Welcome to my daily blog. If this is your first time, I'm a romance writer and a misplaced city girl currently living in the wild Sierras. I tend to have a lot of I-Love-Lucy moments that I share here but sometimes we talk about books, TV, and our favorite cookies. Okay, my favorite cookies. In any case, please feel free to comment by clicking on the Comments at the bottom of any entry. If you're too shy, that's okay, just know I love having you.

September 2, 2010 | Filed under: Stuff

Ever try to get a decent picture of your teenagers?

It can’t be done.

So I decided that they’re cute just the way they are.

Shh, don’t tell ‘em.

September 1, 2010 | Filed under: Stuff

I got a note from my editor yesterday that included a quote from Publishers Weekly on my upcoming book, Simply Irresistible:

“Heartwarming and sexy…an abundance of chemistry, smoldering romance, and hilarious sisterly antics.”—Publishers Weekly

Isn’t that a damn pretty quote? Made my whole day. Thought maybe I should share an excerpt, enticing you all to want to preorder…

Excerpt:
The loud knocking startled Maddie out of a dead sleep. Discombobulated, she blinked, and then blinked again, but all she could see was a sea of green and a flashing red that had her groaning and lifting her hands to hold her pounding head.

Taking stock, she realized that she was flat on her back beneath the tree, staring up at a string of obnoxious chili pepper lights. Or maybe that was the hangover that was so obnoxious.

With another groan, she managed to sit up and nearly took out an eye with one of the low, straggly tree branches. Slapping a hand over it, she looked down at herself. Huh. She was completely tangled in red yarn. And she was pretty sure she had sap in her hair.

Her sisters were still prone under the tree, out cold. Chloe was snoring. Tara was . . . smiling? Not a sight Maddie had seen often. She shook her head, then groaned at the movement.

Note to self— never drink again.

The knock on the front door came a second time, and in unison, Chloe and Tara sat straight up, conked their heads together, and moaned.

Maddie staggered toward the door, caught sight of herself in the small mirror over the little table in the foyer, and just about screamed. Her hair had rioted. The little mascara she’d had on her lashes was now outlining her eyes, and she had a crease down one cheek from whatever she’d used as a pillow, which she suspected had been the yarn she was still wrapped in. “Never again,” she told her pathetic reflection and then pointed at it for emphasis. Her reflection stuck her tongue out.

With a sigh, she opened the front door, then stood there in a stupor. Standing on the porch, wearing faded Levi’s, a black sweater over a black T-shirt, mirrored sunglasses, and a crooked smile was Jax Cullen.

Maddie stared up at Jax, who was not hung over and didn’t have a crease on his face. He looked big, and bad, and so sexy it should be a crime, and she reacted without thinking.

She shut the door in his face.

Tara gasped.

Chloe laughed.

And Maddie covered her face. “Quick, somebody shoot me.”

“Honey.” Tara’s hand settled on her shoulder. “Maybe you don’t know this being from LA and all, but shutting the door on someone’s nose is considered rude in almost all fifty states.”

“You don’t understand. It’s him. Jax. ” And maybe it was the fact that her brain was on low battery, but just looking at him made her hot and bothered. Her! The woman who’d decreed that the entire male race was scum. “What do I do?”

“Well, for starters,” Chloe said, “You stop slamming door on guys who look like that. ”

“He has superpowers,” Maddie said, nibbling on her thumbnail.

“Yeah?” Clearly fascinated, Chloe took another peek. “Like being hot as hell?”

Feeling like preordering yet? Go ahead, I’ll wait … (Here for the book, here for the Kindle version)

Oh, are ya back? Good. While you’re here, maybe you could answer a question. Where do you buy the majority of your books? The grocery store? Target? Amazon? Borders? Where? Inquiring minds want to know …

August 31, 2010 | Filed under: Stuff

I’m from L.A. Big, crowded, hot, wonderful L.A. I didn’t come to the mountains until I was grown but my kids have been raised very differently than I was. It’s funny to me that they don’t know what a real traffic jam is, or the true anonymity of living in a town with enough people that you don’t run into everyone you know everywhere you go. Maybe it’s my perspective that makes this whole small town living gig amusing, but when I saw this list, I knew I had to share with those of you who could understand. So … without further ado, you know you’re from a small, mountain town if you can nod your head at any of these:

1. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a snowplow on the highway.
3. You measure distance in hours.
5. You often switch from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day.
6. You use a down comforter in the summer.
7. Your grandparents drive at 65 mph through 13 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
8. You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.
9. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
11. You carry jumper cables in your car and actually even know how to use them.
12. There are seven empty cars running in the parking lot at the 7-11 store at any given time.
13. You design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
14. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
15. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and flannel pajamas.
16. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and construction.
17. It takes you 3 hours to go to the store for one item even when you’re in a rush because you have to stop and talk to everyone in town.
19. You get pissed off at anyone who goes under 55mph (even when its snowing).
20. You still manage to go skiing even when the road is closed.
22. You know the names of everybody you went to school with… and their mom’s name.
23. You can pick the person you want to walk down the aisle with at high school graduation in kindergarten because YES they will still be here.
24. You actually understand these jokes

August 29, 2010 | Filed under: Stuff

I’m reading Dragonfly in Amber. And as I mentioned on Twitter, I have to add Jamie Fraser to my list of Fantasy Boyfriends. Ranger? Roarke? You’re both going to have to move over and share me with Jamie.

So what i want to know is, who’s YOUR fantasy boyfriend(s)? Also, I should admit, that if dogs could turn into people, my 4th fantasy boyfriend would be Frat Boy, who has the unique ability to have fun no matter what he’s doing.

Now you …?

August 26, 2010 | Filed under: Stuff

He’s pretty but he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. And yet there’s something so endearing about our silly, lazy, huge-hearted puppy. I take him on a hike every day. Most days we take the same trail, or close enough to it that I know the woods like the back of my hand.

Okay, that’s a lie. Once the snow flies, I get lost up there every single day. I could get lost in a paper bag. It’s really pathetic, but I digress. The point is that Frat Boy knows the trail like the back of his hand– er, paw. Yesterday, he and I took the usual trail. And about half a mile into the woods, he took off after a coyote. I could hear him in the trees but he was in the thick bush and I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t even get to him. I yelled and called and got all pissy for a good twenty minutes before I decided that the damn dog could find his own way home. I was hungry, I had cookies at home calling my name, and also I had pages to write.

So I huffed and puffed and took myself home. Alpha Man looked at me all surprised. “Where’s the dog?” he asked.

“Having a play date with a coyote,” I told him and went to work.

Thirty minutes later he asked me if I was really not going to go find the dog. CRAP! The dog!!! I’d forgotten the damn dog! What kind of doggy mommy am I? So I put my shoes back on and went back up the trail, yelling for Frat Boy.

I found him up the trail, not too far from where he’d bounded off. Or should I say he found me. He leapt at me, nearly knocking me over in his joy at the sight of me. Clearly he’d had his fun with the coyote and then, unable to figure out which way to go, he’d sat to wait for me. He could not stop grinning, even all through my yelling at him for deserting me. He just listened intently as I told him exactly what I thought of his behavior, and then when I’d wound down, he set his head on my leg and gave me the huge I Love You puppy eyes.

So I caved like a cheap suitcase, told him I loved him too, and gave him a cookie. Hey, I defy you to look into these eyes and stay angry.

Go ahead, try it.

Filed under: Stuff

Dear Lord,

So far today I am doing all right. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or overindulgent. However, I am going to get out of bed in a few minutes and I will need a lot more help after that. Thank you.

Amen.