document it.  :) 

Whatcha doin?

It's been a weird week writing-wise. 

Story number one:  We have our hero finally solving the stalking case he's been working on.  The only problem is that he's fallen in love with his client but thinks that he's not good enough for her.  Now that the case is over, he has to face whether or not he can live his life without her. 

And beside that, he's about to go into a meeting where he'll find out if he's actually responsible for the death of one of his best friends.

Deep.

Story number two:  Our hero (who owns a chain of luxury, private resorts) is walking around having an informal meeting with his wine distributor.  Along the way as they walk through some pretty beautifully landscaped paths, he notices a big hot pink suitcase being thrown from a second story window.  He waits to see if anything else follows, but it doesn't.  He's torn between wanting to find out who the suitcase belongs to and securing some of the most opulent wines available.

His mind continues to wander from his important business conversation to all the possibilities behind the tossed suitcase.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Story number three:  Well, story number three is actually going to be a re-write of my
third book, "Ever After".  Not really a full-blown re-write, but we are doing some major editing and tweaking and it has me wondering how it's all going to turn out. 

When I originally released this story, readers complained about not liking the heroine - Ava - because she was high-maintenance and kind of annoying.  Now in the re-writes, we're finding that it's our hero - Brian - who we need to deal with.  Who is going to get the most fine-tuning?  No one knows!

Not even me!

As I was driving to pick my son up from school today, I started re-thinking the titles of my next series - The Shaughnessy's.  Not the family name, but the titles that we came up with.  Nothing has gone into production as of yet, and really, it shouldn't be that big of a deal, except suddenly, it is.  To me.  I don't know why.  Why can't I just leave well-enough alone!

Because I spend too much time in my own head!

And then there's this:  All of a sudden today, a story came to mind that - even if I go with it - wouldn't see the light of day (or bookshelves) until 2018!  Do I dare?  Do I explore it?   Do I start writing what's in my head just to have it there just in case I CAN do something with it???

So many stories, so little time!  This is why I don't sleep enough.  Too many characters are fighting for space in my brain! 

What keeps you awake?

Wishing for snow?

With the northeast being blanketed with a ton of snow, I find myself (as I sit in North Carolina) wishing just some of it would have come here.  I'm originally from New York - Long Island actually - and still have a lot of friends and family up there.  With all of the updates I saw on the news and Facebook and the phone calls I got, I sort of felt like I should have been getting some of the white stuff too!

We tend to get flurries here without much accumulation and we see more ice storms than snow storms.  Either way, when that happens everything shuts down here for days.  I've seen school get canceled because there was a POSSIBILITY of snow!  They don't have the equipment here to deal with the winter weather but it still makes me laugh a little at how an inch of snow can bring down the state.

Back in 2000, my son was only a week old and we were expecting some flurries.  Well, the flurries turned into two feet of snow that no one was prepared for!  We were literally snowed in for over a week!  With a newborn!!!  Oh, and did I mention that he was three weeks early so we still didn't have a lot of the things we needed for him?  Yeah, good times.

We're in our new house this year - been here about 9 months now - and I can't help but want a little bit of snow in my yard.  Our last house had a dirt driveway.  There was no shoveling that mess.  For the first time in 20 years, we have a driveway to shovel and, silly as it sounds, I want to shovel it.

Not two feet of it - just to be clear.

I love to bake when we're expecting snow.  Never mind bread and milk, get me a brownie mix and some icing and I am good to go!  For some reason, I look at a snow day as a day to curl up with a good book and eat comfort foods. 

And by comfort foods, I mean anything with chocolate.

So where are you at right now?  Is it snowing?  Are you wishing for snow? Any rituals for when it does?

"Return to You" - Coming March 3rd!!

Can you tell that I'm getting excited about this upcoming release???

In my years of being an indie author, I used to put out a book every month (sometimes every two months).  With a pace like that, there wasn't a lot of time to get excited because I was already on to the next book.  Well, "Return to You" has been a labor of love and I can't believe it's almost here!

Did you know you can pre-order it?  I'm being totally for real right now!  :) 
Amazon HERE
Barnes and Noble HERE
And if you are going to be coming to meet me at Authors in the City in Myrtle Beach on Saturday, March 14th, you can pre-order you copy to be sure that I'll have it ready for you HERE

Isn't the cover so pretty??  I can't wait to walk into my local Barnes and Noble - okay, the six of them that are within a 45 minute drive of my house - and see it on the shelf! 

Here's a little excerpt of James and Selena's story!

“So what exactly does that mean?” he asked casually. “Are you saying that you’ve forgotten about me?”

“Well…no,” she said.

He took a step closer.

“Are you saying that you don’t think about me?”

“Not anymore,” she lied.

And he took another step closer.

“Do you think of me at all? Even a little bit?” His voice dropped, and it was no more than a low rumble.

“No,” she whispered.

He was toe to toe with her.

He could see the pulse jumping at the base of her throat, could feel the tremble of her body, and when those big green eyes looked up at him with something akin to longing, he was lost. “Liar,” he whispered right before claiming her lips with his.

She didn’t even pretend to put up a fight. Selena’s arms came up and wrapped around his neck just at James’ arms banded around her waist to pull her close. Tongues dueled, hands wandered as they feasted on one another after too long of a drought. He couldn’t breathe, and yet the thought of taking his mouth from hers was the bigger threat. Her nails scratched his scalp as his hand traveled down and cupped her bottom to pull her even closer to him.

Do You Follow on Social Media?

Social media is still a big mystery to me.  Of course, I'm old so...you know, that's not surprising.  But seriously, it seems like I spend a lot of time posting status updates, tweeting, pinning, taking selfies...that I'm suddenly running out of time for doing what I'm supposed to be doing - writing.

Huh.

The problem I have, I guess, is that for all that I put out there, who is actually seeing it?  I have a fan club page on Facebook (Samantha Chase Fan Club) that has over 10,000 followers.  My posts sometimes only reach 100 people.  I mean, what is the purpose of that Facebook???  I know there has been a LOT written about this topic but honestly, I don't have time to read it all.  Shouldn't Facebook WANT our posts to be seen?

Then there's tsu.  Are you on tsu?  I am.  I still haven't figured out why or what the
benefit is.  I'm told it's a great place for authors because ALL of our posts will be seen by ALL of our followers.  The problem?  I forget that it's there and so do a lot of the followers.  For the 10,000 I have on Facebook, I have less than 400 on tsu.  Weird, right?  I haven't figured out if people have caught on with it and if my posts are actually getting through to anyone who might really want to read them.

I'm on Pinterest but again, I don't know why.  I don't have the time to update it like I should and I really don't look at other people's boards.  It just seems weird.  And don't get me started on Tweeting.  I'm on Twitter.  I tweet.  I'm hip.  But again, I don't have enough time in the day to read and see what everyone else is tweeting so I'm sure they're all feeling the same thing I am.  Who's reading the tweets???

Like I said from the get-go, I'm old.  I get it.  To me, my cell phone is to make calls, do a little texting and to take the occasional picture.   I need a social media guru to help me make sense of it all so I can stop agonizing over these things and move on.   And you know what?  I know there are people out there making money doing just that and I say "More power to them!"  They are definitely way more tech-savvy than I am.

The Protectors Series

So I'm not sure if everyone is aware of this, but I have been doing this series with the fabulous Noelle Adams for about a year now.  The fourth and final book in the series will be coming out late February/early March.  Our heroes are all Marines who are now back living a civilian life after the death of one of their own and how they are each handling that loss.  And of course, being that we are romance writers, they are all going to find love as well!

Coming home, they open up their own security firm and each book focuses on one case/one relationship while the story unfolds as to how their friend died in combat.

Duty Bound (Book One):   
I used to think I could be a hero, but one deadly night destroyed that delusion. So I’ve come home defeated. My military career, my best friend, my purpose—all of it is lost.

What I find is her.

She’s my best friend’s sister, and she’s everything I shouldn’t want. She’s on a hopeless quest for answers about her brother’s death, but those are secrets that can never come to light. She’s always been a fighter, and she desperately wants the truth.

I desperately want her.

Someone is trying to kill her now, and she won’t let me keep her safe. I have to do it anyway, even if she doesn’t trust me, even if she hates me for it. A man protects what’s precious to him, whether or not he can ever claim her for his own. So she becomes my purpose.

I’ll become a hero for her.

Honor Bound (Book Two): 
My life was just like any other girl’s until the Maxwell corporate empire ruined my family and stole my future. I’d given up hoping to see justice done, but then the way to right this wrong was dropped in my lap. My job with an event planner can get me into the home of one of Maxwell’s business partners. I can find evidence of what they did to my father. I can make sure they pay.

I wasn’t expecting Sebastian.

Sebastian has been hired for security, but he is also the son of the man I despise. I should hate Sebastian purely on principle. I shouldn’t care that he’s sweet and funny and sexy as hell. He’ll always be a Maxwell, and that means he’s my enemy.

I can’t help but want him anyway.

He seems to want me too, but only for a good time. He’s the son of privilege, and he’ll never be serious about me. He’ll also never betray his family. If he finds out what I’m really doing here, he’ll turn on me in an instant. He’ll keep me from finding justice.

It’s just that I keep finding him instead.

Forever Bound (Book Three):  
I’ve been a lot of things in my life. Marine. Bodyguard. Security expert. Player. Heart-breaker. Occasionally an asshole.

Never a first-grade teacher. Until now.

It’s the most ridiculous undercover security job I’ve ever had to deal with. Corralling a bunch of six-year-olds while I try to do my job and keep anyone from knowing how clueless I really am.

I manage to fool everyone. Except her.

She’s an actual teacher, and she’s determined to find out what I’m really doing here. She doesn’t trust me, and her daughter doesn’t like me.

And the worst part is that I’m starting to like them. A lot.

So now, instead of being the tough guy, I’m stuck with rowdy children and Christmas pageants and falling in love.

It’s not the way I thought I’d spend Christmas.

Keep watching here for updates on the fourth and final book in the series, "Home Bound".  Coming soon!!

Date Night

I remember how much I used to love to go out on a date.  When my husband and I first met, we'd go out several times a week.  When we were newlyweds, we would try and go out once a week on a date night.  By the time the kids came along, we were lucky if we made it out alone once a month.

Well, the kids are pretty much old enough to be left alone.  Okay, they're 23 and 15.  And the 23 year old doesn't even live at home, so yes, it's safe to say that they are grown and that we should be able to have a grown up night out - or date night - like we did when we were newlyweds.

Yeah, not so much.

Why?  Believe me, it's not MY choice.  Whenever I suggest a date night, my husband looks at me as if I've asked if he'd like to have a root canal or a prostate exam.

It doesn't make me feel good, I can tell you that.

So when the RT Book Reviews magazine came out the other day, I wanted to go out and celebrate.  Nothing big - I just thought that we could go out for dinner and our son was completely on board.  Actually, he approached my husband and suggested it (so I would be spared the look of horror).  Well, the son got the look.  And the excuses - "I'm tired", "I have a headache", blah, blah, blah.  My son came downstairs and said, "Sorry, Mom.  I tried."

Gotta love that boy.

So tonight, we went out.  Furniture shopping.  Not the most exciting thing in the world, but it was just the two of us and we did end up going for a late dinner.  But here's the funny part that shows just how much things change.  In our twenties, we would just be leaving to go out at around 9 p.m., in our forties, we were freaking out that we were eating at a pub at 9 p.m. and there was a band setting up to play!  We were both like, "Oh, no.  Quick!  Get the check!  Get the check!  They're starting to tune up!!"

Sad.  Very sad.  The good thing about it all though?  Is that it made us laugh and even though we don't go out like we used to and our ideas on what is cause for a celebration don't seem to match, we still spend a great deal of time with laughter in our home and deep love for one another.  Neither of us has any idea about what movies are playing or when there's a good concert coming to town, but we're caught up on every episode of "Law and Order" and spend a great deal of time getting decorating ideas while watching HGTV.

Throw in a bowl of ice cream and that's a pretty sweet date night too! 

Chas-ing a Dream - RT Book Reviews

Okay, I know I mentioned it yesterday, but I'm still giddy about it today.  I am the cover story for RT Book Reviews Magazine for the month of March!!!  How exciting is that??? 

And thankfully they didn't use an unflattering head shot of me for the article.  Whew!  Dodged that bullet!  Subscribing to RT Book Reviews is super easy and next week it will be shipping out to book stores (select ones that carry it - so check with your local book stores and B&N!).  Click here to go directly to RT's page to subscribe. 

So here's the thing - this was something that was so completely not on my radar.  I always thought about what it would be like to be an author but I never thought of some of these cool things that go with it.  I mean...a magazine cover!  Wow!  So cool!  And with that I get to meet some really amazing readers and fans and bloggers and it's all just been such an amazing experience that I don't even know how to describe it!  All I can say is thank you so all of the readers who have made this possible!

For those of you who go to the big conventions and are planning to be at the RT Convention in Dallas, Texas in May, I will be there!  I would love to meet you!!!

Tears of Joy, Smiles of Sadness...

If you're a fan of "The Big Bang Theory", chances are you recognize that phrase.  When Raj said it in an episode a couple of years ago, I thought it was hysterical.  And then I forgot about it until my husband summed up my mood with that phrase.

Today was a BIG day for me.  RT Book Review Magazine's March issue (the digital copy) came out today.  And guess who has the cover story???  ME!!  The only reason I
was aware of this was because I was scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook and there it was!  My heart started racing and I jumped up from my seat and immediately picked up the phone and called my mom and then my husband and was just giddy!

And then I cried.

I mean I cried a LOT.

At first, they were totally tears of joy.  I made it!  I've hit a milestone in my career that I never thought possible.  And then...I was crying because someone special wasn't there with me.  My grandma.  She was a lifelong reader of romances and she died before I started self-publishing.  There are times when something really exciting happens in my career and I think "Grandma would have loved this!"  I know she's looking down at me and smiling and I like to think that she's proud.  But I miss her.

So when my husband got home from work today, I pulled up the article and showed it to him and shared how I felt earlier when I read it.  He looked at me and smiled and said, "Tears of joy, smiles of sadness".  I know he said it to lighten the mood and it did.  I did smile, but I was still a little bit sad. 

The grandmother in "Return to You" is totally based on my grandma.  I just wish she was here to read it. 

The things we do for our kids...

My son is a hardcore musician.  Apparently, it's a thing.  The music is a kind of sad-screamo-hardcore genre.  Again, it's a thing.  So he has this "thing" that he likes to make people do when he gets his picture taken with them, it's called "hard styling".  Why?  I don't know.  But while on vacation, he asked - repeatedly - if I would pose like that.

I eventually agreed and here are the results:

Meanwhile, back to reality...

I'm home from vacation and it's back to reality.

Laundry.
Food shopping.
Cleaning.
Carpool.
Writing.

It never ends.  But that's not a bad thing.  There is almost something soothing about these routines.  After all of the unexpected surprises we had on vacation, I'm kind of loving the simplicity and overall boring-ness (yes, it's a word!) to my life.  It's 10 a.m. and I am still kind of in my jammies and working.  Laundry is going and I already know what I'm making for dinner.

Tiny victories.

The whole "back to reality" thing seems to get a bad rap.  It sounds like it's some sort of punishment.  I guess that could be the case if you've been on a fantasy vacation in a tropical paradise but for the average person on an average vacation, coming home can be comforting.  I love my house.  I love my daily routine (for the most part).  I could easily live without the 5:30 a.m. wake up call every day but other than that, my home truly is my sanctuary.

How do you feel at the end of a vacation?  Happy to be home?  Wish you were somewhere else?  Do tell!

An Attitude of Gratitude...

Okay, so did you ever plan something, anything really, and you have a lot of high expectations for it?  And then, when it actually happens, it falls really, really, really, REALLY short of what you imagined.  Yeah, that was my vacation.


I could give you all the gory details, but I'll spare you.  Let's just say there was sickness, freezing temperatures, a system failure, rain and marathoners.  Put all that in your Disney vacation and we'll just say that it was less than magical.

My son and I took this trip together and we were very excited about it.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, it wasn't the dream trip we had hoped for.  We spent a lot of time being angry and complaining and at times, just plain miserable.  By the time we got back home, we were both saying "Never again".

But here's the thing:  We got to go on vacation.  Together.  We got to spend time away.  Together.  We had the chance to sit and talk when normally life is just too hectic to allow us to do that.  Not everyone gets to get away.  Not everyone gets the opportunity to sit and talk with their child uninterrupted and hear about what's going on in their lives.  I wish that we had looked at what we had and saw the blessing rather than the disappointments.

Sometimes things are out of our control - and that's a hard pill to swallow when you are someone who likes to be in control.  Can't control the weather, can't control the crowds, can't control when you're going to get sick.  But what you can control is how you react to all those negative things. 

Lesson learned. 
I just wish I had learned it while it was actually going on instead of at the end of the trip when I was driving home from the airport.  I have a great son and it's pretty damn awesome that he wanted to spend time with me.  As a parent, what could be better than that?

Authors in the City 2015 - Myrtle Beach Edition

Get your tickets now!!  This is a great event, in a beautiful city!  Come out and say hello!!

Are you a street teamer?

Are you a member of a street team?  No, not a gang.  But an author's street team?  Back before I started seriously writing, I was a part of one for a New York Times bestselling author and it was a blast!  But it took me a while after I started writing to even think of having one of my own.

But now I do!

I am always looking to add people to the team so if you are interested, please let me know!  My girls get a ton of swag and are privy to a lot of info before I share it with the masses!  Here are just some pics of some of the goodies I've shared:

 Mugs.  Love these things.  Every once in a while I change up the picture - sometimes to go with a new book release or a current contest or promotion, I've given these out to several lucky street teamers.  I use them a lot in contests, too.  And really, there's no such thing as having too many mugs.  I recently found this out over Thanksgiving when we had overnight guests who drank a lot of hot beverages.

Tumblers!  I love these so much!  I have them on my shelves in my office and just love to look at them because they're so cute!  I've given these out in contests as part of giveaways and to a few lucky girls on the team.  If you're a motivated individual who doesn't mind spending some time on social media sharing links and writing reviews, one of these could be yours!

 Books, books and more books!!  Starting in March all of my books will begin to come out in paperback!  Yeah!!  As of now, only a select few are available in that format.  And those that are, I give away signed.  Do you like to collect autographed books?  Would you like one of your very own?  Come and join us and you'll get a backlist copy of your choice!  With a ton of new books coming out in 2015, there will be even more for you to choose from!  Don't miss out!!  Even if you still read on an ereader, they make for a cool conversation piece.

  Candles and more tumblers!  Seriously, the candles are the BEST!!!  I call them crack in a candle because they smell so darn good.  It's a clean cotton scent in a 16 ounce candle and they are a big fan favorite.  I give away the tealites at book signings, but my girls on the team have had the opportunity to get one of these big versions of their very own and they have loved them!  And the tumblers are a little more basic than the ones I pictured above, but they're just as cute!  I have them in blue and clear and they are going fast!  Do you have a swag collection that you'd like to add to?  These will fit nicely!

And then there's all this - swag, swag and more swag!!  Postcards, books, photos, gum (yes, gum!) book marks, key chains...ladies, I've got a ton of it and I'd love to share it with motivated fans and readers like you! 

If you are interested, you can contact me through my Facebook page via private message HERE.  I'd love to hear from you and I can't wait to add you to the team!

Meet me at Disney's Contemporary Resort!!

Are you here?  Are you in Florida?  Are you within driving distance of the Happiest Place on Earth?  If so, come and join me tonight for a little meet and greet tonight from 5-6:30 pm at Disney's Contemporary Resort!!  Come by, introduce yourself and say hello! 

Hope to see you there!

Just Because...

Because I'm on vacation, I thought I'd leave you with a little eye candy.  You see, in my mind, to help me write, I come up with my fantasy cast should the book be made into a movie.  Don't judge, it helps!  Lol! 

So for your viewing pleasure, I give you my dream cast of Montgomery men.  

You're welcome.

Are you on tsu yet?

So there's a lot of talk about the changes that are coming to Facebook where authors like myself are concerned.  Fans and readers aren't going to be able to see what I'm posting or promoting unless I pay for it.  Kind of a drag.

Luckily, a new social media site has shown up that promises that you'll see 100% of what I post 100% of the time.  The place?  tsu.  I'm not quite sure I've gotten the hang of it yet or if people are really hanging out there the way they do on Facebook, but it's there and I'm there and I'd love for you to come and friend request me and follow me there.  :)

So come by and check it out!  You can find me HERE. 

Authors in the City - Myrtle Beach 2015

I can't believe that in about ten weeks, I'll be in Myrtle Beach for the Authors in the City event!  Last year it was in New York City and it was so amazing and I met so many incredible people that I'm positively giddy about this event!

If you have never gone to a book signing event, this is a great one to go to!  There are going to be something like 80 authors on hand to sign books, give out swag and just hang out with!  I know that I am going to have a BOATLOAD of swag to give out!

Tickets are on sale now!  You can get tickets strictly to the signing or for the event and the after party!  Tickets for the after party are only available until January 31st so grab them while you can!  You can purchase them HERE. 

Seriously, this is a fun event that should not be missed! 

This is NOT my sexy walk

So almost nine weeks ago, I broke my toe.  Not the big toe, not the little toe, but the toe NEXT to the little toe.  Oh.  My.  God.  The pain.  I have given birth to two children and I still think the toe hurt more!  And what's worse is that they don't DO anything for a broken toe.  You can go to the doctor and they're like "Yup.  That's a broken toe."  Gee, thanks.  I couldn't tell with all the swelling and bruising.

I was told I would be "uncomfortable" for about eight weeks.  And I have.  I haven't worn regular shoes in all that time.  I have a great pair of faux-fur-lined boots that have worked beautifully.  Of course in the beginning of the nightmare, it was still warm here and I was able to get away with flip-flops.  But then the weather turned cold and I had no choice but to switch to the boots. 

I've limped, I've hopped and now every once in a while I still have this funky swagger going on.  I'm not sure it's legit or if my body just thinks this is the new norm.  Either way, it's annoying and the darn toe still hurts!  Clearly I'm a slow healer.  Lucky me. 

I'm leaving for Disney World in a few days.  The most walking-est vacation you can take.  I'm going to want to strangle someone.  Probably my doctor.  Tonight we were getting ready to go out and my husband was in the shower and I was walking through the bathroom to the closet and he was like "Geez, it's like you've got lead feet!"

And they say romance is dead.

I'm hoping that eventually I'll stop walking like Quasimodo soon.  I'd really like to wear some of my cool winter boots and shoes.  Or really anything that doesn't resemble a slipper bootie.  Even though they are cute.

But for now, I'm stuck limping, hopping, dragging...whatever works.  Or maybe I should just sit down, put my foot up and read. 

Now THAT sounds like a plan!

Breaking up is hard to do...

I don't know about you, but I've never had a 'good' breakup.  You know the kind where everyone is in agreement and stays friends and eventually shares Christmas cards and all that happy nonsense.  Not me.  I'm a bad breakup kind of person unfortunately.  Thankfully, I haven't had to deal with that mess in over 25 years, but still, that stays with a person.

I write books.  I write romances and ultimately in each story, our hero and heroine will break up.  Of course it's only temporary but I tend to go for the jugular when I'm writing those scenes.  Everyone still gets their happily ever after but they have to work for it.

I've been told that I'm a little...shall we say...mean.  And in that meanness my characters become unlikeable.  But to me, that's the way people break up!  I can't help it!  Heck, when hubby and I fight, we fight dirty.  We make up, of course, but in the midst of the fight, we are down and dirty and definitely hit below the belt.

How about you?  Do you break up well?  Are you still friends with your exes?  Do you fight nice? Fair?

Someone please tell me I'm not the only one!!

Snoozing in the New Year....

I'm not going to lie to you, I love to sleep.  Love it.  Love it.  LOVE. IT.  That wouldn't be a bad thing if I actually could sleep.  See, here's the thing - my most creative writing time happens at night.  Like after dinner and on.  I have to be up at 5:30 in the morning to get both my son and my husband up for work and school.  Then I have to drive my son to school because the school he goes to does not provide transportation - 30 minutes round trip.  Some days I come home and crawl right back into bed and sleep for another couple of hours but most of the time, I'm up for the day.

Winter break has been wonderful because of the many, many days I've had to just sleep in and take the day at the pace that I enjoy.  I get up, ease into my day and go to bed as late as I want without any worries about having to wake up too early the next day.

That is all coming to an end.

Monday is going to be a rough day.  A really, really rough day.  I'm not looking forward to it.  I know my son isn't either but for really different reasons.  We'll get through it.  Grumpily.  I don't drink coffee so there's not even THAT to help me through it.  And no matter how much I try to say otherwise, Starbucks hot chocolate (although INCREDIBLY delicious) does not have the same wake up powers as I've heard coffee does.

Now excuse me while I go and take a nap.  :)

New Year, New Kindle Giveaway!!

So I've teamed up with Stephanie's Book Reports for a special New Year's Giveaway.  The New Year, New Kindle Giveaway is going on right now!  You have the chance to win one of THREE brand new Kindles loaded with a ton of great books by some amazing authors - including myself!  :)

Enter HERE for your chance to win!  Good luck!!

So far, so good...

I don't know about you, but so far I'm feeling okay with 2015.  For the first time in like...ever...we took down our Christmas decorations on New Years Day.  That has never happened.  Why?  Mainly because my elder child has a January birthday and always wanted to have the Christmas decorations up for the celebration.  Well, this year he is not going to be home for his big day (something that I am having a VERY hard time with) and the live tree was beyond hope.  Seriously, I think it died completely on Christmas Day and leaving it up with just not a pretty sight.

Younger child goes back to school on Monday and I am ready - believe it or not - to get back to some sort of routine.  Hubby was sick this week so he's been home and honestly, I just want the house to myself again so I can get things done!  I know they're not happy about returning to their normal schedule but I will be celebrating and perhaps throwing confetti.  We'll see.

Working diligently on the next Montgomery book.  I want to have this first draft done by Wednesday night because...drum roll please...I will be leaving for Disney World on Thursday!!  Yeah!!  If you're going to be at the most magical place on earth next weekend, meet me at the Contemporary Resort on Saturday night from 5-6:30 pm!  And if you'd like to know where in the world I'm going to be for book signings and events, please sign up for my newsletter!  You can subscribe HERE.

New giveaway started today!  I teamed up with Stephanie's Book Reports and it's the New Year, New Kindle giveaway!  We'll be giving away three brand new Kindles that are LOADED with books from a wide variety of authors like the amazing Kate Perry, Noelle Adams, A.M. Madden, Zoe York and debut novelist Patricia Madden and many more.  You can enter HERE.  Don't miss out on this one!

So really, the year is off to a good start with a lot of great ways to meet, read and write.  How's your year so far?

Welcome 2015!!

Happy New Year!!!