And Now We're Complete...

So here I am, sitting at my desk and feeling a big sigh of relief.  Why?  No, the construction is not done on my house.  My weasel of a builder is sort of playing an annoying game of text-tag with us and we've yet to get an answer from him on how they are going to fix the problem that they made worse!  But I digress...

So today is the release day for "Stay With Me"/"More of Me" duo.  This now means that ALL of the Montgomery books (that have been written - wink, wink!) are available in paperback AND ebook!!  YIPPEE!!!  I love seeing them all on the shelves together.  I love that more people are reading this series than before!  And if all goes as planned, the audio versions will be out this summer!!

The next book in the series won't be out until December and it will be Zach and Gabriella's story.  If you've read "Meant for You" then you should know that these two are ready for a book of their own!!  And I have to tell you, out of all the Montgomery books, I honestly think that Zach's story is my favorite.  I know it's not right to pick a favorite amongst your babies but there it is.  :)

We're working on cover ideas now for that one too and as soon as I have one, you know I'll be sharing it here!!

Fictional Father Issues...

Interesting conversation the other day - my father was visiting with my sister for Easter.  He lives in Florida and she's here in NC with me but three hours away.  So he got serious with her and asked her if she noticed that all the fathers in my books are really bad people.

Seriously??

So she comes for lunch the other day and tells me this and I burst out laughing.  Why?  Because I know he's read a LOT of my books and I know that I have written some pretty bad/unloving parents, but not in all of my books!!  So I decided to make this post about the fictional fathers and see how it really plays out.  Are you ready?  Here are the books - in order - and let's figure out this mystery together!

1.  Jordan's Return:  Jordan's ex-husband is an abusive man (which is why she's no longer married to him) and he does opt to give up custody of his children.  Score 1 for bad dad.

2.  The Christmas Cottage:  Every father in the book is loving and supportive and really quite secondary to the overall story.

3.  Ever After:  Not a whole lot of mention of fathers in this one except in the same capacity as the Christmas Cottage.

4.  Catering to the CEO:  Supportive dad to Cassie and her siblings.  Adam's father was absentee and kind of a jerk but he got maybe one paragraph of storyline so I'm not counting him.  BUT...I'll be fair and give the point.  Score 2 for bad dad.

5. Eye of the Storm:  Another absentee dad who walked out on his family and again, only a paragraph or two of storyline.  Okay...maybe I'm seeing a pattern.  Score 3 for bad dad.

6.  Wait for Me:  William Montgomery is the best father EVER.  No points on this one, dad!

7.  Trust in Me:  William Montgomery is back and STILL awesome.  No points.

8.  Stay With Me:  William Montgomery for the triple play.  And Gina's father - though absentee - loved his daughter and stayed away to make her life better and in the end they had a great reconciliation.  No bad dad points here either!

9.  A Touch of Heaven:  One father had passed away and no bad storyline to go with it and the other dad was funny and charming.  No bad points again!

10.  The Snowflake Inn:  Both fathers had passed away and no history to them.  No bad dad anywhere in the story!

11.  Mistletoe Between Friends:  Both families were friends and loving and supportive.  No points this round!

12.  More of Me:  The Montgomerys again.  Nothing happening in the bad dad category here.

13.  The Baby Arrangement:  The baby's biological father was a player who didn't know he had fathered a child and he opted to walk away.  Okay, bad dad.  Score 4.

14.  Baby, I'm Yours:  All the dad's here were good.  Even Josh, who didn't know he was a dad until his daughter was 3, once he knew he was the best.  No points happening here!

15.  Baby, Be Mine:  Um...father to twin newborns.  Steps up to the plate.  That's a good dad!

16.  Exclusive:  I know Taylor's mom is a single mom but I don't even remember giving her father a history.  Just that he's not there.  So nothing bad to report.

17.  Moonlight in Winter Park:  Both sets of parents were gone so really, no issues.  No points.

18.  Return to You:  Yes.  I will give him this one.  Selena's dad was the WORST.  Score 5 for the bad dad theory.

19.  Meant for You:  Sort of.  Robert Montgomery is not as nice as his brother William and he's a little overbearing.  I'm not going to say that he's the worst but I'll be generous and give the point.  Score 6.

20.  Duty Bound:  Harper's dad was a good guy and so was Levi's.  No points.

21.  Honor Bound:  Sebastian's dad was a manipulative control freak and Ali's dad was weak. So okay, bad.  Score 7.

22.  Forever Bound:  No bad parents in the bunch.  We don't discuss them much.  So no points there.

23.  Home Bound:  Yes, Cole's dad was a jerk who deserved the bad things that happened to him.  Fine!  Score 8.

So let's say about 30% of the books have a bad dad somewhere in the plot.  That's not completely horrible, is it?  And really, their badness is never a major plot-point or contributing factor.

It's just funny how different people look at the books and see different things or will focus on different things.  Odd...

All of my babies are home...

And by babies, I mean books.

Yes, I have children.  No, they don't all live at home.  Pretty much whenever that happens it's more like a drive-by than an actual visit.  He comes home for the weekend and it's over super fast.  So, no.  Those are not the babies of which I speak.

I'm talking Montgomerys.

Sigh.

Yesterday was the BEST UPS delivery ever.  Although to the driver it was just another delivery, I almost hugged him.  He backed away slowly as I did a happy dance at the sight of the boxes. 

Inside those two boxes were my copies of "Meant for You" and the "Stay With Me/More of Me" duo.  So you know what this means right?  All of the Montgomery series stories are now in paperback and on my shelves!!!  And soon to be on book store shelves all over the place too!!

Yeah, heads up Barnes and Noble - I'm coming to multiple locations next week and taking pictures again and screeching like a fangirl over my own books.  Warn security.  Maybe have Starbucks on alert with a muffin and a tall hot chocolate (no whip!) ready as a distraction.  Just sayin.

I love looking over at this bookcase and seeing it full with these books.  I can't describe the feeling to you.  When the first two books came to me, I cried.  Like a big, sad, ugly cry.  My husband and 15 year old son sort of looked at one another awkwardly as they tried to figure out what the heck was wrong with me. 

And then wanted me to pose for a picture!  Without fixing my makeup!  Men!

I know I write.  I know I publish.  But for so many years my books have been something that you can SEE on your Kindle, your NOOK, your iPad and whatnot.  But to hold them in my hands??  Well, that really was something amazingly emotional.  And while I admit I do cry easily - and sometimes at completely inappropriate times - the emotion here was real.

The only problem with that picture you see?  You'll note the three white spots on the wall.  In reality it looks like a lower-case 'n' and an exclamation point and yes, it's left over from the construction.  No, the walls aren't finished.  The ceilings aren't finished.  And no one has come back.  I have a feeling that is some kind of message on the wall that the painters and drywall guys were using to communicate with one another that I'm a crazy person.  What do you think?

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.