Okay, so you’re wondering what a picture of an array of Post-its has to do with Christmas, right?

First, let’s talk about the picture. Isn’t it lovely? All those bright colors? All the variations of sizes and shapes? I get giddy just looking at them. My faves are the lined ones, because I am an inveterate “lister”. I love the shaped ones because they’re perfect for jotting pretty little notes as reminders to my minions (er, family members). See that hint of yellow beneath the array? That too is an AWESOMELY huge Post-it!!!!

And only Post-its will do! Have you ever bought the cheap rip-offs? They tear your papers, pull off paint and dry-wall, or they curl up and flutter away. No!

I can’t remember what life before Post-its was like. Certainly dreary. Certainly filled with tape to attach my notes to papers and boards. But some smart person divined that there were obsessive people out there who would love to peel a paper and stick it somewhere without having to search for the Scotch tape. And they found me.

So, back to Christmas.

My family always sits me down to ask what I want for Christmas. Guess what always goes to the top of the list? You got it!

They roll their eyes. You have tons of Post-its! they say. I shrug and widen my eyes. Your point?

I never have to buy my own because I do have a huge stash of Post-its, which doesn’t mean I don’t buy my own. The second I spied that huge yellow pad I knew I had to have it!!!!

This year, I added variety to my Christmas list. Just to make them feel like they could surprise me. Here’s what my letter to Santa looked like…

1. Pretty Post-its!
2. Notebooks — small ones for my purse; a Bullet journal; some Filofax inserts
3. Cute, zany, fuzzy socks (I wear them inside year-round)
4. A soldering kit with metal to get me started

I added the soldering kit to get them used to the idea of me adding one more tool to my already over-filled craft room. Every time my daughter walks through it, she threatens to call one of those hoarder shows. But a soldering kit would be nice. For my birthday, I’ll start laying down hints that I really, really need an enameling kiln…

So, now you know something else about me. I’d love to know what your short list of “Christmas Wants” looks like! Answer for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

For you Americans, today is a big holiday! In the Devlin house, we’re gearing up for the big meal. My cousin, author Brent Archer, flew in from Seattle with his husband, Greg, last night. They began cooking for us last night! (I have clean-up duty. No one trusts me at the stove!) My sister, Elle James, and her husband are here. With my dad fresh out of rehab, our goal is to give him and my mother a stress-free celebration.

I hope you all enjoy visiting with friends and family. Stay safe if you’re traveling!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I had such big plans! A workshop to run, NaNoWriMo to complete, family events…

It’s the 17th of the month, and I’m falling behind, big time!

First, the Mindmapping workshop is ongoing, although I haven’t been there much to prod folks along to create their 2019 Writing Mind Map. I haven’t even begun mine!!!! How crappy is that of me to abandon them?

Next, I’m only 11,552 words into NaNo’s 50k wordcount requirement. There’s no way I’ll get there now!

I have tons of great excuses…

A sh*t-ton of last-minute, short-fused editing jobs plopped into my inbox. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not very good at budgeting my editing time. I want to help everyone! So, I shove other commitments aside and go to work.

I’ve done a crapload of babysitting and petsitting for my dd while she’s been up to her eyeballs in kid’s events and medical appointments. No way will I ever tell her NO! She does so much for me in return.

Supporting my dad through rehab and his transition back home haven’t been horribly time-consuming, because my brother is visiting and doing everything he can to take the pressure off of us! So lately, that’s not been a huge time-suck.

Because I haven’t had a lot of time to write on my own projects, I’ve had to push back release dates.

I’ve pushed the release date for Wolf from November 20th to December 7th. I’m hoping I’ll finish the book sooner, but I thought I’d better give myself room to fail (that sounds so negative, doesn’t it?). Thanksgiving’s coming up, so I’m sure I’ll have more household duties, since it looks like we’ll have 20 people coming for dinner, and many of those will be staying in the house with us! I am hoping to release it by the end of this month but don’t hold your breath. Are you horribly disappointed?

I have two more books up for pre-order—the last pre-orders I’ll get for a year because I had to change my release dates. I hate losing that privilege with Amazon, but there’s just been too much happening. Worse than not knowing whether you’re eager for the book (as evidenced by your pre-orders), I won’t have hard deadlines, and I’m not good about producing without deadlines! Y’all will just have to nag me for what you want next!

As for those two pre-orders, have a look here. I can’t tell you how excited I am about Animal! I hope you are, too! I don’t know much about it yet, because I haven’t written a single line, but I do have a great, really funny opening scene in my mind. With that cover pic, maybe you can imagine one, too! As for With His Client, I’ve started that story, and a strongman with the Russian mafia is our girl’s target for seduction…

With His Client is a shorty coming December 18!
And Animal is scheduled to release January 22nd!

 

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me two things:
1) Which story are you most eager to read?
2) Does the cover for Animal inspire any ideas for scenes in your own imaginations?

UPDATE: The winner is…Charlotte!
*~*~*

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

Is the pic festive enough? I love busy images, so this one’s fun for me! Halloween is our family’s favorite holiday. We go all out with costumes. And then we make a mad dash around the surrounding area, looking for fun, kid-friendly trick-or-treat parties. And then, there are the photos. We take them every year. These are a few of my favorites…

I think the 5-year-old was 2 when this was taken. She was already great with the camera. She still loves getting into character.

Here’s the pic of all the kids, taken in the front yard. We’d had hay delivered for the horses…

This was a couple of years ago. Note the werewolf in the wheelchair. We took the photo in front of the town’s cemetery gates…

There’s an “extra” kid in the mix in a ninja outfit. My dd tends to gather kids for these events. This year, we’re taking the van and an extra car to ferry everyone around. I’m not 100% sure I’m going. I had a late night. But I’ll try to get a nap, because I’d hate to miss the fun!

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card,
tell me what your Halloween plans are!

Oops! Adding one more fave! The 14-year-old way back when. She went as an Aztec princess…

©Diana Cosby 2018

It’s the holidays again, an emotion-filled time where it seems there are not enough hours in each day to fit everything in. In this busy time, I ask each of you to please consider one more stop on your crazy to do list, that of making a donation to a local food bank. Your donation can be a dollar, a can of food, whatever you can give. With the hurricanes, fires, and flooding that have affected so many this year, anything you can offer is a gift to those working to rebuild their lives.

I volunteer for Habitat For Humanity, and something amazing happens when you allow a person a flicker of hope, that somehow, incredibly, even a stranger understands that at times life shoves us on a road we never asked for.

Several years ago, in addition to my personal donation to my local food bank, I decided to start a Food Bank Challenge. Except, it kind of wonderfully got out of hand. Amazingly, once I posted The Food Bank Challenge on my Facebook page and my Facebook reader page, people from across the U.S. began donating to their local food banks and sharing on my Food Bank Challenge post. Then, I read posts of donations from Canada. Holy cow, the Food Bank Challenge had gone international! And you know what, this is truly a blessing. In this venture, we all win. Gifts from the heart do that, they fill you, remind you there is good in the world, and that you can make a positive as profound difference in others lives.

How it works: Starting November 3rd, when you donate to a local food bank or food drive, write beneath my International Food Bank Challenge post on my Facebook page, or, Facebook Author page, that you donated. ( https://www.facebook.com/Diana-Cosby-Romance-Author-150109024636/?ref=ts )

On December 5th, 2018, ONE name will be drawn from all who posted that they donated to a food bank from both my Facebook page and Facebook Author pages that I received. The winner will receive a mug, and a tote bag.

*Note: Names of those who posted beneath my Facebook pages drive post that they gave to food pantries or groups accepting donations to donate to a food bank will be entered in the drawing.

I wish each of you a wonderful holiday season filled with friendship and laughter and blessings!

Diana Cosby, AGC(AW), USN Ret.
International Best-Selling Author
www.dianacosby.com
The Oath Trilogy
MacGruder Brother Series
Forbidden Series: Forbidden Legacy/Forbidden Knight/Forbidden Vow/Forbidden Alliance‒Aug. 6th 2019/Forbidden Realm TBA

About the Author

A retired Navy Chief, Diana Cosby is an international bestselling author of Scottish medieval romantic suspense. Books in her award-winning MacGruder Brothers series have been translated in five languages. Diana has spoken at the Library of Congress, Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC, and appeared in Woman’s Day, on USA Today’s romance blog, “Happy Ever After,” MSN.com, Atlantic County Women Magazine, and Texoma Living Magazine.

After her career in the Navy, Diana dove into her passion – writing romance novels. With 34 moves behind her, she was anxious to create characters who reflected the amazing cultures and people she’s met throughout the world. After the release of the bestselling MacGruder Brothers series, The Oath Trilogy, and the first three books of The Forbidden Series, she’s now working on book #4, Forbidden Alliance, of the five-book series, which will be released August 6th, 2019.

Diana looks forward to the years of writing ahead and meeting the amazing people who will share this journey.
www.dianacosby.com

UPDATE: The winner is…Michelle Levan!
*~*~*

My coffee’s cold…again. I need one of those cupwarmer thingies on my desk, because once I start working, I forget to drink it before it cools. Then I have to stop, head to the microwave, and… Well, I guess I just want to whine about something, and that’s the first thing I thought of. What else can I talk about to procrastinate a little while longer…

My dd met with all the kids’ teachers last week. The 5-year-old had the most glowing report, naturally. She’s a little leader in her class. She’s kind to other kids and listens. She’s smart as a whip (whatever that means). No worries there. The 9-year-old is doing SOOOO much better, behaviorally (she spent the last day of last year in ISS), and her teachers love her. Got to love those ADHD drugs. The 14-year-old girl is doing very well—and she made it into some kind of choral group. There were 700 kids who auditioned in the area, and she was one of 40 selected. Man, we were floored, because we thought for sure she couldn’t sing a note. The 14-year-old boy…? Yeah, he needs a kick in the ass to get his school work done, so we’re knuckling down on how he spends his free time…

Enough procrastinating yet?

I have two editing jobs I need to get out the door soon, because I have three more that will hit any day now. I can’t seem to get motivated unless I’m drowning in commitments. Adrenaline gives me focus—or, at least, that’s my excuse.

And as for new words for new projects of my own? I have three chapters of Wolf completed. I just need to edit them to remind me what I wrote months ago, then push forward to finish the story. I really want to get a Stepbrothers short story done, too. The cover is just too sexy not to find a story to go along with it, don’t you think?

Now, if I can just figure out what the story is about…

Hey! So, maybe you can help me figure that one out. Give me ideas for a story to go along with the cover. Maybe I’ll use it as a jumping off point. I’ll give away a free copy of any of my recent releases to one commenter! Your idea doesn’t have to be wonderful, just have fun with it!

In the meantime, I need to make a trip to the coffee pot for a little “cup of ambition.”

 

I have a good friend who teaches at a very small, rural school. This school has every grade from kindergarten on up, and she teaches seven art classes to all these children. As you can imagine, supplies are always hard to come by, and more often than should happen, they come out of her pocket. Lately, she’s resorted to having kids bring in cardboard boxes for them to cut up to make dioramas, empty milk jugs for them to paint ghost faces on for luminaires. She had to stop making the dioramas because they ran out of hot glue sticks and paste glue sticks. Read the rest of this entry »