Monday Mayhem – Home again!

We had a fabulous time on our trip to New Orleans and Vicksburg. Here is the story of our trip in photographs:

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I’m back to work in every way this week. Be sure to look for Paramour in the upcoming Enchanted Lover paranormal boxed set! You can pre-order your copy now at:

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Smashwords

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In other news, I just typed ‘The End’ on another Maggie story and will be revising and adding to it in the coming weeks. I have an idea for a new series (fired by our trip down the Mississippi) that I’ll be fleshing out, and some edits coming from Kensington/Lyrical.

So yeah, I’m ready to hunker down and get to work.

How about you? What are you up to now that they days are getting cooler and the nights growing longer?

 

 

Monday Mayhem – Drive by posting

I’m just back from a fabulous weekend with some of the Diamond State Romance Authors! We had our annual writing retreat at this weekend and it was incredible. Not only did I add over 8,000 words to my work in progress, but we got to spend the weekend in this fabulous house on Lake Hamilton.

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It even had this fabulous infinity pool (Author Megan Mitcham as Vanna White)

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But we were there for a purpose, and that was to put words on the page. So I wrote. I wrote in the comfy recliner:

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And on one of the nice, shady balconies:

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And for a little while, I did the word putting into sentence doing out by the pool:

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All in all, I added 8,143 to my work in progress. Whoo hoo!

Then I did this:

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When I got home, I got to see the new carpet!

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We still have a lot of work to do on the room, but it’s really starting to come together. I even picked up a pretty piece of inspirational artwork for the big wall:

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So that’s the update on my works in progress. What’s up with you this week?

Monday Mayhem – An-ti-ci-pation!

This weekend I worked a little and goofed a little. In my book, that’s the best kind of weekend.

I kicked the weekend off by picking up the latest Susan Elizabeth Phillips book, Heroes Are My Weakness.

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I’ve been parsing it out chapter by chapter between construction duties. The walls in the upstairs bedroom/office are up and the seams mudded. The new windows are in. We start priming and painting today and the carpet comes Wednesday.

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It’s bound to be a crazy busy week again. I’m within striking distance of finishing the first draft of Full Court Press and I have a new story to plot. The good news is, annual DSRA writing retreat starts this Friday and I can’t wait! And after that, I’ll be on vacation.

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In other words, this will be the longest short week of my life.

How about you? Anything coming up in your world that’ll make the seconds between now and then drag by?

 

It’s release day!

Now you can get The Last First Date as a single title release!

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First date number forty-eight comes to a screeching halt for Detective Langley Sheppard when his date lifts a pack of gum from the local convenience store. But things start looking up when he encounters spunky damsel-in-distress Jessica Vickers, who’s stranded in the store parking lot. Now Lang is about to discover that on a night when everything goes wrong, falling for Jessica feels spectacularly right.

The Last First Date was truly a labor of love. There’s nothing I love more than a messy love story, and this one takes the cake when it comes to things going wrong. It also has what The Romance Reviews said, “contains what I can only describe as THE best meeting between a couple in any book ever.”

As part of the Harlequin-E Contemporary Romance boxed set, The Last First Date was a recommended read on the USA Today Happily Ever After blog, and is now available as a single title release.

Get yours here:

Amazon

B&N

iBooks

All Romance e-Books

Harlequin

Tell your friends!

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Monday Mayhem- Pardon my blatant self-promotion

Happy Labo(u)r Day, my friends! I’m celebrating the holiday with a new release! Okay, it’s one of Maggie’s, but believe me, I worked harder on this story than she did. She just swoops in at the end, sticks her name on it, and prances around like she did something.

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The Last First Date was truly a labor of love. There’s nothing I love more than a messy love story, and this one takes the cake when it comes to things going wrong. It also has what The Romance Reviews said, “contains what I can only describe as THE best meeting between a couple in any book ever.”

As part of the Harlequin-E Contemporary Romance boxed set, The Last First Date was a recommended read on the USA Today Happily Ever After blog, and is now available as a single title release.

Get yours here:

Amazon

B&N

iBooks

All Romance e-Books

Harlequin

Tell your friends!

Monday Mayhem – Gotta Get Away

I’ve been suffering a pretty strong vacation urge for the last couple of years. When one moves 500+ miles from family and friends and marries into a ready-made family, vacation time is usually eaten up with trips back home or activities to entertain the kids.

My husband and I haven’t taken a trip that wasn’t work or family related since our honeymoon in 2001 when we went to Eureka Springs and stayed at the beautiful (and haunted!) Crescent Hotel.

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We had a taste of what it might be like when he flew to south Texas last spring to meet me for a quick weekend. I was working in McAllen for a couple of weeks, and the flight times to and from Little Rock just didn’t make sense for a Friday afternoon to Sunday evening turn around, but the proximity to South Padre Island and frequent flier miles made a couple days at the beach possible.

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Boy, did that whet the whistle.

When inclement weather forced us to stay overnight in Cape Girardeau, MO on our way back from Illinois, we discovered that we both enjoy exploring these old Mississippi River port towns. It didn’t hurt that we came out of the riverboat casino $60 ahead for the night.

So yeah, we’ve been itching to get away again, but with job/family/pet/financial obligations, it hasn’t been easy to take the time away. But then I had a flash of genius.

No, I didn’t invent an intermittent windshield wiper, but I did manage to put a couple of random thoughts together and come up with a semi-plan.

You see, I’ve been entertaining thoughts of a story or two with a historic South backdrop. Towns like Vicksburg or Natchez, MS. Both are within few hours of our house, so the man and I have been tossing around the idea of a road trip. The easy proximity from either of those locales to New Orleans, and the fact that my husband has never experienced The Big Easy, and well…it’s safe to say there’s a plot afoot.

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We like diner food and flea markets. We’re easily lured by roadside stands and local attractions. Photos of plantations turned B&B have spawned more than one fantasy involving sneak-drinking brandy whilst I observe the size and strength of Rhett Butler’s hands….

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Ahem. Sorry. I digress.

How about you? Are you a road trip person or do you prefer to make a beeline for your final destination? Anyplace in particular you’re yearning to see?

 

Monday Mayhem – Nesting edition

Now, before my beloved Jewels goes bonkers picturing me acting like some kind of winged creature, let me state for the record that my kind of nesting looks more like this:

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I was quite the homebody this weekend, and though I sacrificed a writing date with the fabulous Katie Kenyhercz for a couple of alarm-free days, I feel it was the right decision. As much as I enjoy being on the go, it was time for this girl to whir and shut down for a bit.

Of course, being the obsessive compulsive I am, you know I managed to be terribly productive whilst on the nest.

The bathrooms have been scrubbed and the laundry is fairly caught up. I cooked pollo guisado patos (because I am turning into a Latina trapped in a body of Irish/German extraction) one night and meatloaf and oven roasted potatoes another. I smooched the grandbaby and spoiled the fur-babies. In my downtime, I did some banner work for my friend Maggie, read a galley proof and added another 6k to a work in progress.

I did leave the Ethridge Estate on occasion. You know, the usual errands – Diet Coke stockpiling, grocery procurement (read: we were out of chips), and the mailing of newly signed publishing contracts.

*waits a beat*

*proceeds to chair dance*

Nope, it never gets old. Of course, the contract was for one of Maggie’s stories, but never fear, boring old Margaret got a little action this week as well. It’s official! Turquoise Morning Press will be releasing a new edition of Spring Chickens! Whoo hoo! New life for Lynne and Bram!

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. How about you? What’s new and exciting in your life?

Monday Mayhem – Revisited

Lately I’ve been working on rewrites for an old favorite. Remember Spring Chickens? Well, it’s going to have new life! Hopefully one that includes cover art that doesn’t make the author cringe each time she looks at it.

Here’s a little taste of the story to refresh your memory:

“Good morning,” she said, lounging against the doorframe. She raised the pot. “Coffee?”

Bram scraped his palms against his jeans. His eyes locked on hers. “Are you an angel?”

Her smile widened. “Maybe.” She gave the storm door a nudge with her foot. “Come on in.”

She didn’t peek to see if he followed. The heavy footfalls of his boots gave him away. She added a smidgen of sway to her hips and a blush heated her cheeks when she heard him pick up the pace. The pot and mugs barely landed on the table before she turned and ran into a solid wall of man.

“Good morning,” he whispered and brushed his lips over hers.

“Mmm.”

She blinked drowsily. Her hands slid to his shoulders. Muscle bunched beneath her fingers. Heat that came from more than early morning sunshine seeped into her fingertips. He pulled her closer, every inch of his long, lean body pressing flush against hers.

“I thought about doing that all night,” he murmured, stealing another soft peck.

Her fingers tangled in the short curls at the nape of his neck. “Hmm. Thought about doing what all night?”

A breathy chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Aw, now, no angel would say a thing like that to a guy.”

She laughed, and he swooped in, swallowing her gasp of surprise. He cradled the back of her head in the palm of his hand. His fingers sank into her hair, loosening the clip.

Oh, cheater.

Sugar and cream sweetened his tongue. He had coffee. So not fair. She lapped him up, knocking his ragged ball cap to the floor. The coffee mugs clanked when she stumbled into the table. He braced her back, his fingers splayed wide and sliding temptingly lower. She flailed, attempting to plant her hand on the tabletop to gain leverage. Instead, her knuckles grazed the steaming glass coffee pot.

“Aghhh,” she yelped.

“What? Did I hurt you?” he panted.

Lifting her hand to her mouth she shook her head as she sucked on her knuckle. “No. I’m okay.” He tried to pull back, but she reached for him again.

“Coffee. Hot. Bad coffee.”

She laced her fingers at the base of his skull, sliding her hips along the edge of the table and pulling him along with her. “You had coffee. Gimme more of yours,” she whispered and yanked his head down again.

He chuckled against her mouth, his lips molding to hers—tasting, testing, tempting. “Like that?”

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “No. Yes. More.”

He stroked the skin of her throat, his breath stirring her hair. “Awfully bossy in the mornin’, Miz Prescott.”

“Haven’t had enough coffee. I’m not awake.”

“Oh. Well, then, maybe I can help.”

He kissed her thoroughly, sharing the dregs of his morning elixir. Her fingers clenched, pulling him closer by fistfuls of woven cotton. His hand slipped under the hem of her shirt, warm fingers grazed the small of her back. Lynne moaned and pulled harder, leaning back on the table.

The mugs skittered across the table. Hot coffee sloshed from the pot, splattering the hand he used to brace his weight. She arched against him, catching his groan and rewarding him with a triumphant laugh when they broke for air.

His lips brushed her cheek. He drew the tender flesh below her ear into his mouth, his warm tongue laving her skin. This time she moaned, and he answered with a chuckle. He ducked his head and nuzzled her neck.

“I am never going get the damn porch done,” he said in a husky whisper.

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Hope you enjoyed this blast from the past. Happy Monday!

 

Monday Mayhem – As high as an elephant’s eye

Well, in truth I’m fairly crashed out. We just had the best dinner and I am stuffed to the gills.

The local grocery has a butcher who makes these fabulous chopped sirloin steaks edged in garlic and coarse pepper. When I was cruising the produce section to pick up Tim’s leaf lettuce (why else would I go there?), I spotted some fresh sweet corn on sale 3 ears for a buck. I had a bag of Yukon gold potatoes in the pantry and an envelope of Lipton onion soup mix in the cabinet.

The steaks were juicy and flavorful, the potatoes crisp, and the corn the sweetest I have tasted in a long time. In other words, it was the perfect storm of a meal.

So in addition to the better-than-George-Clooney-in-a-yellow-raincoat meal, here are four other highlights from a lovely holiday weekend:

  • On July 4th, someone who sounds a lot like me, but has a different name received their first recommended read on the USA Today Happily Ever After blog!
  • The clingy monkey boy wanted his Moogie when the big, mean fireworks scared him. Nothing beats having the little man you love choose you.
  • I had my annual July 4th viewing of The Music Man. Yes, I sang. No, Jewels, I didn’t record it. As for the rest of you, you’re welcome.
  • I wrote over 5k this weekend. And I have a crazy impulse to start an entirely different story tonight. Somebody stop me!

How about you? What were the highlights of your weekend?

 

Monday Mayhem – It’s not all popsicle sticks and mosquito bites

Tomorrow is July 1, and I will be heading off to camp. Camp NaNoWriMo, that is.

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Unlike the 50k in 3o days required in the November NaNo challenge, this one allows the participants to set their own goal for the month. Just a way to kickstart some creativity. You also get to set up a cabin with your fellow writers. This month, I’ll be sharing Cabin Awesome with Evelyn Jules, Lisa Fox, Emily Cale, Katie Kenyhercz, Sara Brooks and whoever else we can lure in with the promise of s’mores.

Wish us luck!

As for last week’s Sinatra song giveaway, the only person to guess the correct song was Jewels. She also had an edge, as she’d already read through the synopsis I’d written while plotting Something Stupid. But because you were all such good sports, I’d be happy to give you or a friend a digital copy of one of my books. If you commented last week, email me at mkethridge1@gmail.com and let me know which book, file format, and the email address where you want it sent. 🙂

Happy Monday, everyone! Oh, and happy anniversary to my own hero. Thirteen years later, I still think he’s dreamy.

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