I feel lucky

dandyAll kids drive their parents crazy, some more than others. Take Thumper, for instance. He’s my baby, the youngest of my four children, and the reason I can’t have nice things. He’s the reason I started sprouting gray hair before I hit thirty, the reason I’m sick of my own name, and the probable cause for any alcoholism his daycare teachers may suffer from.

But you know what? He’s perfect. He may be stubborn to a fault and have more energy than any one person should ever have, but he’s also the happiest four-year-old I’ve ever met. He has such a good heart, even when he’s feeling ornery, and he’s so stinkin’ adorable that I can never stay mad at him for long. I am lucky to be his mother.

For the record, I am lucky to be mother (and stepmother) to three other pretty fantastic kids, too. But I feel especially lucky to be Thumper’s mother, because I almost wasn’t, a fact I was reminded of last night.

We’ve been having…

Grudging: Birth of Saints

On Thursday, a brand new novel had a fantastic cover reveal, and I signed up with Rockstar Book Tours to help spread the word.  But Thursday was a rough day, and Friday was no better, and yesterday was just wild.  So today, I’m stealing five minutes to tell you about a new book from Michelle Hauck called Grudging:

GrudgingA world of chivalry and witchcraft…and the invaders who would destroy everything.

The North has invaded, bringing a cruel religion and no mercy. The ciudades-estados who have stood in their way have been razed to nothing, and now the horde is before the gates of Colina Hermosa…demanding blood.

On a mission of desperation, a small group escapes the besieged city in search of the one thing that might stem the tide of Northerners: the witches of the southern swamps.

The Women of the Song.

But when tragedy strikes their negotiations, all that is left is a…

Sublime Rhyme

To read more about Fezzik's great gift, check outThe Princess Bride!

To read more about Fezzik’s great gift, check outThe Princess Bride!

Unlike Fezzik, I do not possess a great gift for rhyme.  That, however, doesn’t stop me  from trying, especially when it’s with a super fun form like the limerick:

It takes a really long time to think
Of rhymes that don’t epically stink.
One rhyme is fine,
And two are sublime,
But from more than that, I do shrink.

Today’s poems are supposed to embrace the imperfect, and be personal, and I think I’ve done that here.  I love poems that rhyme, but rhyming is hard, yo!  What about you – do you like poems that rhyme?  Or do you prefer unrhymed verse?

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Baby, when the lights go out…

WTLGOThe Ink Slingers League is proud to present another anthology for your reading pleasure, and it’s just in time for Halloween!  A collection of twenty-five short stories from authors such as Tricia Drammeh, Joleene Naylor, Roger Lawrence, and DM Yates, When the Lights Go Out is chock full of thrills, chills, and mysteries.  And best of all, it’s free!

You can get your copy today at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and Amazon.

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Naked

To begin with, go read this post by rarasaur.  Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Finished?  Okay, then.

I loved the first line.  After all, how can you not love a reference to Pride and Prejudice?  It’s only one of the best books ever written.  But if you read the rest of the post (and the rest of her blog), it’s amazing.  It’s simultaneously powerful and empowering, and I want so badly to be able to write like that.

To make people feel things.  In their gut.

To feel things myself.  And not in the way that I normally feel things, which is superficial, like someone doing a white-glove check to see how dusty my mantle is.  I want to feel things with every ounce of my soul, every fiber of my being.

I’m tired of being enveloped in bubble wrap.

But I don’t know how to get rid of it.

Fear is powerful.  And I think it guides too much of my behavior.

Time to do something about that.

Time to get naked.

What about you?  Do you feel things in your gut, or do things wash over you like waves upon sand?  Do you blog naked?

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Time to party like it’s 1999!

Reunited and it feels so good...

Reunited and it feels so good…

I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone this long without blogging.  I’ve thought about it often over the last *checks notes* several weeks, but I’ve been busy.  Between football games and family time and working and cleaning and moving my in-laws and all the other stuff I tend to put off till the last possible minute, I’ve been doing something wonderful.

I’ve been writing.

And it has been glorious.

Sure, it’s first-draft type stuff.  Sure, it’s going to need a lot of work.  But I’ve been writing.  And it makes me happy.

Almost as happy as that can of pop over there on the right.

Who besides me remembers SurgeAnyone?

How’s it going?

Dear blog,

Please to enjoy this cute kitten. :)

Please to enjoy this cute kitten. 🙂

Hi!  How are you?  Lonely?  I’m sorry.  It’s been a long time since I’ve visited, hasn’t it?  I hope that, despite my long absence, you’ve still been having fun and doing all the things.  I didn’t mean to be gone so long – really.  But life happened?  And I’m still trying to get a handle on it all.

It’s been an eventful month.  That’s both good and not-so-good.

Also?  I’ll be back with more stuff real soon.  In the meantime, happy Hump Day!  (Thank God it’s almost over.)

Love,

Moi

How did September treat you?  Are you looking forward to October?  Let’s catch up in the comments!

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Release day!

Promo_Banner_AWB_Anthology

That’s right, my lovelies, it’s release day at long last!  Starting today, you can get A World of Their Own to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part.

AWB-AWOTOOddly enough, those last two bits have had a profound impact on the making of this book.  A World of Their Own is dedicated to great friend, fabulous author, and beating dragon heart of the Alliance of Worldbuilders, Lindsey J. Parsons, who died unexpectedly in January 2014.  All proceeds from this book will be donated to the World Literacy Fund.

So go on, buy a copy for yourself, your friends, your family, even that baby down the street.  Literacy is not just a privilege – it’s a right.

“A home without books is a body without a soul.”  –Marcus Tullius Cicero

Pick up your copy today, available in paperback (Amazon and Amazon UK) and e-book (here and here), and have a great weekend! 🙂

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.