Get your fall reading on with Masked Hearts and Thankful Hearts!
It’s That Time of Year!
Productive?
I’ve heard there is a whole genre of influencers who do productivity videos. They have every second of their day timed to get the most done. I have not watched them because just thinking about it exhausts me. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a hard worker. Two days a week I work 12 hours, and I only have one day that is truly a non-work day…unless a concert gets scheduled that day. What turns me off about the productivity videos is the optimization. I understand the importance of efficiency, but there is also…importance in…drifting.
A few years ago there was a push to get Maladaptive Daydreaming categorized as a mental illness. I don’t know if it happened or not, but I think most writers must have it. Maladaptive Daydream is when you get lost in imaginary worlds sometimes to the detriment of daily life. Of course it’s not a detriment if you can turn it into big bucks. Otherwise, maybe you have a mental illness. I embrace it though. Sometimes bedtime is the best time because I can just let my mind wander. I’ve decided it’s my brain’s way of sorting events, even if I’m not thinking directly about the events.
Today was a half-day of work for me, and then I was productive by getting bills paid and emails sent and the kitchen cleaned. I had planned more ways to be productive like sketching out a week’s worth of blogs and rewriting some chapters. Instead, my brain needed to drift and daydream. And I’m okay with that.
Book of the Week: Vampire Slayer
Jazz is one of my favorite characters that I’ve created. In his words:
You see, my real job is vampire slayer. Yeah, yeah it’s also not normal for satyrs to hunt vamps. We’re easily distracted by beer, boobs and bands, but beneath our three in the afternoon hang-overs, we’re good guys who can be pushed to our limit like everyone else.
Jazz is actually one of the first characters I created way back when I was taking writing classes. In the first story, the surprise reveal at the end was Jazz being a satyr. My teacher told me that audiences did not like “gotcha endings.” So then I tried to write it from the perspective of the love interest. The hope was audiences would be surprised in a good way along with Kyra when Jazz revealed himself as a Satyr. But I didn’t like that version. Several years later, I was invited to enter a story in an anthology (an “achievement unlocked” moment for me) and I decided to make one more attempt with Jazz. I did it in first person POV with him being straight-up with the audience about being a satyr. I love this version.
Vampire Slayer is a humorous, adventurous, and romantic way to start your week! Download today from Amazon for only $.99!
Reading Habit
Today when I was waiting in the drive through for my daily coffee, I was looking for new books on my phone. When I got to the window, the guy asked me what I was reading next. Clearly, I had not had my coffee yet because the question startled me. But I was excited to hear that he was trying to get back into the reading habit. Of course, I was sad when my name was not listed as one of the author’s he was reading 🙂
Winter Bonfires
The beach was spotted with groups of locals and various sizes of bonfires. The surf pounded the beach under a clear night sky, but most stars were hidden by the bright moonlight. A few high school girls ran by us while they giggled and looked at their phone.
“Kids these days are too stuck in their phones,” said Addy.
“Oh, like we were any better,” I said.
“We were!” exclaimed Addy. “Remember that New Year’s Eve party our junior year?”
“How could I forget,” said Carla. “We played quarters till we puked.”
“Except for Liz. She disappeared.”
“I didn’t want to drink,” I said, glad it was dark because I could feel the blush on my cheeks. A wave crashed on the beach as my insides swelled like they did whenever that night was mentioned.
Find out what Her New Year’s Eve Secret is Free on Amazon.
Pixies and Coffee
When I reread Through the Painting to get it ready for publication again, I was struck with the notion that the true hero of the book is coffee 🙂 It’s the magic potion that keeps breaking the spell of the fairy queen. To find out more, please buy Through the Painting today!
Connections
Celebration Romance
Hello! I’m so happy you stopped by!
If you take a look at my bibliography, I have four stories centered around holidays. I like celebrations. They can be messy, tense and frustrating. But when the preparations are done and everyone has gathered, the time and emotional cost are worth it.
To encourage myself to write more this year, I spent all of December 31, 2025 writing a romantic short story and published it on New Year’s Day. I would categorize Her New Year’s Eve Secret as a slice of life romance, except I made the male lead a billionaire. So it’s a Billionaire Slice of Life Romance 🙂
In any case, I know it’s March, but if you’re looking for a very short read that will give a boost to your day, download Her New Year’s Eve Secret! It’s always free on Kindle Unlimited, and starting March 2 it will be free for everyone else until March 5.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments…tell me your favorite holiday!
Top 100!
Through the Painting broke into the top 100 on Amazon in 2 free categories! It’s #83 in free Paranormal Erotica AND 38 in free Magic Romance Ebooks!
Please join in the fun and download the Through the Painting for yourself! It’s free through Saturday!
New Release! Through the Painting
Hello! Thank you for reading this post! I have a new release that is actually an old release. Way back when I first started submitting stories for publication, Through the Paintings was my first story to get bought. It was picked up by a small press who closed down before I finished the second book in the series. The publisher released all rights back to me, but I never republished it myself.
Even though it was a small press, it was thrilling to catch the eye of a publisher. I enjoyed the whole process and tried to learn as much as I could from it. Rereading the story, I was surprised to find it’s probably my raunchiest book! And a little on the silly side. But I still very much like the concept for the series, and I enjoy the main characters.
I was also surprised to find I had finished the second story. I’ve always thought of the sequel as unfinished. I think I was never satisfied with it. Rereading the sequel, it definitely feels rushed. Though Through the Painting is a novella around 15,000 words, I think the next in the series should possibly be a novel.
Here is the old cover:
And here is the new cover:
Somewhere I lost an S on Paintings. Regardless, which is a better cover for an erotic fantasy romance? I always liked the original, but it never said fantasy to me. And I’m not sure the new one says romance. Please cast your vote in the comments!
And download the book! It’s free for a few more days! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GPRD6F8J
