Due to the holidays, the number of entries I continued receiving,
and to celebrate the release of GROWL, I extended the contest. It is now closed and winners will be announced asap.
and to celebrate the release of GROWL, I extended the contest. It is now closed and winners will be announced asap.
Happy holidays, all! I hope the season has treated you well. It's been a mixed bag for me--the trip to Hawaii and Thanksgiving with our kids was wonderful, the book signing at the Ala Moana Mall in Honolulu was perfect--small enough to be fun and a chance to see a lot of old friends. I got to meet one of my readers, Cheryl Lemon, who timed her trip from San Diego to make it to the signing! I thought that was pretty cool.
 | That's Cheryl on the left and one of my long-time beta readers, Jay Takane, on the right. |
Thank goodness Jay warned me ahead of time that I was scheduled to read from the book--otherwise I would have shown up without any prep at all...like an excerpt!
I think this was the first time my husband has actually sat through one of my author events, but since he ended up covered in as many leis as I did, I guess he felt obligated...actually, he's the one who got the pictures for me, except for the one of the two of us. Credit for that shot goes to daughter-in-law Melanie.
| The signing was fun and it was really cool to get to talk about this first book in my new series. So far, reviews have been excellent, which takes a bit of the pressure off, especially with Redemption coming out today. (December 29) If you haven't taken a look, I've got a first chapter excerpt up--Redemption is Ben's story. He's introduced in Intimate, a rough, troubled guy with twenty years of issues that have reached the boiling point. I had such a wonderful time writing his story! He's not as polished as his brother Jake, the hero in Intimate, but he's got a lot of heart and an inner strength that comes in very handy as the plot heats up. |  |
But back to the month...we got home from Hawaii and picked up Rufus at the kennel. We'd worried about leaving him, but the vet said he did well and he was definitely glad to see us, figuratively speaking. At 19, he'd been blind for a couple of years, was completely deaf, and had dementia, but we got back home and he was really glad to be back. We could tell, though by Friday that he was having problems getting around, and Doug and I finally made the decision we'd been dreading. Doug called the vet and couldn't reach him, so we decided to take Rufus in on Monday. Late Saturday night we think he had a stroke, as his back legs quit working. We were up with him all night and then early Sunday took him to the emergency clinic in Santa Rosa and had him put to sleep.
I've told a lot of you the story of how we got him--I was driving to the post office from our place out in Dry Creek Valley many years ago when I saw a car ahead of me slow up and out tumbled a furry little dog. The car sped off with the dog frantically trying to catch up.
It took me three days to catch him--he'd found a place under the porch of an empty house to hide, and I took some sandwich meat up there one afternoon and sat on the porch and made a trail from the place where he was hiding to where I sat. He ate his way to me and I caught him and took him home, not intending to keep him. Obviously, that's not what happened...
He's been a wonderful companion and we always said he might have been thrown away, but he landed well. 19 years is a long run for a little furball. The house seems awfully empty without him.
I've told a lot of you the story of how we got him--I was driving to the post office from our place out in Dry Creek Valley many years ago when I saw a car ahead of me slow up and out tumbled a furry little dog. The car sped off with the dog frantically trying to catch up.
It took me three days to catch him--he'd found a place under the porch of an empty house to hide, and I took some sandwich meat up there one afternoon and sat on the porch and made a trail from the place where he was hiding to where I sat. He ate his way to me and I caught him and took him home, not intending to keep him. Obviously, that's not what happened...
He's been a wonderful companion and we always said he might have been thrown away, but he landed well. 19 years is a long run for a little furball. The house seems awfully empty without him.
 |  |
I still had Christmas shopping to do and cards to write but I wasn't feeling really well. My stomach was bothering me, and there was a lot of pain whenever I ate or drank anything. Doug walked in one afternoon and asked how I was feeling and I burst into tears. That is SO not me! He took me to the ER where, after taking a whole lot of blood and running tests and, thankfully, giving me something for the pain, the doctor decided I had a stomach ulcer. I would not wish that on anyone! I went through over a week of not being able to eat and lost about six pounds, but the meds are working and I am back among the living. Sort of. Everyone got gift certificates from Amazon or the local bookstore for Christmas--well, everyone except Melanie because hers ended up lost. Amazon finally contacted me and said to either cancel it or reorder, so I reordered, but we're still waiting for one to show up. (The lost one arrived today--eight days after I ordered it with promised two-day delivery...)
No matter--it will get here. I figure I've used up all my bad juju for 2015 so should be starting with a clean slate for 2016. Here's hoping!
I have gotten some reading done. Finished Stella Cameron's newest Alex Duggin's mystery, OUT COMES THE EVIL before I got sick. It was wonderful! The link in the title will take you to Stella's website where you can read all about it. Just today I finished JR Ward's newest BDB book in her spin-off series, BLOODKISS from the Black Dagger Legacy. It was so frickin' good! I think I've read the thing at least three times, but I was feeling so crappy when I started it that I honestly couldn't recall parts, and then once I started going back, I had to start at the beginning again and, well...you know how that goes!
Tomorrow, barring any interruptions, I finally get to settle down and read Jayne Ann Krentz's newest, SECRET SISTERS. It's been sitting here beside my work area since the day it released, but I didn't want to start it until I felt better. It's an absolutely beautiful book--the "package" is so far superior to most hardcovers out now that I find myself just holding it and running my fingers over the texture of the cover. We're talking book lust here, folks. Seriously. I love the feel of a well-done book, and knowing it's one of Jayne's assures me it will be as good inside as it is outside. I promise to report back ASAP. The link on the title will take you to Jayne's page so you can check it out.
I do hope you'll take a look at Redemption, and Intimate as well. I'm very proud of this three book series and I'm hoping that you'll give it a shot. I'll be giving away a few copies of HOT ALPHAS with my story, TANGLED, which is a prequel to the INTIMATE RELATIONS series. The number of winners will depend on how many entries I get, and international entries are welcome. Be sure and fill out the form with your complete name and mailing address, as I really don't want to have to chase you down.
And for those of you who have been asking when FERAL PASSIONS would be out in print, it's releasing January 5 in the GROWL anthology with the story by AC Arthur that was in the original ebook duet, CLAIMED BY THE MATE, and a brand new tale by Eve Langlais. I'd never read Eve's stories before, but she's good, and I think you'll really like this unusual print anthology with three full-length books inside.
It's already getting good reviews, though they won't go live until the book releases. I'll try and get them up on my website as soon as I'm able.
For those of you in parts of the country where weather has become a veritable nightmare, be safe, please! I watch the news at night and hope like crazy that none of those homes in the path of tornadoes belong to any of you, that you're not dealing with floods and storms that are so horribly destructive. I mean it when I tell you that I'm thinking of all of you and hoping that you and yours are safe and out of harm's way.
Take care, and I wish you the very best in the new year. 2015 has been a rough one for me and I'm ready for some good things to come along. I hope the same for each of you.
Kate
No matter--it will get here. I figure I've used up all my bad juju for 2015 so should be starting with a clean slate for 2016. Here's hoping!
I have gotten some reading done. Finished Stella Cameron's newest Alex Duggin's mystery, OUT COMES THE EVIL before I got sick. It was wonderful! The link in the title will take you to Stella's website where you can read all about it. Just today I finished JR Ward's newest BDB book in her spin-off series, BLOODKISS from the Black Dagger Legacy. It was so frickin' good! I think I've read the thing at least three times, but I was feeling so crappy when I started it that I honestly couldn't recall parts, and then once I started going back, I had to start at the beginning again and, well...you know how that goes!
Tomorrow, barring any interruptions, I finally get to settle down and read Jayne Ann Krentz's newest, SECRET SISTERS. It's been sitting here beside my work area since the day it released, but I didn't want to start it until I felt better. It's an absolutely beautiful book--the "package" is so far superior to most hardcovers out now that I find myself just holding it and running my fingers over the texture of the cover. We're talking book lust here, folks. Seriously. I love the feel of a well-done book, and knowing it's one of Jayne's assures me it will be as good inside as it is outside. I promise to report back ASAP. The link on the title will take you to Jayne's page so you can check it out.
I do hope you'll take a look at Redemption, and Intimate as well. I'm very proud of this three book series and I'm hoping that you'll give it a shot. I'll be giving away a few copies of HOT ALPHAS with my story, TANGLED, which is a prequel to the INTIMATE RELATIONS series. The number of winners will depend on how many entries I get, and international entries are welcome. Be sure and fill out the form with your complete name and mailing address, as I really don't want to have to chase you down.
And for those of you who have been asking when FERAL PASSIONS would be out in print, it's releasing January 5 in the GROWL anthology with the story by AC Arthur that was in the original ebook duet, CLAIMED BY THE MATE, and a brand new tale by Eve Langlais. I'd never read Eve's stories before, but she's good, and I think you'll really like this unusual print anthology with three full-length books inside.
It's already getting good reviews, though they won't go live until the book releases. I'll try and get them up on my website as soon as I'm able.
For those of you in parts of the country where weather has become a veritable nightmare, be safe, please! I watch the news at night and hope like crazy that none of those homes in the path of tornadoes belong to any of you, that you're not dealing with floods and storms that are so horribly destructive. I mean it when I tell you that I'm thinking of all of you and hoping that you and yours are safe and out of harm's way.
Take care, and I wish you the very best in the new year. 2015 has been a rough one for me and I'm ready for some good things to come along. I hope the same for each of you.
Kate
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