Man, I'm Lame...

Sorry for the silence! I think I say that every time I post! Ha! It's only been almost 3 weeks and I didn't intend for that much time to pass. 

Anyway!

Let's hit the list of what's been going on...In no particular order...

Camping... We had our last campout of the year and it was a blast. We had Mr. B for the weekend and he had a great time! He and his cousin bonded and he caught a really big fish. My brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew-in-law, and great niece came for the first time in a while. It was a lot of fun to have them back! The young adults chose a new camping spot in a new nearly cleared area and they had it looking cute and comfy with solar lights and tapestries. We got up Monday, grabbed a cup of coffee, and then it started raining. As we knew it would. We were home early and even had dropped Mr. B off.

Hanging with my siblings... We've been trying really hard to have "family dinner" with the four of us. It's been working out pretty well for the most part. It's supposed to be monthly, but with our schedules we're lucky if we hit quarterly most of the time. But we're trying, so that's fair. We traveled to my middle sister's house for the last one and we had a good time catching up, eating, burning stuff, and watching true crime dramas.

The other stuff...Just your run of the mill home maintenance, vehicle maintenance, and errands. 

Our weekends have been booked, but mostly with boring stuff you don't care about. And they continue to be booked with mostly the same kind of thing. We have a few friend birthday parties coming up, and a beach trip, and then a wedding on the fun side of things. 

The writing is going okay. Slow. But that's been the norm. The big book signing is coming up in a few weeks. It should be good. It's the first time for this one, but I know some of the planners and they know what they're doing, so...

And that's about it... I'll do my best not to make it three weeks again. Ha! 

Behave!    

Tuesday Nonsense!

Yeah, it's a great post title! Ha! It's fitting though because everything seems to be nonsense these days.

Well, mostly.

The book signing was pretty good. Got to see some of my writing friends that I haven't seen in way too long. Sold some books. Talked a lot. 

We had K5 Saturday, so after lunch, a tame trail ride (where she slept pretty much the whole time), and some ridiculous video watching, it was time for me to get ready for the signing. That Man and K5 dropped me off and went in search of dinner components. By the time they picked me up, dinner was almost done. K5 planned the menu and did most of the cooking. She made fettucine alfredo and garlic bread and it was really good. She was a hoot and we had a blast. 

Summer is winding down, which I'm happy about! I'm so sick of being hot and sweaty! I much prefer sweatshirts and fuzzy blankets. Though I can't say much for this week because the temperatures have sucked. But I have hope that things will change soon. 

...and that's about it! 

Behave! 

Tuesday Round Up...

Well, that's not as many days in between posts as normal, so that's something, right? 

So let's see...

The family reunion was really good. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We camped so the cooler weather was very welcome. We actually were cold when we woke up on Saturday! Nice. 

The family turn out was awesome. So was the food. It was lovely to hang out with everyone. And they want to do it again next year, so that's good. 

Other than that...

Not much. Doing the work thing and the yard work thing. And the writing thing. 

Our weekends are booked, which has been the norm lately. 

But! 

This Saturday is my book signing at the bookstore! If you don't know where and want to, hit me up. It's always a good time. I'm looking forward to it!

And that's all I have!

Behave!

Catching Up... Again... Again...

Man! It is hot! It's been hot and we have at least one more day of holy hotness to get through! It's brutal and I know we're all feeling it. 

Thankfully there is air conditioning in most of the places we go. Not like when I was a kid and slept on the second floor with just an open window. We didn't even have a fan. When it was this hot though, we usually slept in the living room, with the fan, but it was still hard to not sweat to death. I know I'm not the only one that grew up like that. Air conditioning was a luxury that most couldn't afford, so we did what we had to do. 

The worse place for me currently is my office at the day job. It's fine in the morning, but by noon, the temperature starts to become unbearable and it feels like a convection oven. I'm at the end of the air conditioning chain and there isn't a lot that can be done about it except to add another unit, which I said no to because then I will be freezing to death. I do have a fan which is positioned in a way to pull the cool air from the hall. It works a little. It is what it is. 

Anyway...

I got print copies of Prophecy! They are so pretty and I'm thrilled! They came far earlier than I'd been told to expect them. I didn't think I'd have them until my October signing, but I will have them for my signing in two weeks, which is awesome!

Oh yeah! I'll be at the book store on the 20th! It should be fun. And chaos! 

Other than that... 

Thursday night a huge tree branch fell in our backyard from the neighbor's lightning struck tree. It broke our fence and our porch swing and generally made a mess. By Friday evening, we had it taken care of. Which was good. The fence is still a mess, but it's going to stay that way for a bit. We don't have time and lumber prices are still too high. 

We helped my brother and sister-in-law get their camper fixed. Well, That Man helped. I hung out with my sister-in-law, niece, and great niece. And we had awesome food. It was a good day and hopefully they will get to camp with us again. 

This weekend is a family reunion for That Man's family. It should be good, but we have a lot to do to get ready for it. 

And that's about it. I mean, it's not because I know I missed tons of stuff, but it's probably mostly boring. Ha! 

Stay cool! Fall is coming soon! Yay!

Behave! 

Twenty Days!

Ha! I said not to get used to it!

It's been a little nuts here, if you hadn't already figured that out!

That Man went on his fishing trip and had a great time! I had a very quiet weekend at home and ended up having to restart my book, which is sucky, but it needed to be done. I got a lot of words in and slept in. 

I know I said it's nuts, but there really isn't a lot to report. 

We got a new battery for the Jeep and that seemed to fix our electrical draw, though my radio does not want to work now. It was working on and off, so I think it finally just died. We need to do the frame fixing next and as it turns out, it's worse than we thought. Big surprise there. 

Work is crazy, but that's also typical. 

It's hot, though I'm sure you know that. I hate it. 

And that's really all I have! 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday!

Hey! I'm back twice in a week! Ha! Don't get used to it though. 

Let's hit the list!

1. Friday! For a short week, it sure was a long one! Of course catching up after being off for a few days will definitely add to the load. But I was done with the backload by yesterday, so that's something.

2. Yesterday we met our daughter-in-law to help wrangle the grandboys. Little B had a doctor's appointment, so Mr. B hung with Pappy while I went in to help keep Little B occupied so his mom could actually talk to the doctor. It was good. He was hysterical and did really well. And Mom didn't have to worry about him trying to leave when she needed to do mom things. 

3. Friday is our evening with the grandboys. We head over after work and sit on them for a few hours while mom goes grocery shopping. It gives her a little break and we get shenanigans. Tonight was pizza night. Little B wanted nothing to do with pizza even though he requested it. The boys and I had a felt sword fight. I have no arms or legs now (and I probably have a few bruises even though the swords are felt). Ha! I walked through the kitchen and commented about how there must be a ghost in the house because two drawers were open. Mr. B decided to open every cupboard as a joke. It was pretty darned funny when his mom came home. 

4. A lack of weekend plans. It's the first weekend in ages that we don't have a million things going on. Which is good because our yard looks like the jungle. Of course, there's a pretty good chance of rain tomorrow. But we'll see. 

5. Getting back on the writing bus. I had taken a pretty long break due to chaos and constant obligations. We started our 50/50 challenge on Tuesday and I'm happy to say I have done well every day so far. I'm writing new and editing an older book, though I don't report that in my numbers because I'm not sure if I'm actually going to submit it yet or not. 

And I think that's most of it! 

Behave!

Man! I Suck!

I know! It's crazy! And it's been crazy! 

Our latest adventure was a gathering with the family, a surprise birthday party for my sister, and a brief visit from our uncle and aunt. And then camping with Mr. B. We had a blast! 

Well, mostly... Our pup is getting old, but still thinks she can run around like a lunatic. She overdid it and ended up being so sore and tired, she was leaking urine. In my bed. I got up to use the bathroom and when I got back into bed, I somehow centered myself on top of a huge puddle of pee. Gross! After a change of clothes, a bunch of towels, and a change in sleeping venue, I finally got to sleep. We got her some medication the next day (Thankfully she'd just been to the vet) and we started her on a joint supplement. She's been good since then, so that's something. We're also making sure to watch how much she's running around and that has helped too. 

We also took K5 out for her 12th birthday - first to lunch and then shopping. Shopping with her is like trying to herd cats. Ha! It's one thing when she knows what she wants. It's a totally different thing when she doesn't. Oy! But it was a lot of fun! We stopped for Italian Ice, and then the playground. We got her home shortly before her evening obligation. I cannot believe she's 12 already! She's so much fun to hang out with. 

We should be in Missouri right now visiting the aunt and uncle, but they wanted to stop here since they were already out and about, so that's fine. Though I do miss taking the trip with That Man. It's a long drive, but we always have a good time. And it worked out because That Man's back up would have been off at the same time and that's never a good thing for the day job. 

What's next?

A quiet weekend! Yay! Our yard looks like a jungle, so there's that. And we haven't started the Jeep work yet, so that needs to happen. 

That Man goes on his fishing trip soon. He's really looking forward to it. I'm not sure what I'll be up to during that time. Probably writing and sleeping. Ha! 

After that... I'm not sure. 

And that is all...

Behave! 

Catching Up...Again...

Sorry for the silence...

And here I am catching up... again!

We went to the Jeep thing. It was an absolute blast. We found our volunteer calling and will be signing up for that slot next year. We loved hanging out with everyone there and doing the job, so there's that! We worked Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. When we were done Friday, we were free for the rest of the weekend. 

So of course, we decided to hit a trail. 

And that was the last one... As we went through, we noticed a loud banging noise that continued every time we had a left dip of the front tire. Ugh! We got through the trail and immediately pulled over to check it out... 

Yep... frame broken. The only section not previously welded. We knew it was coming, but not this soon. We were fine for driving home, just not for anymore trail driving. Which meant we had to give up our state park ride (that we paid for), and forego any other trails. That sucked, but we still had a good time watching the Jeeps on the playground and talking to people. 

We also are dealing with a parasitic battery drain. We had to pull a fuse every time we stopped for more than a few minutes or it wouldn't start. Pain in the butt. Buy we'll figure it out!

But we've been at the festival for enough years now that people recognize us and seem genuinely happy to see us again, which is cool. We got roped into helping for stuff we weren't signed up to help with, which was fine, but still funny. And, of course, we don't mind. 

Oh and Wednesday before we left, I decided to run one last load of laundry. Ha! The washer completely shit the bed! It's been giving us issues for a while now - not spinning and making a lot of loud noises. It finally gave up the ghost and was just making this loud humming noise with a half-full drum of water. So we come home with a ton of muddy clothes to no washing machine. 

By Tuesday we had our new one after having to cancel one, reorder, and then re-direct the delivery driver. But it's all good. The clothing has not been spun this dry for months now and I am so happy! 

And that's all I have for now. Currently, we're prepping for our next adventure and then we have a few quiet weeks!

Behave!

Oof! Over a Week!

The silence was unintentional! Sorry about that!

Got home from retreat and immediately went into camp preparation mode! The camper needed cleaned and packed. The shopping needed to be done. I had grocery lists from both grandkids! 

The older two grands joined us this weekend for the Memorial Day camp out! We picked up Mr. B on Thursday. He spent the night and got to play with his neighbor friend for a while. Drove the camper into work on Friday with Mr. B and the dog. Worked less than half a day and then went to camp. During a tornado warning that just happened to hit while we were on the bridge over the river... in the RV... with the grandkid and the dog... Ha! Obviously we were fine, but I can't say that I wasn't nervous. 

It rained like heck, leaving our meadow a complete pile of mud. We waited to get our camper into its spot, and then miscalculated... And that left us buried in the mud with both sets of back tires. Oy! We were level though, so we left that as a Monday problem. Lots and lots of mud. Mr. B wore my mud boots for most of the rest of the day. The creek came up quick and looked like chocolate milk. 

But that was the last rain we had! Mr. B slept in his own tent for the first time ever and he did great! Picked up K5 on Saturday morning and then set up the "castle tent" for the two of them. They did great in their "home". I didn't fuss about the mess at all (and it was an ever loving mess if I've ever seen one. Ha!) It was also the first time K5 spent the night in a tent. I felt like I had a brain bleed on several occasions. ha! 

Sunday was the potluck picnic and it was awesome! My family came and it was great to hang out with them! Our bestest old neighbor friends came too with two of their grown adult children and their double set of twins grandkids. And one of the besties kids came with her child. Work friends came. It was so good! We had a blast talking to and catching up with everyone. My brother and sister-in-law and niece and her now old husband (ha!) and great-niece stayed for our little private fire and it was fun! My great niece is the absolute cutest! But man... we were exhausted. 

We all slept in on Monday. Some more than others, but it was good. I hadn't slept much Saturday night, so I needed that. So did the kids since they played in the creek all day when they weren't eating or getting injured. Ha! They had a blast!

Tuesday was my first baby boy's birthday. Umm... we're not going to talk about how old he is... ha! 

So now... this morning... I woke up without a voice. I mean I can talk, but I sound like I'm growling and it's hard for people to understand me. It got better during the day and now it's worse. The only thing I can think of besides the pollen and driving the Jeep for the last two days in the heavy pollen, is that I talked a lot this weekend and I literally screamed at my neighbor Monday night to stop setting off fireworks every two seconds. (it was bad. I mean... who sets off bottle rockets... into traffic...every five seconds at almost 10pm?) And when I say into traffic, that's what I mean. There is a traffic light less than 200 feet from his front porch. There is no green space. He was literally setting off the fireworks into the street. Which we're used to, because he's lived there for over 20 years and does it all of the time, but I just lost my shit and screamed at him to stop it because it was driving me insane. (I don't know if there will be retribution and I don't care. I am not scared of him and he thinks I should be. He has tried to intimidate me before and hell no...Ha!)

So that's my story of the past week... We have Jeep stuff coming up soon. But first we must tune up my Jeep and I need to fix the seat covers. I have a plan for that. 

Also we have a funeral this weekend. I didn't post about the first one, but That Man's aunt passed away about three weeks ago. We went to the funeral with That Sister. That Cousin was glad we'd come and we also caught up with the other cousin while there. Now... That Cousin's husband died. What kind of suck is that where you bury your mother and your husband within the same month? That's the worst! 

And that's all I have!

Behave!

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!