Coming in Hot, Passport to Romance Cover Contest Winner! and CONTEST

I'm thrilled to let you know that Coming In Hot won the Passport to Romance Cover Contest!

HUGE thanks to everyone who came out in the wind storm that wasn't (thanks for that news people) and voted.

Right now the book is in edits, so I'm hoping for a February release. I'll be sure to let you all know when that happens.

In the meantime I participated in an author event at Crucible Winery over the weekend with authors Gina Fluharty, Clare McKay & Anna Alexander. We had a ton of fun and I wound up winning the raffle basket. Which means YOU wound up winning.

Just comment below that you'd like to win the prizes (including the House of Rosenorn canvas bag, Theo chocolate bars, books and more) and tell me what your favorite type of wine is. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter too. That's it! I'll have one of the kiddos pick a winner on Thursday.

Have a wonderful week!

Carmen

News! Some now, some later, but we're moving forward!!

Be sure to stay turned for more information!! I can't wait to share it with you all!

Thanks for taking this crazy journey with me.

Carmen

The balancing act

Hi Everyone!

I know I've been terrible about updating the blog, which is okay. I think I mentioned here that I was working on creating a better balance. To stop trying to be all things for all people and figure out what I could do for me. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? But it's not. At least not for me.

I have a tendency to say YES! To volunteer any time I see an open position. And this isn't a bad thing when it's done in moderation. It's led to some amazing experiences and I've met some really fabulous people. 

But, time to find balance. 

So, in that effort, I've been working out & eating better. I've gone back to the basics on my writing, really figuring out what was tripping me up so I can fix it. (I'll go into that another time. It's been really interesting!) And, I've accepted a promotion at the day job that has led to more opportunities and responsibilities. Some of that completely counters my attempt at balance, but that's part of the process, right? Part of being able to grow as a person.

Yesterday I was in a meeting and for the first time in a long time, I felt under dressed. I'm sure I looked fine in my black & white striped pencil skirt and my black sweater. No one made me feel this way but myself. So, I came home and told Hubby that I need to invest in a suit. Not for everyday wear, but for the days I have these meetings with men who are older than me and all give me the side eye when I walk in. (Yes, it still happens. It's obnoxious.) I live in very casual Seattle. I think having a suit to wear in these situations (which, admittedly, don't happen more than once a quarter) will help. If nothing else, it'll help me.

Hubby's response was, "What type of suit?"  Huh. I don't know. I was thinking about a skirt and blazer. Skirts because I feel very comfortable in them over trousers. A blazer because...isn't that what makes up a suit?

Apparently I've been living under a rock when it comes to suit options. 

So, I ask you, what type of suits should I look for?  

Notes from my walk

This isn't a "New Year, New Me" type of thing. I think I mentioned before that 2016 is a big birthday year for me, so I decided at my last birthday that I needed to step up my game.
Part of that is actually walking the dog more often. He'll be happier, which will make me happier, which will make everyone else happier...see where this is going?

Well, since we live so far North we have about 6 hours of daylight at this time of year. All of those hours are during the day job, so I'm walking the dog in the dark. (Okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit about the number of hours of sunlight, but not about walking in the dark.)  I've been noticing a few things while we're out walking.

1. High schoolers go to school REALLY early. Good grief. Those kids are barely upright before their loving parents are shoving them out the door so they can catch their bus. Plus, most of them don't appear to drink coffee yet, which is a double shame. If you have to be up that early, you should at least get the benefit of coffee.

2. Some people are afraid of dogs. Typically they send out a warning sign of some type; they'll cross the street, start walking in traffic to avoid the dog, or they'll simply yell for me to keep my ferocious beast who is peeing on everything that will stand still long enough away from them. (Now that I think about it, I wonder if they're really afraid of the dog, or just of being peed on...) Those are all fine ways to let me know, and I'll respect your wishes. The woman this morning did none of those things. She was bundled up as though she was about to do the Iditarod, looking straight ahead and walking at a pretty fast clip. When I said good morning she didn't respond at all. I figured somewhere under all those layers she had ear buds in and didn't think about it. But, when she got up next to Taz she pulled some fancy side-stepping dance move and squeaked like a mouse.

3. Our neighbor, the odd ones that are nice enough, but if the FBI ever showed up and said they had a freezer full of human bodies in their basement we'd all probably nod our heads and say things like, "Makes sense." like to clean at oh dark thirty in the morning.  They were scrubbing their windows.  This in itself wouldn't be so bad, but I'm pretty sure she was naked (yes, standing in a lit room, scrubbing the windows). I need to attempt to bleach my brain to unsee what I saw before I whipped my head around to look anywhere BUT there.

Thankfully, I'm safely back in my house, with the my coffee. The dog is resting at my feet having successfully scared the mouse-woman and I'm going to pretend I never saw anything.

I hope you all have a fabulous morning!!

Carmen