Loving Tattooed Protector Dudes

I don't know if I'm just horny or what, but the idea of a big, strong, handsome, tattooed man holding my heroine tight is living rent free in my head right now. How about you, are you dreaming of Mr. Muscles getting you hot on these warm nights? Do tell :)

Loving Alaska (I Think)

Hey y'all, my boo thang and I are about to leave on a 10 day Alaskan cruise. I've never been, but in my head, all the guys look like this. Fingers crossed! I hope you're having as a great summer as I'm about to have. Until next month, stay warm.

Love Me Some Country Festivals!

I'm excited y'all. I'm going to my first country music festival next week. For months I ignored Buckeye Country Superfest. It's hours away, at big ass Ohio State, on a campus I've never been on, with more people than I've ever been around, without anyone to go with, for a day long concert in the elements and hella expensive tickets. I'm way too old for that shit. But it has my absolute dream lineup. Kaitlin Butts, Sierra Ferrell AND Tyler Childers. Plus two other groups I've been wanting to check out--Flatland Cavalry and Red Clay Strays. Please, are you trying to kill me? So, despite all the reasons for me to bypass this event, I couldn't help myself. So my old ass will be shaking my tail all day and night to some country music next week. Wish me luck.

Timeless Love Is Here!

Summer is almost here and that means finding great beach reads to enjoy. Something fun, something sexy and something romantic is definitely on the menu. And you're in luck, Maumee Valley Romance Authors Inc. has released their second romance anthology Timeless Love and guess who is one of the featured authors. Sam's Second Chance is all about a woman who goes to her college reunion and has the chance to hang out with her college crush. I was actually inspired by a story I heard about from my twentieth college reunion. Two women met at reunion and found out that even though twenty years ago they never would have dated, they now have a lot in common and the sparks flew. How romantic I thought, that'd make a great romance. And thus Sam's Second Chance was born. So if you're interested in going down memory lane with Sam and Bailey, check it out and all of the other wonderful stories in Timeless Love.

Spring is here and love is in the air. May you look at your honey, like this couple looks at each other.

"Wuthering Heights"--Best Movie Poster Ever?

I probably read Wuthering Heights when I was 12 and like many I loved Heathcliff in all his obsessive glory. But I wanted the book to be more, well, romantic. I wanted that feel good moment when Cathy and Heathcliff ride off into the sunset with their own happy ending. I hope this isn't a spoiler when I say, I was hurt when that didn't happen. So I had no intention of watching the latest interpretation of WH until I saw THAT poster. You know the one, Jacob Elordi holding Margot Robbie in an impressive clinch cover embrace. My God, that poster was made for every lover of bodice rippers. You literally could not keep me away from the film. It captures the heat of the couple's relationship, Heathcliff's dominance and Cathy's helpless submission to their love (lust?). And for me, the movie does the same. But even if it didn't, that poster, and all of its over the top juiciness, lives rent free in my mind.

Hello Mr. Bridgerton

Although at the time I'd never read a book by Julia Quinn, I loved the the show Bridgerton from the very first episode. Jane Austen on steroids, with sex and technocolor fashion? Yes, please. But other than Anthony, I was not impressed with the Bridgerton males. These were the guys I was supposed to fall in love with and root for? They seemed kind of meh. Especially Benedict. He came off as too flighty/whimsical, heck too beta to steal my heart. And yet, I'm loving his season of the show. Benedict and Sophie have great chemistry and I'm enjoying the upstairs/downstairs dynamic of this season. Who knew I'd be so interested in the servant class in the Bridgerton world. And yet I am. Yes, dear reader, this fourth season Bridgerton is full of delightful surprises. And I can't wait to see what happens in the second half of the season. Bravo Shanda/Julia Quinn, you've done it again.

Hello 2026

For the first time in a long time, I didn't ring in the new year in my home. Instead I was in Seattle celebrating with my brother and his family. And despite the jet lag, I was able to see the ball drop with my nieces. New Years's morning we worked on vision boards, something I've never done before. I'm hoping to manifest a joyful year with exciting travel, reading and writing amazing stories, deep love and money (please God money). Here's to 2026 being a wonderful year for us all and may we all get what we hope for!

Loving Christmas

May your Christmas season be filled with hot cocoa, warm fires, laughter, presents and love. Lots of love. See you next year!

Love Me a Thick'um

Nelly Furtado has been back in the limelight after taking some time off (I think). If you haven't seen her in a while, know that she has gained some weight. A good amount of weight. In all the right places. She is lush and luscious and in my opinion, sexy as hell. And I don't even like femmes. Yet when I posted about her never looking better, folks (men?) were questioning my sanity, my sincerety and my eyesight. As if someone who is larger than before can not be more attractive. It is wild to me how much we love and worship a particular look for women. For many if we don't fit into a specific mold, we don't deserve adoration. What bullshit. Nelly was cute when she was younger and much thinner. But for my money, she's a sexy goddess now. Heavier and older. Long may her thickness reign!

That Funny Feeling In The Pit of Your Stomach

It should come as no surprise that I'm a hopeless romantic. What can I say, I love love. And when I found the above picture of two lovers, I fell hard. They just lookou so smitten that I want to hug myself in glee. I want to write stories that make me (and you) feel like this picture makes me feel--absolutely giddy. It is just so inspiring. So if you write love stories too, you're welcome. If you love seeing happy couples too, you're welcome. If you love love, you're welcome. Now go find someone whose eyes you can gave into lovingly and cherish that inevitable funny feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Loving Aging?

I'm of the age where it is perfectly normal to have a midlife crisis. My fiftieth birthday is in the rearview mirror and I'm closer to sixty than I am to forty. For my fiftieth birthday I got my belly button re-pierced specifically because I wanted to do something that said 'I'm not old'. Now that another birthday is creeping up on me, I'm thinking of doing more things that say, 'I'm not old'. Like wearing my my nose ring to work (come on, everyone is doing it) or getting another tattoo. The one in this post has been calling to me. What do you think of it? I'm only getting older and I hope that as time passes I make changes to myself that I actually love and not just because I don't want to be old. I don't think I love aging, but I do love me, at any age.

Loving Me Some Oneida

Y'all know that Tyler Childers was the inspiration for my hero Ben in What She Wants For Christmas. What you might not know is that it was his song Oneida that was the specific inspiration. As Tyler said, the song is about "loving older ladies". Oneida has been officially released and it is lush and romantic and dreamy.Tyler looks pretty cute in the video too. If you've never listened to the song, check it out. And maybe grab your honey for some dancing and fall into this amazing song.

Reunions, Love Them Or Hate Them?

So, I've been thinking of reunions a lot lately. My latest work in progress is about a woman who goes to her reunion and finds love in the most unlikely place. My 30th college reunion will be next summer and I'm debating if I'm going or not. And a few of my college friends had a mini reunion during the Fourth of July weekend. While there were times that I wanted to throw my story in a fire and curse it, I'm at the point that I no longer hate it. Once I get feedback from beta readers and start to edit it, I'm sure I'll love the finished product. And for my 30th reunion, it will be nice to be back on campus and see my old stomping grounds. But the reunion I'm loving the most, is the mini-reunion I had with my friends. We literally spent two days just hanging out in a friends house eating, drinking and talking. And not just about the good ole days. Actually, there wasn't a whole lot of that. There was catching up on kids and parents, careers, life, politics and health. Most of us are peri-menopausal women, so lots of talk about health :) It was just a beautiful time to be with folks

I love but don't get to see in person very often. So, I'm on the side of loving reunions. Though I won't be caught dead at my next highschool reunion!

I Did It

I did it ladies and gents. Two minutes ago I submitted my novella for the beach reads anthology MVRAI will be publishing next summer. It's only a first draft, but I have to confess that it felt great hitting send. Of course, now the hard part begins, editing. My friends will read over Reunion (working title) tell me what's working and what needs to be fixed. And while there's a lot to be fixed, they'll be there to help me. This story will be my summer project and it will be a project. But the good news is that with time and lots of effort it's going to get better and better. And that excites me. Hopefully you'll be excited to read it when it comes out during the summer of 2026.

Love For Sinners

So the hot movie of the moment is Sinners starring Michael B. Jordan. I must say, I kind of loved it. It married the elements of history,love, paranormal and music. In fact one of the things I loved most about it was how it made the connection between Irish music to bluegrass and then bluegrass music to the blues and of course blues to modern black music. All in a movie about black folks striving to survive and be successful in the 1930's Jim Crow Mississippi. I won't give too much away but it is definitely worth watching. Heck, getting two Michael B. Jordans was worth the price of admission alone. But that's the only spoiler I'll give, go see for yourself.

Look At Us

Have you ever heard a song over and over again, but never really paid attention to the words or meaning? Well I was listening to the radio last week and Look At Us by Vince Gill came on. I love his voice, I truly think he has one of the most beautiful male voices in country music. But I hadn't truly listened to what he was saying until then. I fell in love with the story of true lasting love through the years. That sentiment along with Vince's voice is transcendent. Take my advice, find the one you love, and dance them around the floor to this tune.

Turning Things Around

Last week I was down, depressed and quite frankly, angry. American politics had me worried and about ready to pull my hair out. But then I reminded myself to focus on what I can control. I can't control policy or laws or decisions made by folks with more power and influence than me (other than voting, protesting, calling my representatives etc. etc.) but I can choose to be happy. I can choose to focus on a brighter day that will come. So that's what I'm doing. My wife and I have decided to move up our Alaskan cruise by a year. This has brought excitement into my life and I've been very involved in the planning. Anticipating checking off a bucketlist trip brings me joy. My lovely wife and I saw the amazing Mandy Barnett the other night and her performance reminded me of the joy that exists in music and community we form when we experience it together.Summer is just around the corner and the rays of sunlight hitting my skin is something to look forward to. I'm going to be happy and I'm going to experience joy even if forces beyond me would try to make me believe that doom is all around. I will be happy, I will have joy. And I hope you will too.

Black Joy

Make no mistake,these are dark days and they are only going to get darker. But if I only focus on the horrible I will go mad. So instead, I choose to indulge in those things that bring me joy. And Cynthia Erivo performing Alfie brings me incredible joy. This performance in particular reminds me that black excellence exists and can shine, it reminds me that we can be optimistic about love and it shows the world that beauty can be found in the unexpected. Life will eventually get back to "normal" but until it does, I might find myself escaping into pockets of black joy, for my sanity. Good luck with yours, hopefully you too will find something that brings you joy.

I'm Stuck

I hope everyone got their copy of Just In Time For Christmas: Tales of Romance. I'm super proud of all my fellow writers' work to make the anthology happen. Now, the problem. Maumee Valley Romance Authors Inc. has decided to do another anthology. This one will be a beach read. Great, right? Well, the my problem is that I don't know what to write for this anthology. I thought I was going to resurrect a great summer story that I've been wanting to clean up. But, I've hit a wall on The Reunion and I'm not sure if that's the best story for this new project. So I need to brainstorm some ideas until I come up with the right one. Wish me luck, I need it.