UPDATE: The winner is…Margaret!
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It’s finally feeling like Spring. The japonica and forsythia bloomed and faded. The trees are budding—first, the red buds which quickly turn green, too. We’ve had to mow the lawn several times now. The temperatures haven’t dipped to freezing in a while…which makes me really antsy for it to warm up enough, so the pool won’t make me into a popsicle. We won’t talk about the green tinge of the water. We’re working on that.

So, thinking about trees growing their leaves, I found this picture which inspired a “what if” thought. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, would you enter? What would you hope is on the other side?

UPDATE: The winner is…Diane Sallans!
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One family member is arriving tonight. My sister will be arriving maybe Sunday night…? Anyway, it looks like the weather might cooperate with Monday’s eclipse—the only total solar eclipse we’ll see here until 2044!!! I’m so excited—or as excited as I can be as I have a deadline approaching that is kicking my ass and I have been writing for 12+ hours a day. And yes, I have to finish the book on eclipse day. Gah! Yes, feel sorry for me. I could use an attagirl!

Anyway, today’s puzzle is fun. With all the weird nonsense online about the upcoming eclipse (what on earth do earthquakes have to do with eclipses?!), I thought the image I chose would be fun. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then tell me the wildest story you’ve heard about Monday’s eclipse or eclipses in general! Have fun!

UPDATE: The winner is…Jean White!
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I’m late posting today because I’m not managing my time well.

I’ve been…distracted. After finishing up work on What Happens in Bozeman, my brain decided it wanted a rest from creating. I’m fighting it. I’ve already started the next story, and I will keep to schedule, but I’ve been dragging my feet.

What I really, really, really want to do is spend a week bingeing some fun Sci-Fi. I’m a Star Trek girl. However, while I’m waiting for new episodes of Discovery, Lower Decks, and Strange New Worlds to drop, I’ve been searching for another fix. I began Seaquest—which, by the way, is dreadful—and only have two episodes left to suffer through. Why did I continue watching when it’s so bad? Because I started it, and I hate not finishing what I start, whether it makes sense or not. A personality flaw, I know.

Last night, I googled “shows to watch if you love Star Trek, and Andromeda popped up in the list of many, many shows I’ve already streamed. Yes, Kevin Sorbo is the main character, but I will overlook that annoyance because it’s a Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek‘s creator!) project—and there are five seasons to gorge on! I was in bed when I reviewed the list. Then I googled “how to stream” and discovered it was FREE on Amazon Prime, so I clicked the link and watched on my phone (which I NEVER do). I didn’t go to sleep until I’d watched the first three episodes, which kept me up into the wee hours of the morning. It’s decent. It certainly caught my attention, and it’s different enough from Star Trek, and yet alike, that I’m definitely not bored.

But it does mean I’m dragging ass today when I have a mile-long list of things to accomplish today. So, onto my first priority—this blog. 🙂

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you’ve watched Andromeda. Or tell me another Sci-Fi show (not Star Trek, not Farscape, not Firefly/Serenity, not Seaquest, not Star Wars) that I ought to check out after I binge my through Andromeda. Have a great Saturday and enjoy the puzzle!

UPDATE: The winner is…Ruth Limeburner!
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Happy Saturday! And you know what Saturday means, right? It’s puzzle-time!

I really do search hard for pretty or weird pictures to share to make this fun. Today’s is weird. Hope you enjoy it!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me what you think is happening in this picture. Or, simply tell me how it makes you feel. Super easy. Have fun!

UPDATE: The winner is…Deb Brown!
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First, a reminder of what’s coming your way next Tuesday!
Have you ordered your copy?

What happens in Bozeman stays in Bozeman…unless it’s a cowboy!

Stranded in Bozeman, Montana, for the night while snowplows clear a mountain pass, Kelly Willis decides to throw caution to the wind. After being jilted by her college sweetheart, she’s determined to have one no-holds-barred night, her way of seeking revenge against a lifetime of conformity, before she settles down in a new town to live a very circumspect life as an elementary school teacher. She chooses another stranded motorist, propositioning him with the offer of a no-strings, no-names night of pleasure.

No one is more shocked than rancher Ryan Mobley when he appears at his daughter’s parent-teacher meeting to discover the angel he’d made love to is his daughter’s new teacher. Now that she’s here, he’s going to do everything he can to convince her they have a real connection, something they can build a lifetime on.

While she wrangles the class bully and he tries to figure out who’s rustling his cattle, the two of them grow closer with the help of a classroom full of mini matchmakers.

Pre-order your copy here!

Saturday Puzzle-Contest

 For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me what this scenery does to you. That’s all. Happy Saturday!

UPDATE: The winner is…Cindy!
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I’m busy writing, writing, writing! And I have no idea how the story will unfold. It’s kind of fun being in the dark until stuff happens I never expected. I let the characters do their thing. I know. It sounds nuts, but it’s usually how my stories happen. I know how they begin but after that…?

Anyway, I have so much to do. Write another mystery chapter, edit some, and then read more Secret Identities stories. I’m up to my eyeballs in work—and then, before I can go to bed, I’ll have to paint something to stay on track with the challenge.

What do you get to do? Well, I have a challenge for you, too! Are you excited? 🙂 Solve the puzzle then add some ideas for what you think a romantic date night should include for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

I’m currently doing the #the100dayproject. Basically, I paint or create some kind of art for 100 days straight and post it. Trying to find subjects for so many days is a challenge in itself. So, I poured over the work I did in last year’s challenge and found a photo of a postcard featuring poppies. I really liked it at the time, but I like it even more now, so I’m going to try to recreate it. I don’t know if I can do a better job. It depends on my patience and whether I use the right paper and paint. Whether I have the brush pen I used before. Maybe I should choose another subject so I don’t disappoint myself, but painting is a lot like writing. You find a niche or topic you like and try to repeat the pattern so you reproduce something you love.

Anyway, enough talk. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me about something you’ve done you were proud of and tried to recreate. It can be about anything. How successful were you? Have fun!