Winner

And the winner is de Circuit from Jodi Ford! I will be sending her the prize this week. Thanks for all your suggestions everyone!

Desert Rain

One day last week the weather had enough of her boring sunshine. A haboob gusted into the valley. (side note: that's such a fun word to say and it always throws your audience. They look at you thinking, "Did she just say 'boob'?" No, I said 'haboob'. It's another name for a dust storm.)

So, back to my story... The wind blew all day. I hate the wind. But it didn't care. Every time I looked out the window I saw palm fronds swaying all over the place. They seemed to scream, "Stop the madness." But it went on.

Finally, that evening, the haze cleared revealing dark clouds. I went outside to gather up all the pool towels that had blown hither and yon. (Yes, Mom, I should have done it before the haboob but you know how I like to procrastinate).

I breathed deep. Ah, desert creosote. Mmm. You desert dwellers know what I'm talking about. Rain in the desert enhances the scent of the creosote bush (pronounced cree uh sote). Some people don't like the smell (the spanish word for the bush translates as 'little stinker') but it is one of my favorite smells. Maybe it's because I love the rain but I digress.

I raised my face to the heavens and a little spattering of rain sprinkled my face. I gazed from the south to the west, from the north to the east. The limited visibility of earlier was gone. The clean, clear air revealed mountains all around. Yes, they're out there and for the first time that day I could see them.

As I thought about it, I considered the book I'm trying to finish editing. It's been a laborious process for me and sometimes I just want to throw up (literally vomit). But, I need to think like the weather. I'm going to blow in and change things, cut things, add things, stir things up and like the rain, come through and clean it all up to leave behind something enjoyable. Can I also do it in one day, please? Stop laughing, a girl can dream!

Write on my friends!

Name the Kart Track Contest

CONTEST  ***  CONTEST  ***  CONTEST

I have a writing dilemma. In stewing over it, I thought, "Who better to help me than the many readers and writers out there?" So I am offering this conundrum to you.

There is a hunky but reserved guy in my current Work In Progress. His name is Carter Cooke. He owns a go-kart race track. I want something catchy, but upscale. This is a completely subjective contest. I will pick the name that I like the most (or run it by Carter and see which he prefers--you writers out there know what I'm talking about). So get your thinking caps on.


Simple Rules:

1. Follow my blog

2. Enter a comment on this blog with your suggestion by midnight (PDT) October 8



Prize: $10 gift card to BN or your favorite bookstore (if available) and a mention in the acknowledgements when I'm finished...

The Power of Words

Most of us write in some form or another. Our words and our tone affect people around us. We have to power to bless and uplift. Will we use that beautiful gift? Or will we put words together that tear down and hurt? I am not advocating dishonesty, but rather gentleness and regard for the people we encounter each day. What can we do? We can trade our sarcasm for understanding, our impatience for patience, our quick judgments for caring, our derision for encouragement. When we uplift others we also uplift ourselves.

Thanks to my amazing mom who inspired this post by forwarding this YouTube video. Open your heart and take a few minutes to watch.



It is a beautiful day and I challenge you to write an email or a note or a letter today thanking someone who has blessed your life.

Justice by Karen Robards

Just finished the egalley from Simon and Schuster. It was free, but this does not influence my review.


After reading a bunch of free stuff from Smashwords, I was looking for something on a higher level. This delivered. I could not put it down. I forced myself to stop so that I could make dinner for my kids (and it was one of those 'quick' dinners). 


I would give this a four out of five stars. It would have gotten more but I dislike foul language - especially the f-bomb. It also has some descriptively steamy parts, so for those looking for clean romance, you'll want to pass on this one.


I liked the plot, I liked the twists, and I LOVE the last line. (I cannot quote it since it is not published yet, besides, it would spoil things). You'll just have to read it to find out. Don't look, just read the book because it won't mean anything unless you do.

So, the premise of the story from Amazon's website: Feisty criminal attorney Jessica Ford has done her best to comply with the orders of the Secret Service’s unofficial witness protection program ever since she became the lone witness to the First Lady’s murder. She changed her name, dyed her dark hair blonde, and traded her sturdy black-rimmed glasses for contact lenses. Unfortunately, winning her first high-profile case for prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm Ellis Hayes, and subsequently landing her face all over the news, is not exactly “keeping a low profile.” Or so says hunky Secret Service agent Mark Ryan, whose newest assignment—despite Jess’s stubborn protests—is keeping her safe at all costs. It just so happens he’s also her ex-boyfriend.

The trial earns Jess a permanent spot on the firm’s elite legal defense team, replacing an associate who eloped suddenly and never came back. It’s the chance of a lifetime. But Jess’s mind has raced with questions from the moment the prosecution’s star witness shocked the courtroom with an electrifying revelation involving the handsome son of a powerful U.S. senator. Was the pretty, young mother intimidated into changing her story on the stand? Why will she not return Jess’s calls? Did Jess’s ambitious predecessor on the case really just abandon her successful career? Or did both women mysteriously disappear?


After Mark rescues Jess from an attacker outside her apartment, she begins to consider the possibility that she is a target. Maybe it’s not so bad to have her irresistibly charming and hard-bodied former lover around for protection. Maybe. The question is, which of the many inadvertent enemies Jess has made recently is he protecting her from? The investigation leads her to some startling coincidences—and to a teenage runaway who may just hold the missing link . . . if Jess can find her.


As Jess hurtles closer to the truth—and the sexual tension between her and Mark grows hotter than ever—she finds herself in a race against the clock to find the answers before what she doesn’t know gets them both killed.

The Garden, Part Two

In my last post I mentioned that I had sworn off gardening for the second time. What made me give it another go?

Really, it wasn't me. I was quite determined to stick to my guns. But, I haven't quite figured out if my husband is devious or wanting to be like his dad. His dad is amazing, so I tend to lean that direction. But, here's where my doubts start. Early one February morning I heard a motor outside my bedroom. I figured it was the lawn mower. But I was wrong. My sweet husband had borrowed his dad's tiller and was having a hay-day stirring up the ground in our garden plot. A few days later he goes over it again. 

Meanwhile, I stayed as far away from it as I could because I knew what was coming. Then he said to me, "I need to go to Home Depot. Do you want to go?" That's like asking me if I'd like to be on the NY Times Best Seller list. Heck ya! Hello. I love Home Depot. So I went. We entered the garden section and picked out all sorts of lovely starter plants and seeds. What was I doing? I was breathing deep the scent of rich dirt and tangy herbs. I was picturing all the sweet cantaloupe my family would devour mid-summer. It completely overtook any good sense I had. 

We brought our treasures home and dug three rows of mounds for the seed potatoes my husband got from a friend. On the fourth row I planted lettuce, carrots, radishes, onions,  and beans. I made a section for my tomatoes, squash, pickling cucumbers, sugar snap peas, and watermelon. Red bell peppers, chili peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, basil, strawberries and more carrots went in the box garden. And far away from it all, I made a spot for the cantaloupe. Why far away? We learned the hard way that cantaloupe tends to pick up flavors from surrounding plants. 

So you guessed it, I'm once more queen of the garden. No one else tends to it. Just me. My little guy likes to go out there and dig in the dirt, but he's too little yet to be much help. But I tried something new this year. I use a sprinkler rather than hand watering everything. It takes a little over ten minutes and I'm not such a freak about the weeds this year.

So, when you find a shortcut that works, use it already. Whether it's outlining, or not outlining, character bible or no, the important thing is to Write On my friends.

The Garden

A few nights ago I made dinner.

I'll wait while you pick yourself up off the floor.

Are you back? Recovered? Good.

I grilled some pork chops and, of course, they needed some veggies to go with them. What better than a medley of carrots, yukon gold potatoes, and sugar snap peas? I did have carrots in my fridge but no peas or yukon golds. What to do. I went out to my garden and dug up some new yukon gold potatoes, had my son--who's still young enough to get excited about the garden--pull up some carrots, and I pulled off as many peas as I could find. Wow. I can't believe my garden is actually producing something besides weeds. Soon I will have tons of ripe tomatoes. YUM! But unfortunately, my basil and cilantro have gone to seed. I'll have to see if I can salvage some for canning salsa and with my tomatoes.

The funny thing is that last year I spent at least a half hour - but usually closer to an hour - every day working (and I mean physical labor) in my garden with the puniest of results. My jalapeno (pictured here on the right-most edge) is producing prolifically this year. Last year, I went nine months with beautiful blossoms but no fruit. Talk about frustrating. After that, I swore off gardening. Again. So why didn't I stick to it? You'll have to check back later, 'cause that's a different story for another post.

If you've read much of my blog, you know I like to relate my little life lessons to my writing. So, here's my analysis: sometimes we work and work at something and it just doesn't come together for a long time; other times, we work and work at it and beautiful, wonderful fruit is born. So, no matter where you are in this journey, keep working, keep learning, and keep writing.

Write On my friends.