What a wonderful thing, to look up yesterday afternoon and see an eagle soaring above our town home! We live just across the state highway from the Mississippi River, where eagles nest along the wooded shoreline areas, so every now and again—if you watch at the right moment—you can see one of these majestic birds floating effortlessly on the air currents with his wings outspread. This one looked luminous, with the rays of afternoon sunshine glowing on his underside.

Now, just as a contrast, we also have a wild jake (young male) turkey in our town home complex! We had a pair of turkeys last spring while we were remodeling, before we moved in, but now we seem to have this one young fellow darting from patio to patio to eat the birdseed that drops from the feeders hanging from many decks above. My husband thinks he got banished from the flock for doing some adolescent male thing the other turkeys didn’t like. My sister has named him Sidney, and he occasionally waddles up, poking the air with his beak as he walks, and gazes in through the sliding glass doors at us. Sue leaves her cigarettes and ashtray out there on the patio table, and I keep waiting to see Sidney go off with a lit cig in his beak.

So it makes me ask myself, as I contemplate these two so-different bird personalities: am I acting like an eagle today, regal and soaring and fully aware of how magnificent I am? Or am I being a turkey, lurking under decks and then sprinting, ungainly and dorky, from one feeder to the next? While each bird was created to fulfill his place and purpose—just as we all are—maybe it would be a good thing to emulate the more glorious bird every chance we get!

As I did this morning’s Tarot meditation, a habit I’ve revived with the new year to regain some balance in my life, I asked the question “How shall I focus myself today?” This strong, positive card came up at the center of my spread. I love the DruidCraft Tarot deck (and this image is used with permission of artist Will Worthington) for its earthy colors and the fascinating personalities it presents, and this Princess of Swords not only answered my soul’s question today–she provided me with the topic for this blog post!

Basically, this Princess was telling me to remember who holds the sword when it comes to prioritizing my time: my exercise time (because a YMCA membership is one of my revived habits, and because I still have a border collie to walk), the time I spend driving my sister to work, cooking, and generally holding this household together–not to mention my writing time. I started a new Amish book yesterday, the fifth book I contracted in this genre, and while it was a gratifying accomplishment to write and write and write so I have four books coming out this year, this prolific pattern has taken its toll in other areas of my life. While nothing treacherous or tragic happened because I spent that much time with my butt in a chair, I forfeited a lot of Real Life time doing ordinary, everyday things I enjoy.

Well, enough of that!

I packed on some pounds, I’ve not joined any new groups or found any running buddies since I’ve moved here to Minnesota, and I know darn well I felt like I was pulling teeth as I wrote my last book because my creative batteries were running waaaaaay too low. I had forgotten that the Sword is always in my hand. In the Tarot, Swords are not so much a symbol of weaponry/force as they are of reason and intellect. When you lose track of how you use your sword (or you have misplaced it and then must spend valuable time finding it again) it’s a pretty sure sign that you need to get a grip and take your life in hand again.

To remedy that situation, I’ve started reading for pleasure again–and am now engrossed in Stephen King’s huge tale, 11/23/63. I signed on at the Y and am rediscovering the pleasures of Tai Chi and water aerobics. I bought several ebooks for my iPad so I can read in the car at night during an upcoming car trip, not to mention a few new albums for the iTunes playlists I write to. It’s good to have texture and music and somebody else’s stories in my life again! The Inner Kid is already getting the roses back in her cheeks.

Today I wish all of you this same sort of reawakening! Who holds your sword this year? Right now? Every moment? Never forget that every decision is yours, and that your days–your life–will turn out exactly as you determine they will because you hold the sword! No excuses–and no need for them!

So now I’m off to work on my new book, WINTER OF WISHES, and then to attend a Tai Chi class. I intend to make it a wonderful day and a productive, playful year, and I hope you will, too!

Now that I have sent in my latest manuscript, ROSEMARY OPENS HER HEART, I can truly celebrate! And just in time for the Christmas weekend, too! It’s been a while since I blogged here because I encountered unforeseen events and distractions this fall while writing my book–but I prevailed!

In spite of the busy-ness of this season, I baked several Christmas cookies, and sang in our choirs Lessons and Carols service last Sunday. Looking forward to singing at the Christmas Eve candlelight service…even if it doesn’t begin until 10:30 p.m. when I’m usually sound asleep! A short carol-singing service on Christmas morning–and then it’s on to dinner!

What’s on your table this year? We’re having spiral-sliced ham (Neal’s request), twice-baked potatoes (my idea), stuffing (my sister’s fave holiday dish) along with green bean casserole, beets (red and green veggies, you know), cranberry orange salad and pumpkin pie. I won’t have to cook for DAYS after Christmas!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrate! And wishing you time to just sit back, gaze at the lights, and do whatever makes you happiest and most at peace. It’s all about peace and love.

Back in the day–the early days of my writing career, when romances were becoming the thing on the reading front–titles were, well…interesting! I often submitted a list of 25 or more suggestions for each book before it came out, but I can assure you that MOONFIRE was not a word I made up myself!

COLORADO MOONFIRE, however, was a book I was just tingling to write because I wanted Barry Thompson, the big, burly sheriff in COLORADO CAPTIVE to have his own story where he found his own woman. The Golden Rose parlor house, which I loved creating in CAPTIVE, again set the stage for a hot romance–this time with an Irish lass who was working there as a maid rather than a soiled dove. I had a real affinity for those working girls because research told me that while movies and TV shows like Gunsmoke romanticized their lives, prostitutes were often not in the world’s oldest profession by choice.

Luckily, Barry Thompson realizes from the get-go that Lyla isn’t a hooker, but just as he’s coming on to her he is shot by jewel thieves and left for dead out in the snow. And lucky for him, Lyla is resourceful enough to get him to the safety of her cabin in Phantom Canyon–and plucky enough to escape when the thieves’ ringleader takes her hostage and plans to marry her. Once again, it’s action and adventure and love and laughter–all the elements I poured into these early books, come to life once more in digital form.

I hope you absolutely love my MOONFIRE…because the sheepherder you meet, Jack Rafferty, is the hero of OUTLAW MOON, which will be in Kindle and Nook format in the very near future!

20ll marks the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY of my very first book, and COLORADO CAPTIVE is now available in digital format with a beautiful new cover! The old is truly made new again!

As you’ve read here earlier, I have begun uploading my very early Zebra romances to make them available in Kindle and Nook formats. And if you’re into burly, no-nonsense Alpha Male western heroes, I’ve got some good guys for you! I’ve heard Western romances are making a comeback in today’s market after waaaaay too long a time when publishers insisted readers only wanted books set in England and Scotland. I never believed that for a minute!

Matt McClanahan, the detective hero of COLORADO CAPTIVE, is back big-time to woo and win Emily Burnham, as together they search for the man who murdered Emily’s father. It’s a mystery, yes, but it’s also a gold rush adventure that’s funny and romantic and kinda spicy! That’s the way Zebra wanted us to write our books back in the day.

And, as I mentioned in my post about MISSOURI MAGIC, I once again feel the absolute JOY and FUN I had while writing this first book now that I’m reading it again on my iPad, after many years. Back then, I was writing on my first computer, an Apple IIe with a daisy wheel printer! How far technology and computers have come since then!

And for my next trick? COLORADO MOONFIRE and OUTLAW MOON, the companion pieces that feature continuing characters from COLORADO CAPTIVE, will soon be available in e-form, as well! It’s truly a joy to reissue them with splendid new covers for another generation of readers (or their moms, my original readers!) to enjoy.

Love these stories? Let me know! I love to get your emails!

Well, I’ve debuted in the digital world (with a little help from my tech-savvy friends) and now MISSOURI MAGIC is available in Kindle and Nook formats! With a gorgeous new cover, thanks to Kim Killion of HotDamn! Designs. She believed the young lady could hold her own on this cover without a man, and I totally agree!

MISSOURI MAGIC was my fifth book, first pubbed in the ’90′s and it veered a bit from my earlier Western romances because it’s a Victorian-era murder mystery set in historical Hannibal, Missouri. And as I’ve been re-reading this story on my iPad, I can’t help but feel the total FUN and JOY I had writing these early books!

Celesta Montgomery, the heroine, has just lost her mother under mysterious circumstances…enter bad-boy hero Damon Frye to stir up some controversy, and mix in old maid Aunt Justine and her widowed sister Kathryn, and you have quite a cast of characters who love to reveal each other’s secrets. Reading a book like this is a lot like playing Clue, the board game…and the first clue for this mystery is found in the sugar bowl! For $2.99, how can you beat entertainment like that?!

Happy Mother’s Day to you all! (Even if you’re not a mother, you deserve a happy day!)

For me, this weekend marks the completion of my six-month transition between Missouri and Minnesota. My husband took a new job in St. Paul on Nov. 1st; we started house hunting. We listed our MO home—sold it one January day and bought our MN town home the next day. We had all our earthly belongings packed up and moved into storage for two months while the new place was remodeled, and meanwhile I lived in my hubby’s four-room apartment downtown. I passed my drivers license test. We joined our new church on Easter and moved into our town home the next day. We’re out of the boxes now, down to putting up pictures and arranging the last two rooms downstairs.

And finally—the best for last: we fetch Ramona from the kennel this weekend! Ten weeks I did without my office manager and constant companion! Can you imagine the love fest that’s gonna happen in the back seat for the nine-hour drive from central MO to St. Paul?!

And how did this affect my writing, you ask? Well, I’m pleased to report that yesterday I finished the main draft of the Amish novel that’s due on June 1st. So despite all the distractions that first paragraph does and does not go into, I stayed on track!

How did I do it, you ask? Wish I could give you a pithy answer ripe with platitudes and inspirational advice. Most days I looked at my weekly writing quota chart, grimaced, forced my butt into the chair, and somehow got enough words written even on days when I really wanted to shop for new furniture or had to make some big decisions/phone calls/trips around a strange new city to keep the housing process rolling. No magic in that process, and yet I pulled several very nice rabbits out of my hat as I wrote.

I’m actually quite pleased with how this first book in my new Amish series came along! I don’t anticipate a lot of heavy revamping as I start through it again, come Monday, to produce the final version. I’m not really sure how it all came together. I’m just damn glad it did!

You know what they say: necessity’s a Mother!

So again, Happy Mother’s Day! Wishing you all the best from my new office in Minnesota, where I watch wild turkeys, a pair of mallards, and various other interesting creatures from my window . . . oh! Those would be the neighbors!

Just a quick greeting to everyone before I write today: I wish you a WONDERFUL holiday, and I wish you much to be thankful for…and the mindset to KNOW you have much to be thankful for!

Here, Ramona and I are excited that Neal will be home this evening–she misses having Dad sit on the floor so she can sit in his lap for their mutual adoration sessions and “therapy.” She’s adjusted to having a single-parent household now that he’s started his new job in St. Paul–but she really, really prefers to have all her sheep in the pen where she can keep track of them!

Another happy thought, another happy shot! This was from our Panama Canal cruise this spring–and just another vision of Going New Places. Seems to be our theme for this year! Mostly I’m grateful that at this point in my life I can go with the flow and not stress over where it’s going…and have faith that God’s taking us where we’re supposed to be! I wish you all this sense of rightness in your lives!

I love this photo: it’s so ME right now! I feel like I can just walk to the end of this catwalk and plunge into SO many new ventures that’re this beautiful–and they’re all good!

As I write this, I’m on the verge of leaving for the NINC conference in St. Petersburg: six days in an oceanside room, seeing friends I only see at conferences, and WOW, the program! Got big-name industry types coming in to Brainstorm the Future of Publishing! I’m teaching sessions on numerology and collaging, and who knows what I might come away with from other presentations?

I’m on the verge, as well, of completing the first book of my new Amish series, Seasons of the Heart, for Kensington…slightly ahead of deadline! I’m really pleased with how it’s turning out, and how my characters have fleshed out so well for the next three books. Meanwhile, my new book LAW OF ATTRACTION is finally available for Kindle readers on Amazon! Go online and check it out!! Read an excerpt here on my site, too!

That jumping-off point in the photo also sets the feel for a new contract opportunity with a new editor! She and I are brainstorming, enjoying the get-to-know-you stage of a relationship we hope will produce another ongoing series!

But the BIG ONE: I’m on the verge of moving to a new home in a totally new city! My husband just took a dandy new job in St. Paul, MN so I’ve been scurrying to get this Missouri home of 21 years ready to show and sell this week (yes, while I’ve been on deadline for my book and prepping for my conference!) I’ve discovered how addictive house-hunting online can be! Looking to move to a no-maintenance condo where somebody else mows our grass and clears all that snow they get up there!

So yeah, some moments my head’s spinning so fast it’s on the verge of just popping right off and launching into space! But it’s all good, not? I might be a writer, focused on my computer screen a good bit of the time, but never let it be said my life is boring! I’m on the verge of a whole new life…a whole new me!

I’ll be spending the weekend in Memphis! Our main reason for the trip is my husband’s six-month appointment with his ear specialist–a follow-up to surgery he had a few years ago–but hey! It’s Memphis! And since it takes us seven hours to drive there, we allow ourselves time to play before we go home.

We’ve done most of the tourist stuff–Graceland, yeah, three times! The Pink Palace Museum (home to the founder of the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain, who went bust and left this magnificent home unfinished…) is a favorite place, too, and we’ve sprung for horse-drawn carriage rides, leaving from the legendary Peabody Hotel and touring the moonlit streets. And of course we’ve seen the Peabody ducks countless times, before ducking down the alley across the way to eat BBQ at the Rendezvous.

So this weekend? Well, we always look for some good live music on Beale Street. But our special gig this time will be celebrating our 35th anniversary with a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant, the Mesquite Chop House, just up the street from the Peabody. Yeah, I know–we did a 15-day Panama Canal cruise in May to celebrate that–

But THIRTY-FIVE YEARS. I’m tellin’ ya…there are guys in my past who swore I wouldn’t make it to a first anniversary, no matter WHOM I married!

And my parents even suggested I elope to save them the expense and embarrassment of a church wedding they felt would be, well–another mess to clean up, since Neal had lost his job while we were engaged. He returned to grad school rather than getting another job–horror of horrors!–and they just knew I’d grow tired of supporting him on my meager teaching salary.

So now? Neal and I raise a glass every year to the way we proved them all WRONG! Kinda brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?!

Wishing YOU a wonderful weekend, too!