More Excerpts Posted!

I've been busy adding new excerpts to my website for books that are now available in digital format.

Now up on my site are excerpts from my Restoration Series from Avon Books.

The first book is A SCOUNDREL'S KISS.



Read the excerpt.


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The second book is A ROGUE'S EMBRACE.



Read the excerpt.


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The final book in the series is HIS FORBIDDEN KISS.


Read the excerpt.



Order




Happy Canada Day and Happy Fourth of July!

Books and Bats

But first, when I spoke about having visitors to the cottage, I did not include bats! So when one showed up, flying around upstairs, I, to be honest, completely and utterly lost it. It didn't help that it was just me and the cats, my husband being in Prague on business. Or that it was after 10 p.m. I finally found somebody to come out and catch and release the creature. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it, because the wonderful Marcel also checked the attic to make sure there wasn't a colony (!!) inside the house. Unfortunately, though, that means the how and why of the Lone Bat's arrival remains a mystery. Here's hoping it was just a fluke, because that's one experience I really don't care to repeat.

In other, more happily exiting news, Harlequin has reissued the fifth and final book in my medieval Brothers-in-Arms series, HERS TO DESIRE. I'm thrilled not just because it means the entire series is now available, but also because I really like the couple in this book. Of all my heroines, "little Lady Bea" is probably the one most like me. She talks a lot. :-)

And there's more to come! Harlequin is making even more of my (and other author's) backlists available in digital format. I'm working away on excerpts for those titles - and I do mean work. My new computer can't read my old diskettes (remember them?), so it means I have to type in the whole excerpt. Nevertheless, it's a labor of love, because I'm delighted that those books will be available again. I'll be posting an announcement in my newsletter, tweeting and of course blogging when the books and excerpts are ready, about the middle of next month.



In the meantime, let's hope I'm not distracted by more unwelcome intruders!

Back to the Beach

I'm heading back to the Land That Time Forgot, where the beach is warm and the internet is dial-up. This time, I have no large projects, like painting walls. Just a few small ones that I hope to blog about. And this time, I'll have the cats to keep me company, at least at first, with family and friends to join me as time goes on.

Here's hoping for a warm, wonderful, happy summer for us all!

Going for the gold for 36 years and counting....

When I was going to high school, my friends and I would play euchre at lunch. The year after we graduated, our friend David hosted what was modestly called the Euchre Championship of the Entire World. The tournament began Friday night, continued most of Saturday (with dancing) and concluded on Sunday.

Every year since then, for an amazing thirty-six years, our group of friends has had an annual euchre party. David hosted for the first ten years. Since then, the hosting duties have rotated. Spouses and significant others have joined the ranks. Children have been born and nursed while mom played cards; the kids have grown up and moved out. The length of the event has shrunk from an all-weekend affair to Saturday noon to approximately 11 p.m. The medals have gotten fancier, and our skills a little rustier.

It has been and continues to be, one of the highlights of my year.

This year, after a looooong drought, through a combination of my partner's skill and good luck, I was able to take home a gold medal. It was an exciting conclusion to a wonderful day of fun and friendship.

Here's my medal. Ain't it purty??

Anybody else have an annual get-together with high school friends?

Flora and Fauna and Paint, oh my!

I'm back from the Land that Time Forgot. Like other parts of southern Ontario, it's had a cold, wet spring but summer has finally arrived! And my wisteria is blooming! Isn't it lovely?



We've also had visits from the local bunny couple. Here they are, and they let me get pretty close (although I was up on the deck).



One unfortunate thing about the cottage is lack of internet access. I only have dial-up at present, so it means not a lot of time to blog and as for Twitter, forget it. Just won't work.

I do have plenty of other things to do. I went down with great plans to paint some walls and also do some writing. Oh, the gods laughed! And laughed and laughed and laughed. Have you ever painted paneling? It is one tough job and not just because it's not a smooth surface. For one thing, I needed two coats of primer. I did two top coats on the smaller room, but only did one top coat in the largest room. I did use better paint for the single top coat, though, and frankly, if I'd had to do two, I think I would have given up at the primer stage. I don't remember when I've ever been more physically tired! Now that it's all done, it looks good, but oh, baby, what a job!

In other news, my son's coming home for a short visit next week!!!! We've been watching that new show, The Killing, on A & E and every time it shows a long shot of downtown Seattle, we shout out a hello to him.

Why, yes, I'm sure he can hear us. Why do you ask? ;-)