So, I spent yesterday morning playing “patient” to a Neuro-Opthamologist and his three interns. Bottom line is the great big honking blind spot in my vision was likely caused by a mini-stroke who knows when because I sure didn’t notice.

He says because of my deformed disks and skinny vessels leading into my eyes that there’s a 1 in 3 chances it will happen again. His advice? Lose 25 pounds (whew, I was sure he was going to say way more), keep excercising (got that covered for the summer, anyway) and stop smoking (say what?).

All right, I’m not completely stupid. I know I have to quit, but I’ve tried cold turkey and that lasts until noon. I’ve tried the patches, but they make my heart race. I’ve tried Wellbutrin, and it makes me happy, but it doesn’t make me want to quit smoking. I’ve asked my family care doctor for a prescription for Chantix, but she’s got this silly rule about not giving it to ex-soldiers. Something about us offing ourselves. So maybe she thinks I’d be happier blind?

I spent yesterday afternoon at The Coffee Beanery in Little Rock—not writing. Shayla Kersten, Cynthia D’Alba and Heather B were there, so it was a gabfest. Today, I wish I could say I was devoting it to getting another chapter of Captured out of the way, but I have an errand to take care of in the AM, and then I’m going to be hanging out at the Joyfully Reviewed chat loop talking about cowboys. If you’d like to join me, my sister Myla Jackson and Layla Chase for some sexy excerpts and no doubt some great prizes, be sure to stop by.

If you aren’t already on their loop, send a message to this address: Chatting_with_Joyfully_Reviewed-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

I’m blogging about the music that motivates me to write at Access Romance’s blog. I’d love you to join me there and offer suggestions for tunes I should add to my playlist! Access Romance link

Yesterday’s winner of the free download of JACQ’S WARLORD (by random number generator) is…Hales!

If you post a comment today, you’ll be in the running
for a free download of this book!

Co-written with my sister and released in April 2006, Jacq’s Warlord is a full-sized, steamy read. If you like your heroes tall, dark, and built and your heroines their perfect match for strength and attitude, you’ll love this story!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

5 Stars from Just Erotic Romances: “…Set in the time and in the battles fought as Henry takes the English throne, the combination of battle action and sexy romance makes this story a standout.”

From Erotic Escapades: “…if you are looking for a book full of action, adventure and lots of humor I recommend that you suspend your disbelief and find yourself drawn into the vibrantly portrayed world of JACQ’S WARLORD…”

With proportions that would make Xena weep, Jacqueline Frazier despairs of ever finding a lover she can’t intimidate. Until the day she ignores an itty-bitty warning regarding the use of a family heirloom, and finds herself swept off her feet by a knight in not so shining armor, back to the twelfth century. Forced to accept the protection and sexual attentions of the overbearing, beast of a man, Rufus of Rathburn, Jacq struggles to find her place in the past while searching for a way back to the future. In the meantime, she aids Rufus’s war cause with a little 21st century ingenuity. Nothing like shaking up the warlord with lessons in bomb-making, guerilla tactics, and the Joys of Sex.

At first unwilling, and downright ungrateful, Rufus begins to see merit in Jacq’s odd ways. Through Jacq’s eccentricities and willfulness, Rufus learns she is a woman to be reckoned with, not to mention she is a lusty handful in bed. Will his admiration of her cunning, strength and uninhibited sexuality grow into a love that breaks the barriers of time? And will their love be strong enough for Jacq to plot a different future in the past?

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“Damnation!”

Rufus landed on his rear at the entrance of his tent. He saw the silvery glint of stars for a moment before he realized the flashing metal was the water ewer bouncing away. Instinct saved him a second knot on his forehead as his arm came up to deflect the next object lobbed at his head. He rolled to his knees and lunged upwards to face his angry adversary.

His breath caught. She was magnificent! Her hair was in disarray around her shoulders and her chest heaved with fury. Bright blotches of color stained her cheeks, and the determined set of her chin and narrowed eyes warned him this would not be an easy conquest.

And she had prepared well. His two war chests were stacked one on top of the other, and he saw a number of objects on the ground beside her feet—ammunition for the battle to come. The chests stood as a shield between them.

“I take it you’re upset,” he said mildly.
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I took one of those Facebook personality quizzes. You know the ones that ask your favorite number, favorite color, season, sex position (okay, so they didn’t ask that one, but they should have!), etc. And this is what the test returned:

Abstract thoughts. Anyone who has seen into my mind, knows that’s right. Who else dreams of genitalia-challenged aliens and blue dolphins falling from the sky?

Intelligent and clever. No problems with this one either!

Attractive. Sexy. In a chubby, blonde, middle-aged sort of way. I guess.

Quiet, shy and humble. Quiet…well, I do spend a lot of time daydreaming. Shy? eh. HUMBLE? Boing Not even close.

Determined to reach goals. Whew, back on track.

Loves freedom. More than money, obviously. I’m a writer.

Rebellious when restricted. Never met a “No” I didn’t want to pound to the ground.

Loves aggressiveness. Oh baby, they nailed this one! Anybody who’s read me knows that one’s true.

Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Nope, these are my sister.

Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp. Since I admire these traits, I’m claiming them as mine.

Those are always so much fun—and like horoscopes. They give you enough of a range of qualities that you have own up to some of them. Not that I don’t check my horoscope every day.

Superstitious and ludicrous. Forgot one.

If anyone’s looking for a free novella, Shayla Black is giving away a story from the Doomsday Brethren series. It’s a available for download on her website! Fated Download

The week passed in a whirlwind. Maybe it’s because I kept so busy writing, or maybe it’s because I’ll be leaving for Seattle in little over a week and I’m beginning to get very excited! Woot!

I completed chapters six through nine of a contemporary m/m/f/f—or is it m/f/m/f? Does it really matter? Tons of sex any way you bend it. 😈

After a day of feeling sorry for myself after a rejection “but will reconsider it after revisions” response to a recent proposal, I’m back on track and more determined than ever.

I shopped for some casual outfits for the upcoming trip—the most harrowing part of the week. I HATE shopping with passion. Always feels like a huge waste of time and I come away exhausted and wondering how anyone enjoys it. Is it something in our DNA that makes some of us more predisposed to enjoy that sort of self-torture? At least with casual clothing there’s actually a chance I’ll wear the things I bought.

This week I have a day of doctor appointments—including seeing a neuro-opthamologist. Christ is that what he is? (I know I must have butchered the spelling!) But maybe he can tell me whether the blind area in my vision is likely to expand. Wouldn’t have known I had a problem at all if not for the many near-misses in traffic. Pfft. And there I was blaming my car’s manufacturer for poor mirror placement.

Will also have to plan what to do with this blog while I’m gone. I made myself a promise to blog daily. But there’s no WiFi at the lakehouse where I’ll be staying, so no Internet, no email, no TWITTER! I think I’ll pre-write posts for every day I’m gone. Maybe I’ll do an excerpt a day with a chance to win the book kind of contest or something. If you have suggestions, don’t be shy about letting me know!

Have a great week!

I wrapped up that story that was giving me fits yesterday. It came in nearly 11,000 words longer than I expected. But hey, since I was flying by the seat of my pants with that one, it’s to be expected some things would change. When I write the longer books, I have to know more about the story than just the opening scene—which was all I had when I started The Marathon Menage.

Anyway, I’m going to visit the 5-year-old and hear straight from the horse’s mouth how her first week of school went. On the telephone, all she could talk about was her excitement over riding the big kid’s bus. I’m sure I’ll have better success directing the conversation toward more enlightening subjects when we’re together. Yeah.

To keep OUR conversation going, how about you tackle this simple little question. Inquiring minds want to know…

If you could know one fact about every person you meet, what particular fact would you want it to be? (Assume that the other person would not have to be aware that you know this fact about them.)

Okay—no boxers or briefs!! (That was the first thing that popped into my head.)

My untitled menage has earned a nickname—The Neverending Ménage.

I rarely write long, meaning if a book should come in at a certain word count, I’ll hit that number, come rain or shine. My latest Work-In-Progress was supposed to be around 20,000 words. If you look at the progress meter to the right, you’ll see I adjusted the planned count upward to 25,000 when I realized the story wasn’t finished. Now, I’m closing in on 28,000 words and I still don’t see the end. Sheesh!

At this point, I just want it to be over. Wish me luck with that today!

I’m running a critique weekend for Rose’s Colored Glasses Critique Group. The hard work was done yesterday, organizing the submisisons and getting them ready to go. We have 70 people on that loop now. On any given weekend we have 12-25 people participate. Critique groups aren’t for everyone. But I do think all writers benefit from criticism. I hope the participants see it as a good thing.

Today, my goal is to finish that stubborn story, get a nice long swim in, and then settle down to read a book. I’m on a Blaze binge at the moment. They’re short, fun—some better written than others— but I’m finding it really depends on the author. And I do know I’m hard to please.

I need to figure out something fun to do for my Friday blogs. I know some writers have “Flasher Fridays” where they write a very short piece, up to 1000 words, and post it on their blogs. I like that idea a lot. That’s not a huge commitment of time. It would provide me a chance to step away from my main project and “cleanse my palate”. Now I just need topics for really short pieces. Any suggestions?