UPDATE: The winner is…Mary McCoy!
*~*~*

I’m wrapping up work today on Malcolm! So, this will be a quick post. I have to do a final read-through, format it, and upload the story to Amazon. And then I can take tomorrow off! Guess what I’ll be doing? Yes! Playing with my Gelli plates with my daughter. Can’t wait! But work first!

I have a ton of books that I’ve published over the years. You may be most familiar with my bounty hunters and the few Brotherhood Protectors stories I’ve written. I have several series you could binge on if you like, but I also have a ton of standalone stories. Here’s one of them. I kinda wrote myself into this story…

Bad Moon Rising

On a whim, romance author DiDi Devereaux decides to travel to remote Louisiana bayou country to take possession of a house she inherited from a reclusive relative. But before she reaches her destination, she drives her car into a ditch to avoid a large animal that leaps into her path. Rescue comes in the form of a sexy sheriff, whose gruff demeanor seems to hide a feral attraction. As DiDi settles into her new home she finds herself torn between her attraction to the sheriff and the raw, handsome bad boy whose offer to help her renovate her home is a little too convenient and tempting.

Nothing in Bayou Noir is what it seems. When strange things begin to happen, her natural curiosity leads her into danger…

Note: This is a standalone story. No cliff-hangers. Just lovely, shapeshifting Cajuns in the bayou…

Read an excerpt here!

Contest

Yes, it’s a panther-shifter story! And it was so fun to write. Read the excerpt; you won’t be sorry! The heroine is me—if I was younger and beautiful and if panther-shifters actually existed… LOL

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know whether you still love shifters. I haven’t written one in a while, but I’ve been looking for something that feels fresh. Tell me what you’d love to see!

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra S!
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It’s just a week until Valentine’s Day, so this is the perfect holiday to remind you to get those cards ready! Take time today to write a note to a friend or loved one. Yes, we love the convenience of instant messaging, but a hand-written note can be held and treasured.

So, today, consider mailing a card to someone you care about. I have a hand-painted card to send to one lucky commenter. I’ll only hold this contest open for a couple of days, so enter now!

UPDATE: The winner is…Colleen C!
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I’m getting close to “The End” of Malcolm! Good thing, too. It releases next Tuesday! Since the story is on my mind constantly—I kind of live it in an alternate reality in my head—today’s Word Search puzzle is filled with random elements of the story.

Enjoy the puzzle and the excerpt from the story below! And if you leave a comment, you’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Excerpt from Malcolm…

Malcolm Winslow knew he stood out in this crowd. How could he not? With his longish, uncombed hair, thick beard, and the tattoos displayed by the rolled-up sleeves of his plaid shirt, not to mention the fact he was armed and wore a Kevlar vest, he drew every eye the second he entered the fancy barn that was lit up like the Fourth of July.

Those closest to the open doors were the first to fall silent. Hands touched shoulders and then pointed toward him as he resolutely made his way toward the trellis constructed between horse stalls on either side of the wide space and strung with white lights and roses, where a couple in their wedding finery stood before a preacher.

A groomsman tapped the groom on the shoulder, and he tore his gaze away from his stunning bride to glance down the aisle Malcolm strode down.

The groom’s eyes widened, and he turned to his bride, dug something from his pocket, and then said, “Candy, here are my keys—run!”

The groom slapped keys on her palm, straightened his shoulders, and stepped in Malcolm’s path.

Malcolm gave a single shake of his head, smacked away the groom’s raised fists, then bent to ram his shoulder into the other man’s chest.

The groom flew backward as Malcolm picked up his pace and ran toward the smaller back door of the barn through which the bride had just escaped.

Outside in the dusky gloom, he caught a glimpse of bright white as the bride, Candy Bodine, almost Carmichael, climbed a corral fence. He was surprised at the number of people standing on either side of the door outside this end of the barn but didn’t have time to figure out why they were there because Candy had just jumped down from the fence to the other side, snagging her long train on a nail. She ran forward, but her train held fast, springing her backward and onto her butt on the dirt.

She rolled, tangling herself in petticoats and torn train, and got to her knees. She stared back at him as he jogged toward the fence, planted a hand on the cedar fencepost, and sailed sideways over the top. Yeah, his feet skidded a bit in horse poop when his boots hit the ground, but the bride wasn’t so pristine now either, kind of like her rap sheet.

This time, she’d failed to appear before the judge for a drunk driving/failure to yield at a stop sign/fleeing the scene set of charges. And if Malcolm had anything to say about it, she was not heading to the private airport where Daddy had a plane waiting to fly her to some resort vacation in the Caribbean. As soon as Malcolm snicked the cuffs on her wrists, she’d be spending what should’ve been the first night of her honeymoon inside the detention center in Bozeman.

No amount of crocodile tears was going to dissuade him from his purpose.

The winner is…Stacey Kinzebach!
*~*~*

Well, yesterday was the perfect day.

I had so much fun. I blew off writing—which was NOT a smart thing to do when I have to finish a book this week. However, my daughter, who has been ill for several weeks now, was feeling better and wanted to do something artful. I could have demurred and set her up in my studio with everything she needed, but once I began putting out supplies for some monoprinting using a Gelli plate, I had to stay to guide her, right?

We pulled out paint and stencils, and I showed her how to pull some simple prints. Then I showed her how you can use the prints. See that green leafy print in the top right of the photo? Well, I have a tag punch, and cut a bunch of gift tags using that pretty pattern. Plus, you can tear or cut the papers to use in collaging, and on, and on.

We had so much fun! Next time, I’ll pull out some stamps and catalyst tools and show her how to add texture to the prints. Yes, she wants a next time. We both had a blast and felt so relaxed and happy after we finished. Clean-up wasn’t so bad when it was two of us washing stencils and plates. Just wait until I show her how to make cute little booklets using the monoprints for covers…

Oh, I pulled a print using a stencil and loved all the white space it left. So, I spent a couple of hours coloring it in with some oil pastels, which meant a lot of messy blending of colors with my fingertips.

I love how vivid the colors are—it’s almost like looking at an illuminated stained-glass window. And it gives me so many ideas for future art projects!

This week’s going to be balls-to-the-wall. (I’ve never quite understood that phrase.) I have to write. No excuses. If I want to spend another day like I did yesterday, I have to get the work done first.

For a chance to win a free download of a book from my backlist, tell how you would spend your perfect day.

I skipped last week’s report because I had a guest blogger. The kids are back in school after staying home for over a week due to the cold weather. Since the last time I reported…

• I finished revising Warrior’s Touch—which is now Unbound by the Amazon, and I published it!
• I completed editing a story for another author.
• I wrote five chapters of Malcolm.
• I’ve also been reading the stories for my next anthology, Secret Identities.

This next week, I have to really put my head down to get everything done! What does this next week look like? I intend to accomplish the following:

• Write 5 chapters of Malcolm & get it formatted and uploaded for its release next week! 
• Complete one editing job; begin work on another!
• Read another five to ten stories for my next anthology, Secret Identities.

That’s enough, right?

Open Contests

1. Memory Game — Match the Covers! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: What world is inside your fantasy book? — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. January into February (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Word Search: Favorite Cold Weather Dinners (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Happy Groundhog Day! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Tell me what’s happening here… — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Kerry Pruitt!
*~*~*

Today’s another rainy day—like we need another. At least it’s not freezing. The temperature is in the mid-50s (I guess around 13 C). It’s cool enough I want to stay inside anyway. Good thing since I have to get some work done anyway. I hate that our leaky roof will be drip-drip-dripping, but we’re just waiting for the contractor to let us know when he can work on the patch. I’ll work this morning and into mid-afternoon and then we’ll make an early dinner and watch a movie together. We haven’t decided what yet, but we want a comedy to offset the dismal weather. Any suggestions? Anyway, here’s a puzzle to exercise your gray matter.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me what’s happening in this scene! Have fun!

UPDATE: The winner is…BN!
*~*~*

There you have it! Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow! So, that means we can look forward to an early spring! Let’s not worry about the pesky statistics that NOAA published saying our famous rodent is only accurate 40% of the time. I’m sure, this time, he’s got it right!

So, I feel the need to carve some time out of my day to watch one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day! I’m sure you’ve seen, right? A grumpy, self-absorbed, rude man gets a chance to relive Groundhog Day over and over until he manages to remake himself into a decent human being and win the girl.

Since you understand the concept, let’s have some fun here.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me about a day you would love to live over and over again to get everything right. Let’s not dwell on sad things. Think of a happy or funny event that you think could have been better with just a few tweaks, a do-over day. Share your “Groundhog Day” in the comments below for a chance to win!