The Round Up: What I've been reading

I don't write a lot of book reviews anymore. Not because I'm not reading, but since I started writing myself I've been developing friendships with more and more authors. I figure if I write a review, it's going to be a truthful review...or else I just won't write it. That's not saying that if I don't write a review it wouldn't be great...it can a slippery slope this whole building relationships with both authors and readers thing.

All that being said, I'm going to write a review on these novellas.

At the 2013 Emerald City Writers' Conference Drink Divas several of us wound up at earls drinking and laughing away the evening. Cary Morgan Frates was there and told me about the novella she would be signing at the book fair later that weekend. She showed me the cover and I swooned.

Completely swoon-worthy, right?? I downloaded the book and there it sat...waiting for me to deal with the chaos of conference, then post conference wrap up, then cleaning my long neglected house before the onslaught of a kid's birthday and Thanksgiving...oh, and I participated in NaNo. Yeah, it was a busy month.

Thanksgiving weekend rolled around and I finally sat down and dove into the novella, laughing along with Audrey Wells and her friends as they meet at a Bellevue hot spot. Audrey's love for her new Louboutin shoes are something I'm all too familiar with. Shoe love is nothing to sneeze at.

Audrey meets Mr. Gorgeous, who is staying on his boat in the marina next to hers when his ill-mannered puppy crashes on board, knocking both the shoes and booze into the water. What's a guy to do but dive in after them? (They are Louboutins after all.)

Christmas Delight leads Audrey and Mack through a solitary Christmas holiday (complete with the Puget Sound boat parade) and into romance.

I finished the story, gave a blissful sigh...and immediately contacted Cary telling her I NEEDED more of this couple. This novella wasn't nearly long enough.

A couple weeks later, at our Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America Holiday party she pulled me aside to tell me she submitted a proposal for a Valentine's Day anthology, which would include more Audrey and Mack.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I squealed in delight.

Valentines Soaring picks up with Audrey and Mack left off...starting a new relationship while dealing with the fact that they both lead very busy lives and live across the country from one another. With their commitments pulling them in opposite directions Audrey plans a surprise visit, only to run into Mack-literally-in the airport. He's on his way out of the country for work and sends her on to his house without him. Whereas most women would be crushed, Audrey gets a peak into Mack's heart...and sees that she's firmly in residence.  She is quickly welcomed into Mack's life and family.

Mack, meanwhile, is struggling with the fact that the demands of his life aren't meshing with the desires of his heart. Can he make everyone happy without sacrificing himself? With his newest business partner lending his support, Mack makes some plans of his own to surprise Audrey in grand fashion.

Valentines Soaring is the wonderful follow-up with Christmas Delight. I couldn't be more thrilled!

Time Tug-of-War

It's that time of year again. The time when we all make resolutions to do this or do that, but get pulled in different directions entirely. I'd say this is part of being a mom (at least in my world), part of having family around (my in-laws just moved back to the area after living across the country for the majority of my married life) part of the holiday season and just part of living.

 

There is never enough time in the day to do the things that are on my endless to-do list. Although that doesn't stop me from trying.

First up in the update on why I haven't been blogging: I finished the first draft of my novel. (YAY!) It's been a long time coming and I've learned writing a full length novel has a much different process than writing a short story or novella (at least for me it does).
I'd love to be dancing in the streets over this news, but the truth is there is still a lot of work to do in order for me to get this into any type of shape that I'd be willing to share it with a neighbor, let alone the world. So, that is happening in the wee hours of the morning at my house. Which is the only time I can pretend not to get interrupted and concentrate on...well, anything really.  And, believe me when I tell you that I'm not a morning person. Thank goodness for coffee makers with timers.

Family life with two very active little boys is keeping me hopping. Day-job just seems to get more and more demanding. And lets not forget spending time with Hubs, trying to make healthy meals and keeping the house sort-of clean.  Those are the highlights of my days.

And, really, I wouldn't have it any other way. 

As a complete aside, I'm nearing 900 Twitter followers and have over 200 "likes" on my Facebook page. Thank you all so much! If you'd like to stay connected, I encourage you to check out both of those options as they are easier for me to check multiple times a week (ahem...yeah, okay, day) than blogging.

More soon!

Carmen