~~ "She has so many aliases, you'd think she was a spy!" ~~

Wednesday, November 24, 2010


Yesterday, in the airport waiting for Ken, I…
  • did an hour and half of copy editing
  • wrote 700 words on Out of the Frying Pan
  • drafted my Kingdom Chronicler article

That was after getting some work done on the living/dining room curtains and helping Morgana clean her dining room.

Today I…
  • had an acupuncture appointment (Despite my best efforts, acupuncture does not have a double C in it.)
  • did the Trader Joe’s food shopping
  • picked up a spiral-cut ham at the Honey-Baked Ham place (Irony: We asked Ken’s mom to bring a ham to the family Thanksgiving. But then my sister changed her plans again and now isn’t arriving until Friday—moving family Thanksgiving to Saturday—so Morgana and Brian invited us to their Thanksgiving tomorrow…and asked us to bring a ham.)
  • did a bunch more sewing on the curtains
  • copy edited for an hour and a half
  • answered a bunch of e-mail
  • snuggled with Ken and watched some TV (more of that to come!)

Tomorrow, I need to…
  • sew the linings to the eight curtain panels. Has to be done tomorrow, so that Morgana can help me finish them on Friday.
  • decorate the house for Thanksgiving (predicated on Ken getting the boxes out of the attic)
  • make sure my Friday food shopping list is complete
  • sort the silver
  • wash the extra china
  • copy edit, ideally for two hours
  • clean the hot tub
  • write
  • go to Thanksgiving dinner at Morgana and Brian’s

Friday, I’ll be…
  • picking up Thanksgiving dinner and bunch of groceries
  • putting the makings for spagetti sauce in the crock pot
  • tidying the house, putting out sheets and towels, etc.
  • finishing the curtains and putting them up
  • writing
  • copy editing
  • hanging out with my sister and her family when they arrive!


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Cover poll

Okay, I just cannot decide between these two incredibly gorgeous covers, so I need your help!

Please vote in the comments below. (Facebook readers: Please leave comments here at my blog, so I have them all in once place for review. Thank you!)

Here's the story blurb:

Shelly is the Queen of Christmas—her decorations, cookies, and Nativity scene (complete with life-sized camels) would make Martha Stewart weep with envy. But then Brad moves in across the street and sets up his house with a display that puts the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Wizards in Winter” video to shame. Shelly won’t stand for the competition. But she might find herself draped over his lap…

Which cover do you like better?

Cover A


Cover B


Monday, November 22, 2010

Hey, look! An actual blog post!


Lately my life has been copyediting, sewing/purchasing things to finish the curtains with, other work-related stuff (but not enough writing. Argh!), Thanksgiving prep, and, for several nights, watching all the Harry Potter movies with Morgana and Brian and Thomasina in preparation for seeing the new one. Except I want to wait to see it with Ken, so they all went without me. Which is fine; my choice.

Except, ARGH! so many other things not getting done! I just realized, at 9:38 p.m., that I haven’t looked at my personal e-mail since this morning, other than glancing at the new messages via my phone. I haven’t worked out since Thursday, and today my trainer canceled tomorrow’s session, except I promptly filled that slot with more curtain-sewing with Morgana (after I help her clean her dining room).

Then I’m leaving by 3 p.m. to get to the airport to pick up Ken…who doesn’t arrive until 10 p.m., but I want to get there before it’s dark because even though my night vision seems to have improved somewhat, I’d still rather not take any chances. (I’m much more comfortable driving at night with a passenger now, but still not so much on my own, just in case.) But, I’m taking the laptop and I suspect that in 5 hours I can get a good chunk of stuff done.

Wednesday I have an acupuncture appointment and hopefully we’ll finish the curtains (eep) and there’s a huge list of stuff both Ken and I need to do. Thursday we’re having Thanksgiving at Morgana and Brian’s. Friday evening my sister and her family arrive, so I need to have the spaghetti sauce in the crock pot that morning. Saturday will be our family Thanksgiving (Ken’s mom is also coming) and then Sunday my sister et al leave.

At which point I have to finish the book I’m copy editing and get all of my work on one novel done so I can pass it on to my coauthor and then get Chapter 3 of another novel done so I can start submitting it, because then I’ll have a new novel to copy edit on December 1 and I have two things due December 15, but I leave for NY on December 13 to help my mom drive to NC. (I fly back to CA on December 20).

Somewhere in there, I need to catch up on my personal e-mail and work out on a regular basis. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Right, it’s 10 p.m. and I’m off to the sewing room for a bit. I think I’ll blast Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway” and sing loudly.