New Sale!

So sometimes timing is everything.

I sent a partial and synopsis to my editor yesterday, deciding at the last minute to skip sending it to my CP/beta reader because she was out of town. Clicked send on the e-mail and went to pick up my youngest from school.

Half an hour later I got home to find a response in my in-box. My editor has just sat down at the computer with lunch and my e-mail popped up. Since she could eat and read at the same time, she took a look.

Short story even shorter, THE DEVIL INSIDE will be my next release from Samhain. Woo-hoo! I'll let you know when I have a release date.

Book BIN Tuesday -- Cowboy Games

Ooh, I love me some cowboys. So I was super-excited to see that Wendi Darlin has a new book out with Siren called Cowboy Games. Here's the scoop:

At Fantasy Ranch, love is a game.

THE PLAYERS:

Gavin Carter

Gavin owns Fantasy Ranch, a resort where guests get a week of cowboy love with the hottest cowboys in Wyoming.

Rebecca Ryder

Rebecca's husband had promised to deliver her fantasy du jour: A cowboy. He died before he could keep that promise. She thinks if she plays the Fantasy Ranch game, just for a second she might have her husband back. And maybe that will be long enough to say goodbye.

THE RULES:
1) No sex.
2) No contact or attempted contact after the week is up.

Clause number two is accompanied by a clear warning: Any attempt at contact will be considered 'criminal stalking' and treated as such. A sure sign the cowboys are very good at making women think they have fallen in love.

Wanna play?

Cowboy Games was released in e-format yesterday, so y'all are invited to head over to Siren and Buy It Now, y'hear? :)

Best. Mother's Day. Ever.

So yesterday morning I wake up to find the DH has made cinnamon rolls for breakfast AND done the dishes. Nice way to start the day! After breakfast we headed to the family room where the kids gave me their school-made presents -- a bookmark, a sachet, a decorated mug -- and I opened a few cards. Then the DH handed me a card from the kids with a post-it inside.

Thus started my adventure. In order, here are the clues:

1. Happy Mom's Day to you. Look in my closet in one of my shoes.

2. (In DH's dress shoe) You found me, way to be. Look by the TV.

3. (Under the back right corner of the downstairs television) Back upstairs you go. To the medicine cabinet. Don't be slow.

4. (Tucked in toothbrush packaging) Down you go pitter patter pitter pat. Look inside the Western hat.

5. (WWU baseball cap in front closet) Outside you go to the garage what a drag. Check out the lawn mower bag.

6. (Lawn mower bag, of course, in our detached garage.) What a long way you went. Back inside to child #3's tent.

7. (Play tent in child's room) You found this one, ain't life grand? Go check inside your lovely van.

8. (Under back seat) Go go go you are moving real slow. You will surely thank the kids a bunch. How about some Cap'n Crunch?

9. (Bottom of box in cabinet) Upstairs I do command. Do you think it's in a nightstand?

10. (Bottom drawer of DH's nightstand) To the basement shoo shoo shoo. I really want you to Love Me Do.

11. (Do you KNOW how many Beatles CDs we own? I do now. In the jewel box.) I hope you've had a nice trip. Look in the family room rip.

12. (Our family room couch has a rip in one of the cushions. It's there.) The treasure is close and not so faint, where do we keep the paint?

13. (Paint cabinet in basement) This is exhausting, you look really pale. Maybe you should send the mail.

14. (In mailbox on porch) They will say she ran and she ran. How about the X-mas tree stand?

15. (Back to the basement and the holiday decorations) The treasure you want so make your stand. I think it is in one of your baby's hands.

Back to the family room, where the three kids are standing in a row with their hands behind their backs. Middle child finally hands me a wrapped present, which I open to find a velvet box. Inside is this:

It's hard to see the colors, but it's a mother's birthstone pendant with my kids' birthstones -- peridot, diamond, peridot. Absolutely gorgeous, and completely unexpected. DH really outdid himself this year.

Then we headed to the in-laws for lunch and an impromptu game of Wiffleball -- kids against grown-ups -- before collapsing for the night. It was all in all a perfect day.

Hope your Mother's Day was everything you wanted it to be!

Happy Mother's Day!

If you're a mom --

Or you have a mom --

Or you know someone who's a mom --

Happy Mother's Day! May you spend it with the people you love.

What Do You Do With The Teeth?

This is something I never thought of before I became a parent.

But seriously, what do you do with their baby teeth when they start falling out?

I've got two kids shedding teeth at an alarming rate these days, and after the tooth fairy comes (and that's another story altogether), she's just not sure what to do with those no-longer-useful teeth.

Throwing them away seems sad, in a way, but am I really supposed to KEEP them? I mean, ew.

So if you're a parent, what do you do? If you aren't, but have an opinion, toss that my way, too. The back of my jewelry box is getting a little full.

Romance Studio Diva Contest now open!

Want an opportunity to choose the next romance novelist diva? The Romance Studio is hosting their first ever Diva Contest, and it's going on right now!

The first round is a blind excerpt competition -- all the participating authors wrote 750-1000 word scenes based on a story concept offered by a reader. They're available for reading and voting here. Stop by and take a peek!

The top vote-getters will move on to the next round. So enjoy the excerpts, vote for your favorite, and help choose the next romance Diva!

Best. Toast. Ever.

I stole this link from my editor, Angie, because it totally rocks. (And so does she, for that matter.)

Go watch it! This is how weddings ought to be. :)