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

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I’ve been working on a couple of art challenges during my self-isolation: the #100dayproject, where I produce some piece of art every single day; and #icad2020, where I do something artful on an index card every single day. I have to post every single day, which keeps me motivated.

I’ve always dabbled. I made jewelry for a long time because I considered myself a crafter only. But I always wanted to paint. The thing was, I was surrounded by really good painters—my mother, the art guild I belong to—so, I was hesitant to even try, because I really can’t sketch a thing. However, I began doodling last year, and then adding watercolor blotches to doodle on top of…and now, I’m painting. Not anything that will ever hang in a museum, and mostly quirky things or abstract things. However, it’s giving me a lot of joy. So, I thought I’d share some of the pieces I’ve created over the last couple of months.

This is my comfort zone—more “water-doodles” like the school of fish above.

I’ve been trying out different kinds of paints. This postcard is done in NeoColor crayons and pen. I’ll love mailing that to someone!

This is a bookmark I colored using soft pastels, another new thing I’m trying out.

And now, I’m combining what I’m learning with something I already love doing. These are handpainted blanks I’ll use to make earrings! Cool, right!?

So, a question! Is there something you’ve really, really wanted to try but either don’t have the confidence or the time to pursue? Answer for a chance to win a download of your choice of one of my recent releases!

These contests are still open!

1. Flashback: Quincy (Contest–3 Winners! Plus an Excerpt!) — This offer ends soon! Win a free story!
2. Flea Market Finds and a Puzzle & a Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…flechen1!
*~*~*

I feel rejuvenated! Yesterday, I began my day by editing some stories and painting my daily challenge pieces. Then the rest of the day was spent celebrating! My dd and my SIL have birthdays just a few days apart, so we held a family birthday celebration. We all dressed in 80’s fashion—my dd wore a fishnet glove and lacy headband with big black jewelry like Madonna; my SIL wore short shorts and a too-big white tank like Richard Simmons. All the girls, including me, had big hair and neon makeup. The 15-year-old made finger foods; we ate cupcakes. Then we spent a good two hours in the pool together. Pure heaven.

This morning, we headed to the flea market—our first shopping excursion that wasn’t a one-person run-in-and-grab or a curbside delivery. We all masked and used hand sanitizer. I sanitized the shopping cart, and off we went. Of course, we found treasures that went straight into the wash and sink when we got home. What was sad, to me, was how few people there took those same kinds of precautions. I really, really wanted to walk up to “the unmasked” and tell them, “You can thank me for my consideration,” (a passive-aggressive move, I know) but I figured it was a waste of breath. 🙁

Anyways, I have an interesting eggsalad sandwich tray that I think will make a great paint palette. The egg wells can hold the paint. The sandwich wells can be a place to mix the colors… What do you think? (Please ignore my messy art table!)

The fish above it was a fun find as well. I have an aquatic theme going on with the art on one wall of my bathroom. This bit of whimsy will go nicely! 🙂

So, onto the puzzle-contest!

A Puzzle & a Contest

Solve the puzzle and then tell me what you think this picture is all about for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Take advantage of this offer while you can!

Flashback: Quincy (Contest–3 Winners! Plus an Excerpt!) — This offer ends soon! Win a free story!

It’s my blog. I get to do this. 🙂

My daughter, Kelly, is my best friend. We’re not sure how that happened. When she was 15, she stole my car and drove from San Antonio to Corpus Christi with a girlfriend to go to the beach. I was sure my wild child would be the death of me. But I should have known. She is me. We’ve both defied the promise of our youth to become productive, law-abiding citizens. LOL

Our annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Kelly and I at her old place a few years ago.

As she’s matured, we’ve drawn closer. I was sure when I moved from Texas that our bond would be stretched a bit. She’d get on with her life, and we’d see each other at holidays. However, a few months later, she called. She couldn’t stand it. She was coming to Arkansas, and we’ve been tight as thieves ever since. In fact, we share the same house now.

Us at an antique car show a couple of years ago.

She’s an amazing friend to her children as well. Yes, she can get loud when she’s displeased, but she’s always fair. And she’s very much “in” her kids’ lives. She knows their friends, throws parties for the kids (pre-COVID!), takes them to the games… She’s always on the go and never complains. Her oldest girl is just like her, and they are so close. I know when I’m gone, my dd will still have a lifelong friend.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how special she is to me. Every woman should have a best friend in her corner. Someone she trusts, someone she can lean on. For me, it’s my daughter.

Happy Birthday, Kelly!!!

So, everyone out there, do you have a special best friend in your life?

My ex said there was an old Irish saying that went like this: Never do today what you can do next year.

Yeah, that’s his sense of humor. Born and bred Irish. It’s why we’re still great friends.

Today’s one of those days. It started off well. I got out of bed at 6:30 AM. I decided to try to catch up on artwork for the two challenges I’m participating in. I completed them and was sitting down at my computer to begin my “real work” day when my daughter came downstairs in a tizzy to remind me we had dental appointments.

We had both completely forgotten, which meant no time to shower (ew!) and barely enough time to brush our teeth before we hurried into town. That was a long ordeal due to the COVID precautions—time to sterilize in between, waivers, etc.

Once we came back, I sat back down at my computer, but one of those “70’s stars—Where are they now?” popped up on my news screen when I first opened it up, and an hour later I was dozing in front of my screen.

Now, it’s time for a late lunch…maybe a swim…don’t I need to vacuum? You get the picture. Anything but what I need to do to keep on track. I have tons of items on my To Do list to tackle, but…really, can’t I take a “do-over” tomorrow?

What do you think?

Living in the time of COVID-19 has its burdens. We trashed our plans to go to New Orleans for a long weekend in March. We’ve put on hold plans to visit family in Virginia, indefinitely.  We call in our orders for groceries and meals and have them delivered curbside, rather than spending time roaming around stores. And yet, we’ve adjusted. Our family is even prospering because we’re doing so many things together rather than running around to drop off kids for all sorts of activities. We haven’t had huge blowups from being cooped up together. Instead, we’ve had tons of “projects” we’ve all pitched in to do, like building a fire pit, getting the pool ready for swimming, lawn cleanup, building a goat pen, painting rooms…

Today, my dd is hitting the Sherwin Williams store (in a mask) to pick up more paint for two more projects, and the kids helped with the grocery list so they’d have ingredients for cookie recipes they looked up on Pinterest that they want to try. There’s been lots of cooking/learning going on. Here’s a pic of the 16-year-old making his first meatloaf…

The kids did make a trip to the dentist, en masse, because it was easier for the dentist’s office to schedule them back to back since we’ve been isolating together. The 6-year-old had some help losing her first tooth!

We plan movie nights with popcorn made in our theater-style popcorn maker because the kids love to watch it overfill the kettle then add their own flavorings, just like at the theater. We swim every day it’s warm enough to do so. They have their “animal” chores: feeding, walking, and washing dogs, goats, and horses. We gather on the back porch in the evenings under the dim solar lights to watch the fireflies and catch little frogs and lizards (yes, we release them!).

And the house stays cleaner. Imagine that. 🙂

I’ve been deep in editing and writing—all my usual tasks. However, I’ve added art projects to keep my time filled. So far, I haven’t convinced any of the other inhabitants of the house to join me. I’ve painted, made some jewelry… Tonight, I’ll start work on a set of potholders. My dd wants a set in red-white-and-blue for July 4th. I’m agreeable because I love making things people actually use.

And I’m rambling. But this is my outlet. Sharing what’s happening here and hoping to hear what you’re doing because then I feel connected to the outside world.

Outside politics, which have weighed heavily on me and my family, what are you doing this summer to keep busy and inspired?

My mental health is fine (I hear my dd cackling). But then, I limit my time watching the news these days. While the nation goes to “hell in a handbasket,” I keep my head down with work and painting. I won’t get into politics here because opinions are like assholes—everyone’s got one. But I will ask, how’s the social distancing going? Are you still masking? I hope so because I wish you well.

My family is managing quite well. We take a few risks—food shopping, doctor’s visits. The kids had their first “playdate” with a couple of friends. They said they were distancing too, but we kept them all outside in the pool. Arkansas’ numbers are rising, so that might be it for the kids for a while, sad to say. The goal is survival in the Devlin house. Tempers flare now and then, but we have a pool. If anyone gets too hot, we jump in. No irritability lasts long there.

I have a puzzle for you! One sure to make you smile—or at least shake your head. It made me want to find some old Gloria Estefan tune to dance to! Enjoy!

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

The Montana Bounty Hunters series located in Bear Lodge is complete. However, I’m planning to write a spinoff series, Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT very, very soon. I loved writing the original series, and I can’t wait to immerse myself writing more of these heavy-duty, gritty guys in the near future. Have you seen the cover for Cage, which will release in July? Yeah. His story will rock! Some of the guys you love from the original series will pop up here and there in Dead Horse—after all, they all work for Fetch Winter. Someday, he’ll get his happy-ever-after, too!

Quincy

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: Authentic Men… Real Adventures…

Sparks fly, as do inhibitions, when a bounty hunter and a beautician are forced to hide out together from a dangerous criminal gang…

Former Army Ranger Quincy James and beautician Tamara Davis met under less than idyllic circumstances–trapped inside her doomsday-bunker-turned-beauty-shop while he was hunting a skip. Now that he’s settled into his new job with the Montana Bounty Hunters, he knows he’s dawdled too long asking her out on a legitimate date. But then, he gets a new case right in the pretty beautician’s neck of the woods. A dangerous new assignment he doesn’t want her anywhere near, However, NOT bumping into her proves tricky and when they do cross paths, he blows it.

Tamara’s already feeling foolish over the fact she got way too friendly with Quincy when they were trapped together, but then, he never contacts her again. When she sees him on the street in her little town, she’s ready to give him a piece of her mind, but he acts like he doesn’t know her. What the hell?

When the pair find themselves forced together again, there’s time for a reckoning…

Contest

Are you all caught up reading the Montana Bounty Hunters?

For a chance to win a download of one of the stories you may have missed
(I’ll pick three winners!), tell me this:
Are you ready for more sexy bounty hunters?

Here are all the Montana Bounty Hunters!

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS
Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
Reaper: https://amzn.to/2NztLpv
Dagger: https://amzn.to/2zo6Dav
Reaper’s Ride: https://amzn.to/2KKkisI
Cochise: https://amzn.to/2zq4avV
Hook: https://amzn.to/2UrpyYh
Wolf: https://amzn.to/2yUTjr5
Animal: https://amzn.to/2H4Roob
Big Sky Wedding: https://amzn.to/33GprwK
Quincy: https://amzn.to/2QlleM8
Brian: https://amzn.to/2ZV8m2G

Excerpt from Quincy

Tamara Adams blew at a strand of hair that flew into her eyes. Her hands were filled with flyers advertising her beauty shop, Curl Up & Dye, and she’d been papering the windshields of vehicles up and down Main Street. This was her latest idea to draw attention to her shop. If something didn’t give soon, she’d have to pay for a station in someone else’s shop, and she’d never realize her dream of owning her own business.

When she came to the line of motorcycles parked in front of S&S, she nearly passed them by. She really didn’t want to attract that caliber of customer, but then again beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Without windshield wipers to clamp against her papers, she used pretty washi tape to attach the flyers and quickly made her way down the row, eyeing the window of the bar with trepidation, because she really didn’t want any ornery biker confronting her about “trashing up” his bike.

Just as she was taping the last flyer to bug-spattered glass, she heard a commotion erupt inside the unsavory establishment. Curious, she strode toward the plate-glass window to peer inside, but the window was dirty and the interior of the bar wasn’t brightly lit, so she shielded her eyes and leaned closer to the glass. What she saw had her eyes widening.

An honest-to-goodness barfight was underway inside. From what she could tell, a bar filled with brawny biker-types faced three equally brawny dudes, but what the trio lacked in numbers, they made up for in sheer meanness.

The two in the center of the bar sent one biker after another flying through the air from well-placed kicks and bone-rattling punches. One of the men wore a prosthetic arm, which he used to great advantage, following his powerful left-fisted punches with thudding body blows delivered by his mechanical arm.

To the left, she watched as a huge orange-bearded man grabbed the third brawler by his collar, only to be head-butted, and while still stunned, swing an arm wide, which propelled him over the hunched body of his adversary where he landed flat on his back and sucking wind.

Curiosity satisfied, and her original gut instinct to give the bar a wide berth confirmed, she moved back from the glass and returned to the curb where she reached over the hood of a car and stuck her pink flyer under a wiper blade.

The door behind her swung open, and she peered over her shoulder.

A familiar man appeared, his gaze sliding past her bent-over body before returning to glance up at her face. His eyes widened for a second, but then he quickly turned his head and walked away.

What. The. Fuck. The man she’d mooned over for weeks, before she’d realized he’d never intended to call her after they’d shared an afternoon of illicit delight, had just walked past her like he didn’t even know her. Not a nod. Not a “Hi, there.” Not a knowing, smirky smile. Nothing.

Her breath caught in her chest as she acknowledged the blow. She’d actually thought they’d shared something special. And she’d been making excuses for his failure to communicate all this time.

Just that morning as Miss Gracie had finished stocking the shop’s refrigerator with her eldercare protein drinks, Tamara had leaned an elbow on her table as she’d sat in her beautician’s chair staring into the lit mirror, remembering how he’d sat there and flirted with his sexy, hazel-green eyes—after she’d zip-tied him to the chair. After all, she’d just been locked inside her bunker by a bail jumper on the lam. The new stranger had claimed to be a bounty hunter, but why should she trust him? His dark beard and intense gaze had sent shivers of awareness through her body.

Okay, so she had a thing for bad boys. Obviously. She’d dated some real winners, but this time, she’d thought…well, she’d hoped…that Quincy James wasn’t a douchebag.

As he strode purposefully away from her, her heart hammered against her chest, and her eyes stung with tears that she quickly blinked away.

No way in hell was he getting away with pretending he didn’t know her. Or worse, that she was bubblegum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Holding her sheaf of flyers against her chest, she ran after him.

When she caught him, she’d give him a piece of her mind. A man did not use a woman and make sexy promises with his eyes. He’d fooled her with his I don’t know how to flirt with a woman bullshit line. She’d swallowed it—and his big cock—and then she’d waited, day after day for him to call. Hell, she’d turned down a date with Mason Jernigan, whom she’d planned to seduce into asking her out on a date before Quincy had been trapped inside her shop. But no! She’d turned Mason down. A good looking man who owned his own small car dealership had asked her out on a date, but she’d held out for the hope of Quincy James, because she wanted more of his wicked kisses.

“Stupid! That’s what I am,” she muttered under her breath. “Thirty fucking years old and I wasted a month of my prime years for you, Quincy James.” She picked up her pace, but although she was running, his long-limbed gait still left her breathless. When he turned the corner to enter a dark alley beside the bar, she didn’t hesitate. She was too mad to take heed of the warning bells ringing in her head. The dark narrow space smelled like old beer and vomit, and her Sketchers made a sound similar to the one they made when she walked across the floor surrounding Miss Gracie’s station where the buildup of hairspray sucked at the rubber bottoms of her shoes.

Ahead, Quincy moved more furtively, running up to the corner of the building to the access road behind the business. She slowed and melted into the shadows, wondering what the hell he was up to, and then he flattened his back against the wall. She did the same, not knowing why, but the tension in his frame transmitted a jolt of fear into hers.

Just then a tall, greasy-haired, bearded man slipped around the corner, moving so quickly he didn’t see Quincy, but he did see her. His eyes widened. “You with those damn bounty hunters, too, bitch?” he growled, not slowing down as he came toward her.

“Not a bounty hunter,” she squeaked. “Beautician.” She raised her flyers to prove her claim, but it was too dark for him to read, or maybe he’d already made up his mind, because the snarl on his face nearly made her wet her pants.

Panicked, she tossed up the flyers like they were a ninja’s magic dust, turned on her heel, and ran for the street.

Take advantage of these offers while you can!

1. Diana Cosby: Nature – Amazing Muse Inspiration (Contest) — Last Day! Win a SIGNED book!
2. Open Contest–Reminders–A New Puzzle/Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Two Important Notices about FREE Reads! — Everyone gets 2 FREE reads!
4. A Puzzle & a Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. FREE Short Story! 3 Days Only! — 2 days left! Get your copy!