This is just a reminder that Jackson releases tonight after midnight!
I hope you like it!

Open Contests

1. Happy 4th of July! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Word Search Puzzle: Jackson (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. The Final Countdown — and a Big Fish (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Eileen McCall!
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I’m so not motivated this morning! I finished a BOOK yesterday, y’all (Jackson—you’ve pre-ordered it, right?). I got up late today, drank coffee from the biggest cup I could find, watered my plants (my babies—everyone gives me their dying houseplants to revive!), fed Loki (my betta fish—I fed the cats last night!), and now? The morning’s half over. I should just call it a day, right?

Except, I need to find the surface of my desk. It’s so cluttered with mail, a dusting cloth and beeswax spray, pens of all colors, washi tape rolls (WHY?!), gum, and cough drops. My inbox is 8 inches high. I have three empty coffee cups, waiting for my lazy butt to carry them upstairs.

So, what will I do next? I think I need breakfast. Maybe after that, I’ll swim. Then maybe I’ll shower (yeah, I should do that!), then maybe I’ll check my planner and see what I SHOULD be working on today… We’ll see. I kind of like the idea of heading back to bed to play Charm King on my phone.

The puzzle’s picture today is NOT a selfie, but I can so relate. You’ll see! HaHa!

Solve the puzzle, then tell me the lazy things you want to do this weekend! Join me! There’s a $5 Amazon gift card for the winner!

UPDATE: The winner is…Siobhan Dilks!
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Thank you, thank you, Powers That Be. I’m almost there. Well, I got to The End last night. Today, I sweep through my book, and hopefully, catch any last typos my beta readers (Thank you Fedora, Laura, and Reina!) didn’t find or I added when I revised.

I love the last line, and I hope it works. I think I’ll share it here. It probably won’t make any sense, but that’s because YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK for it to mean anything.

They fell asleep like that. Connected. Dreaming of big fish and the life they’d share.

Big fish? Yeah. Made me smile anyway. I always wonder if anyone else will laugh, chuckle, or at least grin when they read something in my stories.

I don’t try to write a funny scene, but then characters start “talking” in my head, and my fingers fly to try to keep up because they’re going so fast. Sometimes, I don’t even know what I’m writing until it flows off my fingers. I know. It’s the writer’s schizophrenia. It’s an actual thing. Swear.

Anyways, I hope you’ve pre-ordered your copy of Jackson. If you haven’t, you could always pick up a story inside either of my two series, Montana Bounty Hunters and Montana Bounty Hunters: We Are Dead Horse, MT, and start there.

I don’t know how many more bounty hunters my Dead Horse office of the Montana Bounty Hunters can hire, but I’ll try to come up with something plausible so they can all stay happily ever after there. I’d hate to leave Nadine behind. Although, I do think there needs to be a southern bounty hunters story somewhere…

For a chance to win a FREE download of one of my bounty hunter stories, imagine what a Big Fish might have to do with a romance story. Share your wildest idea. Doesn’t have to be good to win!

UPDATE: The winner is…BN!
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I haven’t been this close to a deadline in forever, but here I am, typing my little fingers to the bone this week to make sure Jackson is ready to load tomorrow afternoon! Wish me luck! I’ll be sprinting to the finish!

It’s a good thing I’m having fun with the story or this would be torture. My hero and heroine, Jackson and Rachel, have been a joy to “get inside.” And whoo-ee, the story’s hot!

I thought it might be fun for you to get ready for the release next Tuesday, too. So, as part of my countdown, here’s a puzzle with some words related to the story. I’m a word nerd and love crosswords and word searches. If you’re anything like me, these little challenges are a great way to keep your mind sharp. Calisthenics for the brain! (I’m using a lot of exclamation points so I can “use them all up” before I head back into the story. 🙂 )

Word Search Puzzle: Jackson

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC, let me know whether you’ve read some of my bounty hunter stories, and where you might like to see hunters hunt in the future! Do you have any ideas for adventures? Have fun!

UPDATE: The winner is…Stephanie!
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For all of those in the USA, Happy 4th!

Our family will be playing it low key. #1 — It’s hot as hell, so we’re not driving anywhere to sit and be consumed by mosquitoes while we roast. #2 — We probably won’t do more than sparklers and little poppers because our many animals would freak out, plus the 9-year-old doesn’t like the sound of explosions. #3 — We have a pool, so hopefully, we’ll decide a nighttime swim would be more enjoyable. We are planning finger foods and sandwiches. No grilling. Again — it’s too damn hot. But I hope the rest of you have fun! I’d love to hear what your plans are! I can draw vicarious joy from your celebrations!

So, share what you’ll be doing this 4th for a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC!

As I began updating this week’s work plan, as is my custom, I pulled out my favorite tarot deck, shuffled, and asked my question, Am I going to finish this book?

The answer is: It’s all up to me! Of course. No, I didn’t pull The Star or The World, so there will be no shining, triumphant march to the finish. I pulled Temperance.

First, I studied the card. The picture’s pretty, right? A sunny sky, a pretty rainbow, a lovely angel. A lovely setting. But what is she doing? She’s pouring something from one cup to another. Perhaps measuring the liquid as she does.

Temperance, the word, means moderation and self-restraint. So, the cards are telling me, I have to be “measured” in how I approach the work this week. Follow the plan! Don’t expect some surge of inspiration or endless energy to push me toward The End. Take a solid, measured approach. I can live with that. So, back to my plan and figuring out how many pages/chapters I have to write each day until I’m done!

Open Contests

1. SPIDER coming soon, and Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Gabbi Grey: When you miss that one little thing… (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. June into July (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Dream Vacation Spot — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Beckie!
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Today, already, is hot as hell here in Arkansas (it’s 85 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 AM). The temperature will be over a hundred. We tend to stay indoors when it gets like this, then wander out to the pool when the sun dips below the horizon. The pool is so warm it offers little relief, except for the lovely feeling you get when you’re soaking wet and enter the AC-cooled house. My daughter doesn’t deal well with the heat. She loves winter—sweaters, leggings, and boots. Summer makes her ill. Just sitting outside this morning, talking to me over a cup of coffee, made her nauseous. AND IT’S ONLY THE FIRST DAY OF JULY. I’m down for it. Of course, most of my day is spent in my cool-ish window-less basement office. When I rouse to step outside, I enjoy the bright light and looking at the flowers blooming. My dd would love to mow the lawn, but she pretty much has to do that at dusk or dawn. Like a vampire. LOL. I think today, we’re going to take a break from the heat and head to the indoor flea market. Whee!

So, thinking about summer and lovely things I wish I could do, I searched for a photo of my dream vacation spot. It’s today’s puzzle challenge. Enjoy!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know if this would be anywhere on your bucket list. If not, what would be?