TODAY I'M AT MAMA WRITERS

I'm talking about changes at Mama Writers today. Please stop by and tell me about any changes you've made recently in your life.

Tomorrow my husband and I celebrate twenty years of marriage! We're leaving for Thanksgiving in the mountains with my sister and her family, and Monday, we're off to Jamaica with some friends. Sun, drinks, nude beach...oh, yeah...



Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

DONE!...and an Amazing New Cover!

50,147 words, baby! So done...and I'm so not writing a word until December 7 (when I get back from Jamaica...)

This morning I was thrilled to find the cover for The Cowboy and the Cougar in my inbox. It's incredible, it's beautiful, it's HOT -- and it's designed by the amazingly talented Tuesday Dube. Thank you, Tuesday!


Blurb:

A hot time with a gorgeous young cowboy is just what the doctor ordered for forty-year-old Holly Taylor. But after a night of amazing passion, she leaves discreetly. Life has other plans for her at the moment.

After the best sex of his life, single father Jack Sherwood isn’t ready to give up his mystery woman. When he runs into her several months later, he’s relentless in his pursuit, and he doesn’t care a whit about their eleven year age difference.

Holly’s life has taken a new course since her first meeting with Jack, and she’s convinced she’s not what he and his adorable son need. Can her new friends at The Cougar Club persuade her to stop running? Or will she lose the best thing to ever happen to her?

Watch for The Cowboy and the Cougar on December 11 at Aspen Mountain Press. Enjoy your weekend!

I'M AT KAYE'S TODAY

Still plugging away for NaNo. Need about 3K today and I'm done! Heavy burden lifted...

Today I'm visiting my talented friend Kaye Manro. Stop by and find out why I never say never!

Have a wonderful weekend. And here's the amazing Charles Paz -- Mr. Romance himself! -- who will be blogging with me next month.

NANO BURNOUT

NaNo total so far: 44,839.

Still a little behind. I need to make 2500+ words tomorrow and Friday to make 50K by my self-imposed deadline of the third week of November.

I remain a proponent of NaNo, but I must admit, this year (my third) has been the most difficult. I've had trouble caring about my story and characters, trouble staying on track. Last year, my daily goals never wavered. This year, I've had to redistribute words several times to pick up words lost when I didn't make my daily goal. Not good.

Why have I had this trouble? Honestly, I don't know. Maybe because it's been a busy year with writing and editing. My recent release, Slow and Wet, was my sixth this year, and I have another coming next month, The Cowboy and the Cougar. My work as a freelance editor for two small presses is coming to an end, and I have three full length projects that need to be finished by the first of the year. I'm busy. Stressed. A little burnt out.

In 2007, I finished NaNo with a 50K manuscript that went on to win an award and be requested by several editors. Last year, I wrote its sequel (the third in a trilogy, actually) and though its first draft didn't come out as well as its predecessor, it is a good story and has a future. This year, I will finish NaNo. But I honestly don't know if I will have anything salvageable at the end. That's how rough it's been.

I hope it is going better for the rest of you!

MEET ME AT RACHEL'S

Still in NaNo hell here...

...but I'm also over at Rachel Moniz's blog talking about critique groups. Please stop by and say hello!

And for your NaNo inspiration...

MEET THE HERODale from Slow and Wet

Hi everyone -- I hate to say that I'm still behind on NaNo. Not good. But only by 3400 words. My last week of NaNo (this week) is supposed to be down to 2K per day. I should have finished last week at 40K. Instead, I'm at a total of 36,665. So, instead of 2K per day this week, I need to do 2667 per day. Doable, but I'm not thrilled that I didn't meet my goal last week. Yes, I had a release (see the hot cover at right!) but I should have been able to do it. No excuses! I'll make it up this week.

So I'm heading back into my NaNo cave, but before I go, here's a smokin' excerpt from Slow and Wet, featuring my hunky cowboy hero, Dale. (Warning -- explicit sex and language.)

Dale thrust two fingers into her wet channel and sucked her clit hard. She shattered, her walls clenching around him as he massaged her G-spot and fresh cream drizzled over his hand. When her spasms slowed, he removed his fingers and pulled her into the warm water.

He sat down on the bench, the water coming midway up his chest, and pulled Jill onto his lap. “I want you to slide your clit up and down my hard cock, darlin’, while Trav fucks you. Would you like that?”

“God, yes,” she said.

Dale watched as Travis, condom already in place, moved behind Jill. His lady didn’t know it yet, but this was the last time she’d fuck another man. One last gift to her, to be sandwiched between two men, the object of both their desires. A jolt of jealousy speared into him and shattered his resolve for a moment. But he inhaled, gripped Jill’s slippery body, and willed to give her this satisfaction one last time.

BEHIND!

And no, I'm not talking about yesterday's photo...

I'm behind on NaNo -- 3K behind to be exact. My total so far is 34,253, and I need to be at 40K by the end of today to be caught up. Wish me luck...

But there's always something to celebrate...even if it's that I'm behind. Happy Friday the 13th!