Black Friday!

I just want to thank all of my friends for the support and advertisement for my latest book! You are awesome!

So, it is Black Friday weekend coming to a close....I didn't even venture out. I detest crowds since I'm only five feet tall. I have a tendency to get lost in them and sometimes trampled. I really don't need anything desperately to endure the long lines and pushy people.

Now I'm getting attacked in my email account for Cyber Monday! I had 82 emails this morning, all from retailers hawking their goods. I got excited at first when I read the count but once I opened the box, well....let me tell you.

I hope you all had a great holiday and I wish you a happy prosperous week ahead!

For the Love of Par

It's out! For the Love of Par! A great romantic comedy about the LPGA! Pick up your copy at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com!!!

New Book Release and Snow!

Heard from my editor this week! For the Love of Par is going to be released on 11/23/2014!! Look for it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble! As soon as I get the cover art, I will share it with you.

Also, guess what? We are to have a chance of snow today. For those of you who know me, I detest snow. With a passion. No, it isn't pretty to me at all. I was born in MA, lived in New York, Illinois, PA and when asked if I would mind moving to Dallas, I said yes, in a heartbeat. My husband neglected to tell me, there is an chance of snow here but it melts right away because the temps go up quickly during the day. Need I remind you of the Super Bowl a couple of years ago when the roads were impassable for almost four days? Or how about last year on 12/6, we had an ice storm which left the roads in terrible condition for four days? I am not liking this....

Also, my husband didn't mention how people do not know how to drive in the snow down here and your best bet is just to stay inside until it melts. I really like living here but I wish the city of Dallas and its surrounding communities would get their act together on how to handle the winter!

Simple Things to Interefere with Writing! Fifteen Minute Chores that Take Four Hours....

Has anyone worked with Microsoft Office, Mail Merge? I know it's an awesome tool to use for printing labels in a jiffy. My point? The Excel spreadsheet to use can drive you to drink. You think you have all of your columns and data in the right format. You've painstakingly gone over everything, right? You run your Mail Merge and....only thirty out of your seventy labels show up. Huh?

Okay. I can do this. I look over it again and see, ah ha! There's a line out of sync. Let's try this again. I get an additional ten more. Grrrr. I ask for another set of eyes and they see something out of whack. Try it again. Nothing. Now I notice this process has taken me two hours which should've only taken me fifteen minutes. An additional two hours later, using two different spreadsheets to get the data since Mail Merge doesn't like the one document, I have my labels. I am exhausted!

Then I wonder where went my time to work on my book?

Good news! Edits will begin on my next book, For the Love of Par!

What Time Change?

The day after the 'good' time change. We get an hour to sleep in, so why is it, I'm wide awake two hours earlier?

I even worked really hard yesterday around the house! We mulched twenty-one bags for our garden around the pool. Then I weeded our garden at the side of the house where the weeds had pretty much run amok.

Then I took an hour long walk to straighten out my back from being in a cramped position, only to come back and  mow the back lawn.

I am working on my next book and am midway. I am torn on which way to take the plot. It's not a writer's block, per se but what would be better?

While I was working in the yard yesterday, my mind was not a rest. I have decided to take today off of writing and I'll see what tomorrow brings!

Where Did All of This Traffic Come From?

I had to chuckle on Friday. There was a Facebook comment from my cousin in New York about how she hated the traffic in NYC. I commented she would not like it here in Dallas, either. NYC has the famous bridges to negotiate; we have toll roads galore with a really weird pricing system, I still can't figure out.  If you travel this stretch of toll road, you pay seventy five cents, but if you travel it only this far you pay thirty cents. There are cameras that monitor you, but I find myself mentally calculating...how much do I owe now?

And don't get me started on the construction. The suburb I live in is north of Dallas; the two main arteries being I -35E or I 35W. Yup! Both are under construction and are a nightmare to negotiate. I don't have a toll tag, so I relegate my driving to the service roads which I hate to say, move faster than the toll roads.

Weekends? It's best to stay home. There is a bigger town to the north of us Denton. Denton hosts two major college campuses; TWU and UNT. It is truly a college town with lots of fun things to do. However, traffic there is a total nightmare because it has grown to big for its britches. There is an aging mall there that they are trying to revive and a lot of retail stores are closing their doors in Flower Mound and Lewisville and moving them to Denton.

Point one. I love Panera Bread. When I lived in Pennsylvania, there was a Panera Bread minutes from our house. Here in Texas, I couldn't find a Panera Bread nearby. There was one in Southlake which I didn't even bother to try. Southlake is a very expensive and prestigious place to live and once again, traffic is a nightmare. Then the two main arteries for them, 121 and 114 underwent MAJOR reconstruction for FIVE years and is now complete. Still, for a ten mile drive, it takes me forty-five minutes.

Then I looked and found one in Denton. Nine miles away. Fifty freaking minutes on a weekday and an hour on the weekend. Really?

Point two. Same with Sports Authority. There used to be one around us but lo and behold. It closed and now is in Denton. Right across the street from Panera Bread. Really? Someone is trying to make me crazy.

I guess that's God's way of telling me to stay home and write! No shopping or restaurants!!!

Kudos to Nice People!

As a writer, I do have an active imagination. I am working on my next book, currently untitled, and have so much to put into words but I haven't had the time. It is so frustrating! Everyday this week, something has come up for me to tend to first and by that time, it's time for dinner.

My husband believes in together time and likes me to sit with him to watch some evening shows. Not always but the majority of the time. I can't argue with him there. I enjoy his company.  I would love to lock myself in a room for at least five hours to get everything in my head on paper. Or on my saved file on my laptop. But, careful what you wish for, right?

I've also learned I need to toughen up. I let too many selfish people get to me. I need to realize I can't let them get me down. For the unselfish population; a very big thank you!