Last week was actually pretty productive—up until Friday. I caught up on a lot of promo activities and started a brand new proposal.

Today, however, I’m feeling kinda lazy and need to figure out how to kick my ass into high gear. I had the 4-year-old the last two days, and spent a lot of time playing with her, which meant I made minimal progress on my proposal. BUT the time away from the story gave me some perspective, and I realized I’d made a major newbie mistake when I set up the conflicts. All the hero and heroine’s issues could be resolved if someone locked them in a room together and told them to talk it all out. Misunderstandings can’t serve as strong hinge for an entire plot.

So, who did I call? My sister, Elle James, the queen of plotting. We threw some ideas around, some really involved, which I nixed because I’d have to start all over again (I’ve done that twice already) and, at last, one solution that was simpler and gave my heroine a very strong reason to keep lying to the hero. I’m happier.

This week, I have to finish the proposal (synopsis and three chapters), ship it to my agent, and then get ready to go to Oklahoma. Sis and I are conducting a plotting bootcamp for a group of ladies, and we will be gone Thursday through Sunday.

I’m still culling photos. I remember taking this photo in Memphis at Edgemont cemetary. I love studying statuary, wondering why people chose certain things for their loved ones. This one called to me. I’m sure there’s a story here somewhere.

Progress on current Western proposal

February’s moon is known as the Storm moon and sometimes the Death moon. Which makes sense. February is cold and harsh, and the days are short.

To the Wiccan, its a time for cleaning out the clutter in your house and preparing herb beds for new seeds. It’s also a good time to dump any emotional baggage you might be dragging around.

Spells are cast to help you get past the challenges a bleak February might offer. Seems appropriate for me at the moment—in between contracts—to think about casting a spell or two to help my dreams and new projects along. 😉

My very good friend, Cathryn Fox, has a new book out with Samhain, so I’m providing you a tease of an excerpt to whet your appetites!

It was just a sexy game. Then things went south…

Taylor Dayton has been holding back a secret from her best friend, firefighter Christian Bain: he’s the only man who can douse the flames inside her. It’s time he noticed her as more than an ice cream and movie pal. What better way to melt the blinders from his eyes than propose an irresistibly sexy grooming session?

Christian can hardly believe the woman from his erotic dreams has just issued a siren call no red-blooded male can resist. He’ll give her what she wants, and when he’s done with her, she’ll need more than a fire hose to cool her down.

When their little game leads them to discover their secret fetishes and fantasies, they realize that this sexy seduction is no longer just a game.

This time, it’s for keeps.

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

I loved this friends-to-lovers short story because it was written in a fun, quirky sense that had me smiling through most of it. The sex scenes were intense and erotic while also carrying forward that sense of fun and adventure…That made the relationship work on so many levels. I highly recommend One on One for anyone looking for a sexy fun short read to warm your body and soul!
~ The Romance Studio, 5 Hearts

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

“Okay, what do I have to do to get Christian to look at me like that?” Taylor Dayton asked her two friends as they all sat around The Hose, the local watering hole where the firefighters from Station 419 gathered for a nightly game of eight ball.
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First, thanks to everyone who came by to see me at the Aphrodisia and Access Romance blogs yesterday! I had a blast reading your comments. And I’m glad you enjoyed my little story.

But you stopped by to hear who won, right? We’ll get there.

While you were busy reading and having a laugh over my antics with the judge, I was hard at work, toiling over a new story. I’m happy to say I finished the first chapter, cleaned up the prologue, and maybe someone at Blaze might actually like what I did. Let’s just say it’s more cowboys.

Okay, that was my gratuitous attempt at annoying you by talking about my boring writer’s life, but hey, who’s gonna appreciate how hard I work if I don’t mention that I actually do work sometime?!

All right, all right…the winner of the autographed copy of Texas Men is…Sheila F! Congratulations!! Sheila, be sure to send me an email to tell me where to ship your book.

For the rest of y’all who didn’t win this time, I’ll be starting a countdown contest next week, working up to the release of Texas Men on February 24th!

My life just got complicated. I’m scheduled to be at the Aphrodisia Authors blog and the Access Romance blog today. I’d love to see you stop in both places because I’ll be talking about Texas Men.

And since I’m asking you to follow me to two other blogs today, I’m offering a prize!

Pssst…You have to see the posts to learn all the juicy details! ~DD

I scooped this from my favorite “man-watch” site, Just Beautiful Men. Tell me this man doesn’t have a totally lickable chest—sand and all! What sort of writing inspiration do you think he’s giving me?
😎 DD in the groove and writing her ass off today