Just In Time for Christmas: Tales of Romance

It's out y'all. MVRAI's Christmas anthology is here and I'm proud to say my story What She Wants For Christmas is in it. So if you are looking for some holiday cheer with everything from flaming flamingoes to a stealthy younger man with a crush on an older single mom, we got you.

November 5th Is Almost Here

That's it. Now go vote!

Romance: Read It, Write It, Love It!

Do you live in NW Ohio? Do you love romance? Then come out to Maumee Valley Romance Writers readers' and writers' event-Romance: Read It, Write It, Love It! The even is on October 19 starting at 1pm at the Bowling Green library. Come meet local romance writers and fans of romance. Hear some readings and ask questions either about the writing process, the publishing process, or questions about romance novels in general. See you there!

Happy Labor Day Y'all

Happy Labor Day ya'll. Don't strain yourselves having fun and relaxing!

Summertime And The Living Is Easy

I love the summer y'all. I love the sun warming my face, I love sleeping in (that's 7 am for me) and I love the ability to travel to my heart's (and wallet's) content. So far I've spent ten days in Santa Maria, CA on what I'll call an unofficial food tour. Which means my honey and I ate way too many delicious things. Next, I went on a Greek cruise and had a chance to visit the Acropolis in Athens and ruins in Olympia, hung out on a beach in Mykonos and had a photoshoot in Santorini. My feet can attest to the many many steps I've taken in the name of learning history. My friends and I added Venice to the trip, so I got a chance to combine touring famous places and shopping. Talk about a great time. I've also had stops in Seattle and Portland to visit family and will be rounding out my summer travel in Baltimore to celebrate a friend's 50th birtday. This summer's travels have been more abundant than usual but I've loved the chance to reconnect with friends and family while exploring a slice of the world. Yup, love me some summer.

Ben and Tyler and Tyler and Ben

Okay, I promise, this site is neither a blog for country music or country music artist Tyler Childers. But it should surprise no one that I love both. They just speak to my heart. Also close to my heart is my latest story What She Wants For Christmas. I'm putting the finishing touches on it even as I write this month's post. It will appear in the MVRAI Christmas anthology Just In Time For Christmas: Tales of Romance. When I needed inspiration for a young, light haired romantic singer, it was a no brainer to set my sights on Tyler to help me write my hero, Ben. Coincidentally, Tyler has just released his newest song Song While You're Away. It's a simple yet romantic tune that speaks of a young man's love for his woman. Definitely a song my hero Ben would sing to my heroine Leanne. As we get closer to the release date, I'll tell you more about these two. Until then, enjoy some more Tyler.

Big Girl Winning

Y'all, you know I love me some Brigerton. I love the costumes,the customs,the interracial couples and this season I'm loving Colin and Penelope together. Penelope has always had my heart. She's a smart, shy heroine with a touch of the wicked and finally it is her time to shine and find love. And after the first half of the season, and that carriage scene y'all, I'm falling for Colin too!

Hunt You Down

I know this isn't a country music blog, but Lord, I couldn't resist posting about Hunt You Down. I mean it's got a message of love and revenge all in one. And Kaitlin Butts looks delicious in her pink dress, cowboy hat, revolver in hand, threatening her new love. Be still my heart. Try not to tap your toes to this ditty without chuckling. And I hope you're into your love as much as she's in to hers in this song. Enjoy!

Total Eclipse In My Life

I don't know if y'all have heard, but there's going to be a total eclipse tomorrow (April 8, 2024) and the path of totality goes right through my little town. I'm so excited, possibly because folks around here have been talking about it for over a year. School is out and everyone was given glasses (lest the school district be blamed for anything, I imagine) so I have no excuse to miss it. This is a once in a lifetime experience that is life changing (or so a TED talk has told me) and I'm ready for once in a lifetime experiences, especially as I've now entered into the last third of my life. I can't wait to be awed and inspired. Heck, maybe I'll get a book out of it :). If you're in the path of totality I hope tomorrow is life changing for you too. And if you're not in the path, here's a treat from Bonnie Tyler so you too can experience a total eclipse (of the heart).

Hot Guy Appreciation Post

I'm plugging away at my work in progress and today I had to rewrite a sex scene. In my head my hero Ben is as hot as Jeremy Allen is in this picture. Just imagine this guy making out with a sexy, curvy, afro'd honey. Yeah, it's that hot. Enjoy the inspiration.

Help Me Make It Through The Night aka I Love Tyler Childers Part II

As you know from my August post, I love Tyler Childers. In fact that love has only swelled since the late summer. He writes incredible songs, be they inclusive (Angel Band), political (Long Violent History) or romantic (Lady May). And with each experience I realize that he's such a breath of fresh air. The Grammy's are today and he's rightfully nominated for both his album Rustin' In The Rain and his song In Your Love. But he's also nominated for covering one of my favorite country songs Help Me Make It Through the Night. His rendtion is arguably the best I've heard. So, while I don't watch awards shows, I might just have to make an exception for Tyler. Do yourself a favor and take a listen to his spin on Kris Kristofferson's classic, you won't be sorry!

I Love Having Written

My writers' group, Maumee Valley Romance Authors Inc., has decided to self-publish an anthology of Christmas stories for 2024. Yep, an entire year away. It has been nine years since I have published anything (Lord how time flies) so I'm determined to meet this deadline and finally publish my sophomore story. But yall, the first draft of our stories is due January first. And as I have been working on this story for the last three months, I've come to realize that like the old saying goes, I don't like writing, I like having written! Don't get me wrong, I adore creating characters and watching them fall in love. But making them do what they need to do to get there is painful. There are so many layers to creating a story and keeping all of the balls in the air is frankly exhausting. But I'm a writer (really a story teller at heart) so I will persevere. And I want to share my stories. So wish me luck as I wrestle with this story and stay tuned so you can see what I have written.