Retreat: End of Day Three

What a blast! 

I topped out at 12,001 words for the weekend! And I am fried! 

It has been amazing! We've all done more than we expected and had amazing conversation and laughter! My book is going super good and I'm excited about it!

Earlier we walked to the ice cream shop for french fries and milk shakes, which meant I didn't eat dinner until 7:30, and some of us haven't eaten dinner yet. It was good though. A cool building and a super retro theme. And they have burgers and stuff, so I can see myself doing that for dinner next time. Ha! 

I probably won't write again until I get home at this point. I'll go to bed soon and then pack up in the morning to head for home. We don't have to be out of here until noon, but I have some stuff to do tomorrow when I get home so will be out of here well before that. 

And that is all.

I will probably fall off the face of the earth for a few days, so expect that! Ha!

Behave!

Retreat: Day Three

I totally missed yesterday! 

I was busy - either writing or talking. Ha!

I did take a nap, which was lovely. And I was in bed pretty early, too. Just tired. But I had already made that one of my goals...to nap and sleep in. 

Today is very quiet. We're all working. It's getting super hot outside, and it's already humid. 

Okay. Sorry. Got distracted. Had lunch and in the making of lunch, I decided to use my arm as a block for the quickly closing oven door. Ouch. And, of course, the burn is exactly where my arm rests on my laptop. 

Then, I got hit with a terrible sinus headache. Had a nap and am feeling better.

I'm sucking at getting words on the page so far. I mean, I have, but not as many as I wanted. But I'm heading to it now, so maybe it'll be good/better at the end. Ha!

Behave!

Retreat: Day One

It's been a really long time since I've been on a writing retreat! And! Here I am! We rented this same little house last June...so that's how long it's been - pretty dang close to a year! 

I arrived about five minutes before check in time, quickly followed by one of the others. We both unloaded and got our stuff put away. The other two arrived shortly thereafter, and we proceeded to talk and laugh before trying to be serious and get some words on the page. 

Had dinner - tonight is the only night we do dinner together, which is always nachos that we each bring ingredients for. Other than that, we are all on our own for every other meal. Which is fine since we all eat different things and at different times. 

I drew the twin room this time. And it's absolutely fine. It's a comfy room and I have my choice of beds! lol! The air conditioner is already on. And it won't be very long before I head up there, because I am beat!

Though I am trying to get some words on the page now, but we can't stop talking! And we're all exhausted, so you can imagine...

Time to get busy! 

Behave!

Long Time No Blog...

Sorry about that! 

Time and life... you know? 

So what's been happening? 

Not a heck of a lot... 

I had a book signing in New Jersey. It was fun, but loud. Didn't sell a lot, but the sales I did make meant a lot. If that makes sense. 

Everything has pretty much been the same around here. Work. Work. Yard work. You know...

I am, however, heading to retreat this week! Woooo! It's been way, way too long. I am looking forward to 2 1/2 days of writing and being with the writing friends. It's going to be good. 

Then we have camp, the Jeep festival... and then it's gets muddy because That Man got summoned for jury duty, which could potentially wreck our July plans. He is going to call and request a deferment based on plans that were already laid out and arranged and paid for, but we'll see what happens.

That's all I have! 

Behave!

It's Release Day!

Prophecy is here! 

Prophecy

I hope you will check it out! Right now it's only available on Kindle, but it'll be in print around October!

(Sorry for the long silence! It's been crazy around here!)

Behave! 

It's Time!

As a pre-bonus before Prophecy releases next week, The Shadow Guide will be FREE from tomorrow until Friday!

 

This is a re-release. It originally came out in 2014 as "For the Love of Isaac". It's been (obviously) re-titled, re-covered, edited, and edited again. But it's yours for free for the next 3 days! Since it's my birthday week, I'm calling it my birthday gift to you! :)

When evil comes for Alaina, bringing with it a destiny she can’t deny, can love stand against the forces of darkness? When Alaina inherits her grandmother’s house, she gets far more than just the eccentric woman’s massive knickknack collection. Desperate for help with the increased paranormal activity around her, she calls the one person she thinks can provide it—despite the memory of the night he rejected her. Patrick doesn’t want to get involved with Alaina and her demonic inheritance. He’s lost enough to the demons already, and so has she. If he refuses, she could be murdered just like her grandmother. Just like his wife and child. And he can’t live with that either. Together they must find a way to restore the balance of good and evil, while coming to terms with emotions neither of them thinks they want.

And then on April 27th... Prophecy releases!

Twelve years after a devastating flu that eliminated much of the world’s population, the human race is trying to survive while living a much simpler life. Gabriella is a midwife and a demon hunter. She helps bring new life into the world, while doing her best to prevent evil from growing. Only there seems to be much more evil lately, and far less new life. Something big is happening and she may be the only one who can stop it.

Jack is an angel in a human vessel sent to protect and assist Gabby in solving the puzzle of good and evil she faces. It should be a simple assignment, but he doesn’t count on the emotions he now must deal with, or the attraction he feels. He faces exile if he oversteps his moral boundaries, but when he realizes his love for Gabby, he wonders if falling from grace because of her is so bad.

I hope you enjoy!

Behave! 

Coming Up!

In three days you'll be able to get The Shadow Guide for Free! (For two days!)

This is a reprint. It was "For the Love of Isaac" back in the day, but it's been re-covered and edited about sixty-five more times. And it's free! For two days! You can't beat that. 

Prophecy comes out on April 24th! So while you're downloading your free book, you can download my newest book! 

Consider it a birthday present from me to you! :) 

I hope you get it and I hope you enjoy!

Behave! 

Another Monday...

Holy freaking Cow!! It's stupid and ridiculous outside! What the hell is up with the freezing cold and winds? I hate it so much. So much!

I guess it's supposed to get warmer later this week, but rain, and that sucks, too. We need to do a little work on my Jeep and the weather is not helping. The check engine light is on and the codes show it's probably a stupid sensor. So we're ordering that and will get it in asap-probably in the rain. What a pain. 

Nothing else going on here. It was a quiet weekend. That Man and his sister went to a birthday party for his aunt. i could have gone, but I opted out so they could spend some much-needed time together. I went shopping with K4 instead - we had a blast. We both needed dumb things like socks and underwear and candles. Ha!

Anyway. That's all I have... Yeah, things are quiet right now... 

Behave!

Monday...

I think it's the first day of Spring? Where I live, the weather is like a menopausal woman (ha). You never know what you're going to get. It's warm and sunny, and then ten minutes later a huge storm rolls in to cool everything down. Or just make everything even muddier. Flowers are coming up. Well, some. Some are like...heck no, Ima just sleep a little longer because y'all are crazy and it might snow tomorrow.

What is going on around here? Not much to tell you the truth.

We had an awesome day with the grandboys yesterday. It was their mom's birthday so we took them lunch and hung out with them so their parents could go out for the first time in a very long time. We watched weird videos (really weird and repeatedly), played video games with Mr. B, played cars with Little B, laughed a lot, and really enjoyed our time with them. They are both a hoot! Little B cracks me up, but he's three and that's what they do. And it's fun to see Mr. B's interests and how he does things.

Other than that... well... I don't have much. The day job is the day job. It's fine and good. We're still cross-training, but I think we'll pretty much do that forever.

In this house we're looking forward to being able to work in the yard again. We're working on our project list and believe me, it's extensive. Yay. Ha!

That's all I have for now!

Behave! 

 

Pre Order! Whoot!

It's here! Available for e-book preorder on the Amazon! Official release date is April 27th! Go and order it! It will automatically be downloaded to your device on release day! :)

Print books will come out around October... Which is perfect since I will be at the Hershey Library event in October! 

I love this book! There might be a second one in the series! We shall see...

That is all!

Behave! 

 

 

Long Time No See...

Sorry for the silence! I know it's been like three weeks...

I did live through doing two jobs, and I'm glad to say that I didn't screw anything up too bad. There was one thing... $2. That neither me or our controller could figure out how to fix. After the two of us spending like an hour on it, we decided that it wasn't cost effective for us to continue and we left it to be fixed when she came back. Ha! (She had a few questions, but she got it taken care of. Ha!)

Oh and I had to go to the bank for work a few times. I plugged it into my gps, knowing the directions were wrong. The first time it took me on the highway, when I thought I just had to turn left at the end of the street. I followed and ended up a ridiculous amount of mileage away. And then on my way back, I decided to ignore the gps and go back roads. I made it, but the gps kept telling me the wrong thing - right up until I got to our building. Dumb! The next time, I still plugged in the address, but went the way I was pretty sure of. Everything is good... But I get to a light and the gps is telling me to turn right and my destination is like five miles away. I pull up to the light, look to my left, and the bank is right freaking there! Ha! 

We went to a bunch of basketball games for K5 over the past few weeks! Her team made it to the championships! The game that determined if they would be in the championship game was so stressful (actually, they are all stressful). The opposite team was super aggressive and rude and had like 20 fouls. But K5's team won by one point! They unfortunately lost the final game, but they played so well, there was no disappointment. I thought I'd hate middle school basketball (we never did it in this house, so I had no point of reference), but I actually loved it, despite being super stressed out! Ha! 

Other than that... there's a lot of family drama going on. No, I can't get into it here, but it's painful and ridiculous. (Text me and I'll fill you in. You know who you are.) It's been a long week and it's hard to sleep. That happens when you continually get stabbed like a serial killer is after you... That Man and I are maintaining. That's all we can do. 

I finished my ARC's for my next book. It comes out at the end of April! I'm so excited. I love this book so much! And even though it's not quite the six months, I should have print copies for my Hershey Library signing in October! That makes me very happy! 

I am trying to write. I did finish the 50/50 with a pretty decent word count. I'm about halfway through with the book (for the like third time... ugh), but it's going okay. I got a few hundred words tonight, which is the first I've been able to all week. So that's something. I guess. 

That's all I have!

Behave!

Feed Good Friday... on Saturday

And late Saturday, too! ha!

Let's just go to the list...

1. Living through the week! By Friday, I had made several mistakes... I missed a duplicate check, which caused me and my boss much time of searching, researching, and confusion. I finally figured out what happened, and am in the process of correcting it. And then... the one report I had to do is partially correct, but partially wrong. My boss can't figure out where I went wrong and honestly, I have no clue. I followed the instructions, but they are confusing as F. We'll address it again on Monday and hopefully between the two of us, figure it out. He laughed at my instruction list though. ha! (I will say I have the best boss I've ever had! He's super understanding and chill. If you make a mistake, you fix it and learn from it. But when he calls back and says "can you come and look over my shoulder" you know you did something wrong. Ha!)

2. Going out last night! We haven't seen our old "friend group" together in almost two years. Last night, friends were gigging at a local place. We went on a whim, and omg, we had a blast. None of us had been out, so we were all a bit anxious and worried, but that didn't last long. When I say we were all giddy about being together and seeing each other, I mean it. There were so many hugs and conversations. No one wanted to leave. We had so much fun. 

3. Sleeping in this morning. It was lovely. 

4. Not much going on today. We ran to the farm store. The grocery store. Took the kid to pick up her Jeep (she had to catch a ride home last night after having one too many. Good girl. And it was funny that our one friend didn't realize that she's 22 now and worried about how she was going to get into a 21 and over place). The snow squall was amazing and too short. I took a nap. 

5. I did write a whole bunch today. Well, not today. Just these last few hours. My writing pals are on retreat. I couldn't go this time because of having to buy a new stove and not wanting to sleep on a couch. (long story) But together they got me to an awesome word count and there was an epiphany and laughter. Much needed for me. Yeah, I would much rather be with them, but it is what it is. May is coming! 

6. Plans tomorrow. We're hoping we can squeeze in K5's last basketball game in addition to an already full day. We haven't been able to make a single one this season and that sucks! We're working on it, but we'll see. I am hopeful. 

7. I should only have about two more weeks to do the two jobs. I can do that!

8. It's freaking cold outside! And that wind! Oy! But we're in late February, so spring should be coming sooner than later. (I don't listen to rodents and I don't care what he said)

9. Texting with Mr. B. He's a hoot. And he has the funniest things to say! He sent me pictures of him and little B with a moustache. I sent him the picture of me with a photoshopped beard. He laughed a lot. And he always sends me memes he think will disturb me. He's really good at that. Ha! 

10. Making an excellent dinner. We had a Hello Fresh to use, but added some chicken and garlic and it was so good. Still digging the Hello Fresh after over a year, so there's that. Sometimes I'm frustrated with the lack of stuff that looks good or the constant potatoes, but usually we find something good. There are very few meals we've said we wouldn't get again. Plus, it's expanded our own horizons as far as spices, cook times, and stuff that goes together. 

And that is all...

Behave! 

Week End Wrap Up...on Tuesday?

Yeah, I know it's Tuesday... 

I got nothing to say about that, except... Happy Tuesday! :)

The book signing was a ton of fun! Our table was so busy that my table mate and I barely got to speak two words to each other! I sold quite a few books, which was spectacular. I got to talk to a bunch of super cool people. I had my awesome chicken salad sandwich for lunch. By the time I got home, I was exhausted and I took a little nap. Seriously, the day was so awesome. 

Sunday was "family dinner" for February birthdays. We gathered here with pulled pork, baked beans, mac salad, cole slaw, and a first try peanut butter pie. (it turned out amazing) We talked and laughed and had a really good time. 

Yesterday was back to the day job. Oy. But it's going okay. I'm just busier than normal. Like a lot busier. (ha! twice as busy since I'm doing two jobs) But I haven't totally screwed up anything yet, which is a bonus. The errant dollar had gone away yesterday, but it's back again. ha! That's good for a laugh. Everything else was spot on, so that's something. 

Last night we made dinner for the lady I'm covering for. It was supposed to be stuffed shells, but the store was out of shells. So we got manicotti and cut them in half to make them easier to fill. Even though the pasta was thicker than I like it, they turned out well. (We made enough for dinner for us tonight, too). 

So now I'm back to writing and surviving. I'm tired. I already have words on the page for tonight, but I might get a few more before I head to bed. 

And that is all...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday!

Yay, Friday! 

Here's the list:

1. It was a short week, but a rough one. Thursday was the start of me taking care of two departments. I felt like I was drowning. Still do. I am still behind from my days off, and things were being thrown at me that I had no idea what to do about, despite training. But I muddled through and by the end of today, I felt pretty confident. (And still confused)

2. Nothing too weird happened this work week, except I think the sales counter guy is messing with me. Yesterday when I counted the counter cash box, I came up with a buck extra. Despite the fact that there were no cash sales. Today, I had that same buck over, (and I had double-checked my box to make sure I was on point and again, there were no cash sales), but I was less a buck in quarters. The sales counter guy said... well, that's curious. Uh huh. My guess is that Monday it's the dimes that are off. We'll see. I'm not letting on that I know he's behind it. He's known for this with other people and I think he doesn't know that I know that and I think he forgets that I worked here before. Ha! 

3. Tomorrow is the awesome greenhouse signing I look forward to every year! I am mostly ready. I figured out my Square reader and have all of my stuff loaded in. I have my change. And I am hopeful for sales! But the bottom line is that I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and the experience. 

4. Ordering pizza for dinner! We had plans to cook, but after we got home and did some yard work and prep work for tomorrow, we decided we were too tired to cook. K4 came home with a massive migraine. That Man and I were both exhausted. So. It worked out. 

5. Plans with the family this weekend. Yay! 

That's all I have for now!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

I know it's Monday, but technically it's my Sunday!

That Man and I took a long weekend at our favorite cabin along the creek. It's the perfect space for the two of us. It's quiet and has everything we need. We left Thursday (took a half day) and came back this morning. It was also That Man's birthday in there. We had awesome food, tons of sleep, and just general relaxation. It was much needed! 

After all of the rain we had, the ice broke up on the creek. It was crazy watching it flow down and crash together. The creek looked like chocolate milk and the water was rising. We'd been told that we might have to move our car if the creek flooded, but we didn't have to. 

Came home this morning and took care of a bunch of house stuff. Finally took Santa off of the front porch and cleaned up some plants. Took a nap. Now the dread of going back to work tomorrow has started. I only have two days until I have to do two jobs for 3-6 weeks. I also have almost 100 emails in my box to take care of. And some training left to do. So... 

And that's all I have!

Behave!

So Many Wrap Ups....

I know I've been absent! Sorry about that! Things have been a little nuts around here! 

The wedding was amazing! My niece was stunningly gorgeous and so was her sister (her sister. my niece.), and the bridesmaid, (Their dresses had pockets and they were beautiful)! The ceremony was short and sweet, and the reception was a ton of fun. We danced and laughed and probably embarrassed the bride a bit. Not that we intended to. At all. The food was good, the staff at the venue were amazing, and we had a great time (and they were tipped very well). We got to catch up with old friends and people I grew up with. There was phone stealing and a ton of selfies taken. Ha! Dancing and singing, and a DJ that didn't seem to know how to read the crowd, but I think we brought him around. Almost. Ha! It was a struggle. My great niece was a riot and did not sit down the entire time! 

Sunday was dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's. Spaghetti Dinners are our thing because everyone has a sauce and it's an easy and cheap meal to feed a crowd. (just don't let our uncle at the sauce. He talks about hot dogs going in...ewww) My brother's sauce is amazing and so were his meatballs. We had a great time hanging out. (I will never order spaghetti at a restaurant because I know at least four or six people who make a better sauce than any place and I'm related to all of them!)

Monday we went back to work. We were freaking tired. We headed to my sister and brother-in-law's for Taco Night afterwards and to stayed to do the airport trip in the morning. Our aunt and uncle were staying there before having to be at the airport at o'dark-thirty. It would have been tons easier if they would have stayed here, but there's no way our uncle can navigate our stairs. So we adapted. Got up at the buttcrack of dawn and got them to the airport on time and actually got to work on time. 

Taco Night was a lot of fun. There was a lot of talking and laughing. My bro and sister-in-law (and great niece) left early and I don't blame them. They had a ton of stuff over the past week and they needed the rest and a break from constant people! The rest of us stayed up way to late talking and with my aunt trying to tell me that she can teach me how to crochet. Ha! Like that will ever happen. We came home last night and just crashed. K3, K4, S, and J came for Taco Night, too. It was a lot of chaos and a ton of fun. 

The aunt and uncle made it home okay and now we plan for our next visit! We can't go too long between visits. 

We've got fun stuff coming up, too. And I have my favorite booksigning at the greenhouse! And I got my new cover! Coming in April!

It's gorgeous and I love it!

And that is all! 

Behave!

Family Dinner

It's Thursday! Yay!

Our aunt and uncle flew in today for the wedding. My brother picked them up at the airport and we all met for dinner. What a freaking blast! Our poor waitress and the poor food runner (it was the food runners first day and she did a fantastic job. The waitress came and hung out with us after she was done and we had a great conversation. She was interested in how we were all related). There was some grumbling because my uncle ended up paying the bill, which was not what we all had wanted or expected. I swear that will be that last thing they pay for while they are here! 

We had a blast! I think our aunt was kind of scared (she really wasn't) about how my sister, sister-in-law, and I interact with each other, but she'll be okay! ha! (She knows we're all nuts, but this was an in-your-face example of friendships that have been going on for close to 40 years. We really are all tuned into the same station, so there's that. Even our husbands shake their heads when we are together! ha!) It was the first face-to-face for us after a weeks worth of texting about various things, some of them stressful, so it makes sense. At least to us. Ha! It was a lot of fun and we wished we had more time, but a lot of us have to work tomorrow.

Other than that.... My books came. Yay! That Man had to take a Covid test today because of potential exposure and it was negative. Also yay. Tomorrow is Friday. Yay. We got most of our errands taken care of tonight. Also yay! We just have to make one stop, maybe two, tomorrow. Oh and my second mammogram was good! Huge Yay!

And that is all! I will likely not be back until after the wedding, but we'll see! I may swing in with a Feel Good post tomorrow. 

Behave!

Tuesday...

This week has seemed so long already and it's only Tuesday!

Let's see... 

I'm maintaining my words for the 50/50 challenge. That's something. 

I have to go back for another mammogram because there was too much "movement" on my first one. I already knew the tech was struggling to get good pictures yesterday. She took the one side four times because it was blurry. She said your heartbeat can do that, and that makes sense because my anxiety was super high. That's tomorrow. I can't tell you that I'm not nervous about it, but at the same time, I'm not. I mean, what can I do but make sure? So I will drop That Man off at the day job and then go and get that taken care of. (And figure out a way to not have my heart beat so fast.)

The day job has been and will continue to be brutal. I'm still so far behind and the training has ground to a halt since she is working from home again. Sigh. Whatever. I'll do better figuring everything out for myself. They did cancel our inventory day. Again. No idea when that will happen now. It's a big deal, so... I'm not going back home until/if I have no choice, so there's that. 

The wedding is coming up fast and we're excited! We're making plans for off wedding gatherings with our aunt and uncle for the short time they're here. There are many text messages and phones calls, and while we had some hiccups initially with plans and arrangements, it's all good now. This is my brother and sister-in-law's shiny time and we'll do whatever they need to make it special. I have to say, I love my siblings and siblings-in-laws. We always come together and make stuff work! 

Other than that, it's 2 1/2 weeks until my big book signing. I'm a little nervous because the books I ordered 3 weeks ago haven't arrived yet. But there is time, so... We'll see if it actually happens though. The book signing I mean. Covid numbers are crazy here and while some people are worried, it seems that most are not. I don't know what the venue will do yet. So...

Other than that... I got nothing...

Behave! 

 

Weekend Wrap Up...

Here we are at Sunday afternoon...

Man. I am tired. 

I did head back to work Thursday morning. We unloaded my gear in the snow and the day was crazy. I will be covering for a coworker in about two weeks for 3-6 weeks, so I need to make sure I'm proficient at her job. We've been cross-training for a long time now. Heck, I started cross-training before we went home two years ago, but it was with a different person (she retired), so different style. So anyways, we're supposed to be each others back up and we've been trying to get it done, but every time we get into the training, there's another outbreak and we're back home. And everyone else gets to stay home another week now, but I'm staying at the office. In fact, unless it's really bad, I will be staying at the office going forward. I can't do two jobs from home.

Anyway. 

We had the grands this weekend. It was awesome chaos! Mr. B got dropped off at work shortly before we ended our day. We made a quick trip to the grocery store for snacks and juice and then headed to pick up K5, ordering stromboli's on our way home. The kids were so freaking excited to see each other. It was so good. We got to spend a little bit of one on one time with each of them. K5 had a basketball game on Saturday, so we had just B for a little bit. And B was busy doing something, so it was just K5 and I for a bit. She had another basketball game today, so we packed up (like herding cats swimming in jello), got them lunch, and started the drop off trip. They were exhausted. We are exhausted, but it was really good. 

After drop off, we went shopping for clothes to wear to the wedding this coming weekend. That Man and I made a stop at where he'd seen pants he liked and then we met up with K4 so she could find something and so I could find a shirt. Very successful and quick. 

Now we're home and exhaustion doesn't even cover it. We straightened up the house before we left so we didn't walk into the chaos mess that was our weekend. Of course, the kids took most of that with them, but the rooms were clean, the dishes were done, and the worst of it was out of here. That was nice. Now it's laundry, which is normal. And I'm working on getting my words on the page. 

Tomorrow is back to the grind. And that is all...

Behave! 

Tuesday...

Well, here I am still at home. They extended our work from home through this week. I'm actually going back on Thursday due to a pile of work and other things that interfere with Monday, which is totally fine. 

We have the older grands this weekend, which should be a hoot. Only one will be surprised at this point because the beans got spilled. Ha! I still need to hit the store to make sure I have snacks and stuff. And clean my office (one of the reasons I'm taking my stuff back early. There would be no room to pull the bed out otherwise).

The snow was kind of a disappointment. It sucked to shovel and was just a mess. I've heard a little bit about the potential for snow tomorrow and possibly over the weekend, but we'll see. 

I was invited to a book event later on this year. My registration form is in the mail. It sounds like fun. We'll see. I have a signing coming up next month, and another in April, so this one kind of rounds the year out. 

I'm still waiting on my cover for Prophecy. It's due out in April, so it's maybe possible that I could have my print copies by the October signing. I hope! 

And that's all I have for now...

Behave!