The winner is…Christine!
*~*~*

First, Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there!

I spent last evening working with the 6-year-old to make a special mom’s day gift for my dd. It was “super-secret” and mom was warned away from the craft room. The little one chose the beads—a very pretty, dainty, black hematite accented with silver and rhinestone spacers. Then I cut the elastic and supervised her as she strung all those little beads (took forever, and she dropped a few), until I could tie the knot for her. She was very proud of herself. Then I let her work with my Derwent watercolor pencils to draw a special card for mommy. I loved every minute. She was soooo excited about making something she knew her mommy would wear often. I was excited to share something I know how to do with her.

I imagine she’ll be begging to “bead” often now. 🙂

My own mother passed this last January. So, this is the first Mother’s Day of my life that I’m not celebrating with her. I, too, remember making her paintings that she hung on the fridge. I miss her every day, but more so today. Happy Mother’s Day, mom.

A Puzzle

And just for fun, and to play to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle and tell me what it’s about!

UPDATE: The winner is…Kelley!
*~*~*

Here’s a list of open contests! Be sure to enter!

1. Another month gone… A reminder about open contests, plus a new contest! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. A Reminder and a Puzzle/Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. A. Catherine Noon: The Great Pause (Giveaway) — Get a free app!
4. Flashback: Crescent Moon (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

Tell me your story!

Let’s get this party started!

I bought this brainstorming tool years ago at some writers’ conference. I’ve only used it here! “Story Cubes” is a brainstorming game. You roll the dice and whatever pictures appear, face-up, are the ones you use to riff off a story.

To make this fun, I’ll offer a prize—a $5 Amazon gift card—good for purchasing one or two stories…

Have fun with this! Don’t overthink! Here’s the roll…

This looks so interesting!!! And there’s a cat hair under the arrows and a crumb in the groove on my desktop. I’m cleaning as soon as I post this!

UPDATE: The winner is…Mary Preston!
*~*~*

A Reminder!

These contests are still open! Enter while you can!

1. Simple Delights (Contest–3 Winners!) — This one ends soon! Win a free story!
2. Angela Addams: Dream Cast for Wicked Disclosure (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Another month gone… A reminder about open contests, plus a new contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!

A Puzzle & a Contest!

Can you believe I almost forgot to post today? I’ve been posting a daily blog for YEARS, so you’d think it would be part of my DNA by now. But no. So, this is quick!

So far as what’s happening here…? We discovered mold in the basement. Has anyone ever dealt with it before? OMG. We’re tackling it ourselves. Cleaning walls with chemicals, painting with Drylok, pulling up tiles and replacing them. It’s a huge undertaking. The lockdown is feeling pretty convenient right about now…

Our state is starting to open back up. Can’t pay that unemployment if you force people to work. Not getting into that here though. Such sad, sad news, truly horrifying coming from all over the country, but we’re trying our best not to become statistics. We’re continuing our social distancing throughout the dang summer, come Hell or high water!

The goats are growing and growing! Now, my dd wants a lamb (but not as a pet). The big question will be how to keep the little ones from getting too attached!  I’m still pounding away at my story which I have to finish by end of next week. I’m only a little stressed out (cough). I have two editing jobs to finish this week and another to begin. I’ve got all the work I can do. AND I’m keeping up so far with my daily #100dayproject postings!

Here’s today’s:

So, onto why you’re really here!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me a little snippet of a story about this woman!

UPDATE: The winner is…Becky Byers!
*~*~*

It’s Sunday! You needed that reminder, right? I know it’s Sunday because the 15-year-old is going to clean for me today! It’s her “job” for which she gets paid. And she earns it. I am a collector (er, my dd says, “hoarder”), so there are lots of things to dust!

Today’s post is easy. Remember to enter all the open contests before they close up tight! Solve the puzzle and tell me a story for another chance to win!

A Reminder

1. Diana Cosby: Forbidden Realm, The Story, The Series Inspiration (Contest) — This one ends soon!! Win a tote and a mug!
2. A Puzzle & a Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. What I’ve been doing with my self-isolation! (Contest) — Win a handmade bookmark!
4. Vonna Harper: Breathing Deep (For Five Lucky Readers–Free Read!) — 5 people will win a FREE uber-sexy book!
5. Poll About Prizes & a Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!

The Puzzle & the Contest

 For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me a little snippet of a story about this man!

UPDATE: The winner is…Fedora!
*~*~*

I’m still playing catchup after the power outage. I finished a set of edits this week, and now, I’m working on another. Tomorrow, I’ll be starting a new story while editing the remaining shorties for the First Response: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology. As well, I have to work on new art pieces for the #100dayproject. Never a dull moment around here!

I’d love to hear what new things you are doing to keep busy in this crazy time. I haven’t added anything new to my plate, but maybe, some of you are growing bored with your first endeavors.

I’ll give you a little challenge now to help keep you occupied. 🙂

Finish the puzzle, then tell me a story about the image. One commenter will win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is Mary McCoy!
*~*~*

Repeat: There’s no excuse for being bored!

When the kids get mopey, my daughter gives them chores. After she kept doing that, my granddaughter asked for a large canvas and some acrylic paint. My dd had the kids dress up twice now for fun “photo shoots” outside. There’s plenty to do other than watch Tiger King. You just have to find something that inspires you.

Okay, so I’m luckier than most. I get to be creative every day. It’s kind of my job. But when writing becomes work, I turn to paint and pens. When it started to look like this crazy lockdown would be a longterm thing for me, I looked around for something I could do that would keep me busy, so I joined the #100dayproject art challenge. Which is why I’m driving people on my Friends page in Facebook nuts with pictures of what I’m creating—the cool and the really, really bad. 🙂

So, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what new challenge you will undertake if this thing goes on forever for you, too. Will you learn to paint? Take up writing poems? Dust off your camera?

Also, just a quick reminder here, folks…

New Orleans Nights: One Hot Night releases on Tuesday!! It’s FREE in Kindle Unlimited. It’s a fun, very fast-paced, and sexy story! Promise! You won’t be bored! Here’s what it’s about and where you can get it.

NEW ORLEANS NIGHTS:
Hot Sultry Nights, Hot-Blooded Heroes…

Part of the private security team hired to keep visiting international dignitaries safe, New Orleans detective, Remy Cyr, has several interesting run-ins with a certain local reporter hellbent on crashing the convention’s nighttime events. While she’s certainly a nuisance, sneaking inside in a variety of disguises, he can’t help admiring how resourceful and stubborn she is. As sexy as she is pretty, he soon can’t resist her attraction.

A socialite determined to earn her own way in the world, reporter Stacia Rice is determined to dig up dirt at the convention, anything to earn her a spot on her newspaper’s front page. But one handsome, dogged cop keeps getting in her way. When they find themselves alone, neither can resist the intensity of their instant attraction.

When a group of armed men invades the venue and takes the dignitaries hostage, Remy realizes that he and Stacia are the only ones who know, and the only ones who can save them…

Pre-Order your eCopy here!
Get your Print copy here!

And finally, the puzzle!

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

Psst! Just a quick reminder!
This offer is ending in just a couple of days!
Get your free read! Lily’s Last Stand

So, here we are in our third week of lockdown. It has been three weeks now, right? Hard to tell. The days blend together.

On the pro side of things (I don’t let myself think about any cons!)—I’m nearing the end of another book! Yay! My dd has been decorating/rearranging things in the house. It’s so pretty now! Her attention has now turned to the storage sheds. I’m not sure how that means multiple trips to the dump and the burn pile, but she has warned me not to look—so for my mental health, I have not! The kids have really liked their online classes and assignments. Sure, they miss their friends, but they’ve been hanging out on TikTok and FaceTime. They aren’t feeling horribly isolated. Not yet, anyway. And now, Arkansas has made the hard decision to close the schools through the end of the school year. What a relief!

Today, in addition to hopefully getting to the end of my book, I begin my #100dayproject art challenge! I’m stoked! I haven’t done anything to prepare, so I’ll be busy scrambling to do my first pieces. I’m sharing everything I do on Instagram. The good and the bad. (I’m sure there will be lots of horrific, too! 🙂 ) An artist, I am not, but I do love working with paints and color, so it feeds something inside me. Makes me happy. That’s the point.

So, three weeks in, how are you feeling? I saw something from Dr. Fauci saying that our return to normal will mean a “new normal.” Makes me sad that we will forever be hyper-aware of what we touch, who we stand next to, and that this disease will continue to be with us. I’m so very thankful that my family lives in a rural area, away from other people. I can’t imagine how paranoid people living in cities will become.

On a lighter note, I have another puzzle for you! It’s something fun! Solve the puzzle, then answer me this for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

If you were to write a YA book using this picture as the cover,
what would the story be about?