Thursday Thoughts

I just love realizing that it's 11:24 PM and I don't have a blog posted for the next day. What's really strange is that I supposedly have more time to blog now. Before, I'd do a whole week's worth of posts at once, making sure I had something going up even on the nights I worked. Nowadays, I feel like I've got all the time in the world to post something new and fresh every day. NOT!

I get sidetracked too easily. For example, this evening, I was cleaning off the kitchen table, and during that time, I planted some orange seeds my SIL had given us from her ornamental orange tree, along with a bag of caladiums I'd bought a week or so ago. After dropping one of those tiny little oranges on the floor, it promptly rolled under the refrigerator, so I had to get down on my belly and retrieve it. After the third attempt to scoop it out from under there lest it become a breeding ground for fruit flies, I dug out the seeds and planted them.

Then my DH figured out how to watch last night's "The Voice" via the internet, and I watched the first bit of it while cleaning the table the rest of the way and making a pitcher of iced tea. Small wonder I never feel like I have the time to sit and enjoy doing anything fun or entertaining.

I've felt the need to get back into the Now, as Eckhart Tolle urges us, and I'm having some success, but have I achieved enlightenment? Nope. Still as unenlightened as ever, but I keep trying.

Here's a little something to focus on while attempting to eliminate the multitude of thoughts crowding your mind and making you feel stressed. Then again, gazing at this photograph might cause you to wonder which one came first.

I'm guessing the one on the right.

Thursday Thoughts

The biggest thought in my head right now is that today is a free day for me. The grass is cut and the trimming done, even up at the barn. Not that there aren't a hundred thousand other things I could do, but I'm still feeling caught up for the first time in years.

I received the final edits to Small, Medium, & Large yesterday. After a few minor tweaks, I sent it off last evening. Another good feeling. Now if I could just hear from my Sourcebooks editor about Wildcat...

But that will happen eventually. In the meantime, here's a nice hunk for your Thursday enjoyment!

Thursday Thoughts

I'm really not sure I need to say anything here, other than this is my nectarine tree, 

and this is what it's like to look up into the blooms on the weeping cherry. Neighbor Janet always comes over when it's in bloom. She says it's "spiritual" and I tend to agree. Be sure to click on it and see the closeup view. 

This is kinda spiritual too!

Enjoy your Thursday!

Thursday Thoughts

Ah, beware the ides of March! I can't believe the stuff that's already blooming around here. It's freakin' scary. I usually have some daffodils blooming by now, but nothing like this.

And this variety is so early and yet so sensitive to frost that it NEVER blooms, and yet, there it is. 

The bloodroot  is even blooming, which usually doesn't happen until April.


















Clearly, Punxsutawney Phil didn't know what he was talking about. I'm wondering if a mild winter and early spring mean we're going to have a horrendously hot, dry summer. Must Google that and see...

Okay. I'm back. I saw lots of discussions about how La Nina, the North Atlantic Oscillation, and the Arctic Oscillation have affected the weather. Basically, it will be wet and warm here in the Midwest with droughts in the South. Kinda like last year, except that La Nina is losing strength and we should be free of its effects by May. Then I guess we'll have a fairly normal summer after that. Too bad I can't remember what constitutes normal. 

I'm trying to figure out who to post for St. Patrick's Day. Does anyone have a favorite Irish hunk they'd like to see? Or should I just post the naked Leprechaun again?

Oh, BTW, I also found this growing out in the woods. Not sure if it's in season or not....

Thursday Thoughts

Wow. March 1st is finally here. The manuscript for Wildcat is due today, but since I sent it off a couple of weeks ago, the only significance is the new month and the flowers in bloom.

Spring has definitely been in the air for the past couple of days, and I am so ready for it. We recently got to meet the new baby in the family, my great-nephew, Paul, who was born in December.

















Peaches and Bugsy are enjoying the mild weather.

Kes stands watch while Jadzia takes a nap (she's that dark shape on the right).

















And if you look closely, you can find tiny blooms all over the yard.

Three months ago, I made the decision to cut back on my hours at the hospital, and though my shrunken paycheck is a little scary, nothing else has changed very much. I'm simply writing more and nursing less. I thought I would've had a completed manuscript to show for my extra time, and it's getting there, but converting a first person manuscript into third person is a very slow process--something I learned during the rewrite of Purple Bikini. Some existing scenes are now told from a different point of view, and new scenes and characters have been added. I probably should've started from scratch, but reading through the lengthy passages of my earlier style gives me proof that the time I've spent learning more about my craft has not been wasted.

I'm still anxious to hear what my editor thinks of Wildcat and I have this nagging fear that she'll tell me she hates it and doesn't want to publish it or anything else I've ever written. Scary thoughts to be having with book 9 of a series. I still don't have a cover for it or the new story for Siren (Small, Medium, & Large) but I hope to have them soon. Maybe then I'll believe it's really going to happen. A lot of people don't think covers are important anymore, particularly for ebooks, but for the author, they are proof that someone is at least planning to publish your work.

Today also marks the end of the promotional month for Stud's release. I have absolutely no idea how well it's been selling. Even on Amazon, the sales rankings don't mean much because the ranking is split between paperback and ebook sales. I suspect that ebook sales are doing the best, but I won't know very much until I get my royalty statement the first of May, and I probably won't be able to tell much from it even then. However, anytime any day I can tell you how many copies of Purple Bikini have sold and how much I've earned. That's one of the biggest advantages of self-publishing. You have control and you know what's happening.

In other news, Warrior is now officially out of print. It's still available in ebook format, but if you want an unused paperback copy, they're selling for anywhere from $15.50 to $127.30 on Amazon. I have several new copies myself. I'm thinking I should put them up for sale at an outrageous price and see what happens. Might be the best way to make money in this crazy business.

And before I forget, here's a little something for those of you who need a hunk to help you make it through the day!

Enjoy your Thursday!

Thursday Thoughts

The only thought in my head is that I want to see more pics of yesterday's adorable hunk.

What luck! I have one!

Thursday Thoughts

I went over 99,000 words on Wildcat yesterday. The manuscript was originally due on Dec 31st, but now I've got until March before I have to turn it in. I could probably finish the whole book today, but I DON'T WANT TO!!! I'm going to miss those cats something awful.

I made the Outback bread yesterday. It tasted great, but it's a bit more coarse than the stuff in the restaurant and has a thicker crust. I think it was the rye flour. Mine was stone ground I think the restaurants use a finer-ground version. I'll post the recipe next week. It's definitely worth a try if you like to bake.

My son Mike came home from college Tuesday night, so last night we had sort of a special dinner. I had some rib eye steaks in the freezer that I'd bought for the Fourth of July and forgot about. Yeah, I know. I'm getting senile... Anyway, I did something then that I know I've never done before. I actually cooked the steaks on the grill. On the deck. In December. Right before the winter solstice. During a light drizzle.

I love rib eyes, but there's about as much fat on them as there is meat. Peaches and Bugsy, however, were delighted with the scraps and did NOT complain. They're eating a little better now, and the hair is starting to grow back on Bugsy's face from where the skunk sprayed him. He still looks a little beat-up, though. They've been spending the nights in the house, and they love it!
















We've had a problem with the water hydrant near the well freezing up in winter, and yesterday, the guys came and dug it up. Imagine a backhoe in your yard, digging a hole that was easily eight feet square and at least that deep through standing water. They they replaced the hydrant and the expansion tank. We've got better water pressure than we've ever had, but the place they dug up looks like chocolate icing on top of crumbly brownies, as opposed to a part of the lawn. Guess we know what I'll be doing in the spring...

While the guys were out digging up the yard, I put on some Christmas music, wrapped all the presents, and put them under the tree. Then I spent a pleasant afternoon talking with Mike while the steaks were thawing and the bread was rising. It already feels like Christmas. Mike's only request is for eggnog. I've got plenty of eggs, but no powdered sugar or cream. Guess I'll be going back to the store one more time....

But enough about that.
You're here for the hunks,
So here's one for your stocking.

 

No, wait, there are four!
But they're a bit young,
So I'll give you one more!



























This guy is too pretty,
Not hairy enough.
So I'll give you another,
Who's got the right stuff!

Only THREE shopping days left until Christmas!!!

Thursday Thoughts

Thought for the day:
Women over 55 should never read the Pickle Pleasing book (thank you again, Donna!)  in bed while drinking a glass of wine after working all night. I finished the book, but fell asleep immediately afterward.
Sad, but true. I woke up from my nap, took a shower and was about to dive back into bed when I remembered I hadn't written today's blog.
So here I am at 11PM, typing away on my computer, hoping to say something witty before I post a hunk and go to bed.
Sorry, don't feel witty. Just sleepy.
Here's the hunk.

No, wait. There are two of them.

I'm not anywhere near tipsy enough to be seeing double, so there really must be two of them.

Enjoy!

Thursday Thoughts

Well... Just spent the last two days in class at the hospital and was late getting home yesterday and completely forgot to write today's blog. After practicing the resuscitation of pediatric patients, going to a unit meeting, and then taking a test on EKG  interpretation, somehow, hunks were not on my mind last night.

This is my last full week before I cut back to four nights a month and I'm still not sure it's the right thing to do. The self-pub I'm working on needs SO much work. Still, it's a testament to how much I've learned over the past four years or so since I first wrote it. For example, it was written in first person and the heroine is a nurse who raises horses. Sound familiar??? Unfortunately, what was funny to the hospital gang might not go over as well with the general public, plus, there's a lot of horsey stuff in it and the pace is kinda slow. Even so, it was a fun book, so I'm still plugging away at it. I'd like to have it up before Stud comes out in February, but I'm not sure I'll make it in time.

But enough of that. Must move on to today's hunk! This one is a bit more believable than yesterday's guy. I also consider it a definite plus that you wouldn't need surgery to repair the damage afterward!

Thursday Thoughts

I'm heading out tonight to a going away party for one of my buddies at the hospital who is moving on to bigger and better things. Someone asked me a few nights ago when my last night was, and it got me to wondering just what that would feel like. I'm not quitting (yet), but these are people I've been working with for 21 years. They're more than coworkers; they're family. Granted, the friend who is leaving hasn't been working there that long, but she was already one of the gang.

I know there are a lot of places where the nurses don't get to know each other very well. It's a job and that's all it is. I don't really see how that can be when you spend 12 hours with them three nights (or days) a week. That's more time than some people spend with their own family, and we've gone on vacations together, celebrated birthdays and holidays, and watched our children grow up, get married, and have children of their own.

That's why I won't be having a going away party, because I'm really not going away, and I hope I never have to. They're my friends, my family, and I love them all dearly.

Which is something to think about.

Thursday Thoughts

Well, Yah Yahs, I got my royalty statement from Sourcebooks. I made a little money, but when the books are sold at a 55% discount and I only get 3 or 6%, well... you do the math. It's no wonder so many authors are leaning toward self-pubbing on Amazon. It's the only way many of us will ever make enough money to give up the day job, or in my case, the night job.

However, that's exactly what I'm about to do. I plan to work only 4 nights a month and see what kind of a splash I can make in the self-pubbing world. I have at least a dozen manuscripts to work with that Sourcebooks has passed on because they didn't show series potential. So, we shall see! In the meantime, I'll still be here on the CBEB every day. Just 'cause I love my Yah Yahs and appreciate your support more than you will ever know.

And for your Thursday enjoyment, a couple of Benji buns!

Thursday Thoughts

 

Here's a little something to think about. 

Only have time for a quick pic today. This has been one helluva week so far. Must be the full moon! 

Enjoy your Thursday!

Thursday Thoughts

Not a lot of time to think this week. Too much going on around here!

Guess I'll have to leave it to you to figure out what he's thinking.

Enjoy your Thursday!

Happy Birthday, Noelle!

I finally got smart and checked the list of birthdays on Facebook. So I knew ahead of time that today is Noelle's Birthday!

*sigh* I've really missed the BD Buns. So happy I get to post them again....

Have a great day, Noelle!












And since your birthday falls on a Thursday this year, here's a nice, thoughtful-looking hunk to go along with the buns!



































Thought for the day:
You know how much trouble I had coming up with a title for CSC #9? Well, as it turns out, I needn't have bothered. The folks at Sourcebooks have decided to call it Savage. Still not sure I like it, but I don't have a whole lot of say in the decision.

Opinions? 

Wet Thursday Thoughts

Interesting perspective, don't you think?

Kinda makes you want to open the door real quick and see what pops out.

I think there's a Sextet story in that somewhere.

Speaking of which, our Entanglements stories should be going off to the Siren editor soon. For those of you who aren't big menage fans, but like a little restraint in your romance, you might enjoy this one. 








 




A Delicate Procedure

Restraints are required when hunky graduate student Aidan Vidal asks Nurse Trish Davis, his neighbor and former babysitter, for help with a rather embarrassing hair removal problem...

...something this guy obviously doesn't need...

Thursday Thoughts

Now that I think of it, I probably should have posted yesterday's pic today. It's certainly food for thought.

So is home improvement. The bathtub to shower conversion will be in my thoughts for the next month or so, and I was looking at a brochure for replacement windows yesterday, too--yet another of the three projects that this house needs in the coming years.

First, there's the heating/cooling issue. We currently heat with small heaters when it's cool, and a wood burning stove when it's really cold. In summer, we have ceiling fans (Budley just installed two more of them this past week) and window air conditioners. The house doesn't even have duct work. Fortunately, there is a large crawlspace, so they wouldn't be that hard to install. The problem of where to put the actual furnace is a tough one to solve, since in my little house, there isn't what you'd call "extra space" anywhere.

Second, the the windows need replacing. I've heard these replacement services can do it in a day, but somehow I don't think they'd be the ones to paint or stain the frames or put up the trim around them. Yet another project I really don't have time to do.

Third, the carpets need to be replaced. Twenty years of kids, dogs, and cats have taken their toll, but when I look at everything we'd have to move out of the way, I cringe. I've been donating books to local women's shelters via the Indiana RWA chapter, but there are still hundreds more on the shelves in the living room. At least those could be dealt with a few at a time. You get back in my bedroom, and there's this a huge old oak desk where I do my writing, two dressers, a file cabinet full of who knows what, and a sleigh bed with a Tempurpedic mattress on it that weighs a ton. 

Money is an issue, though not as big an obstacle as it was in the past, or we might have done the windows and the central heat/air conditioning project a long time ago. Right now, it's time and hassle. It's hard enough to have people working in your house while you're at your own job, but try sleeping through it.

Anyway, if the Cat Master is a bit grumpy for the next few weeks, please bear with me. This, too, shall pass...

Thursday Thoughts

Doncha just love September? A week ago, it was 100 degrees here. Today, the temp is in the 70's. I'm thinking that hunk in the fuzzy hat would almost be appropriate now.

The sale on Sex, Love, and a Purple Bikini is over, and the price is back up to $2.99. Still cheap at twice the price, but I doubt I'll sell as many copies. I'm trying not to be too obsessive about checking the sales numbers, but when I take a break from my writing, I look at that along with Facebook, email, etc. It can act as a little pick-me-up if I sell one, or an "Oh, well..." sort of experience when I don't.

I'm hoping to finish Angel on Broadway soon so I can get back to Hunk. It's funny how when I stop working on one story to write another, my mind drifts back to it, and I get ideas I might not have had otherwise. For example, when I was driving to work a few days ago, I redesigned Sara's (the heroine of Hunk) house. There was nothing really wrong with it before, but the new design will work out better for the happily ever after part. And no, I'm not adding bedrooms for future children, I'm subtracting them.

Got you thinking now?

Good!

Now, here's something else to think about.

Thursday Thoughts

Thought for the day.



Why is it that a naked man wearing boots and a cowboy hat makes me laugh?

Thursday Thoughts

I'd be thinking clearer if today's hunk wasn't so distracting and I didn't have so much dirt on the back of my neck. I did the mowing today (I'm writing this on Tuesday evening) and it was so dry I was eating dust most of the time. After I got finished, it rained. Figures. Normally that would be perfect timing--I'd cooked out on the grill, too, and was sitting at the table when the lights blinked--but a couple of days ago would've been better. Still, I can't complain. The last time we had a big storm like that, our phone and internet got fried.



I've been working on the Christmas story for the Sextet's Mistletoe & Menage anthology. It's been kinda hard to get in the mood, but it's coming along. I'm up to about 8000 words. Not sure how long it will be, but I'd like to get it up to 15K. We shall see. That's one of the fun things about writing these stories, I can write them as short or as long as they need to be.



The rest of the time I've been mulling over where to go with Hunk (CSC #9). I've bounced some ideas off my DH and a few friends, and I think I've got it. No big hair-raising adventure in this one, though. It's more like Outcast in that respect. *sigh* Now all I have to do is write it.



But I think I'll take a shower and have a little nap with today's hunk first!

Thursday Thoughts

It's a very strange thing not having phone or internet service. A big bolt of lightning blasted the phone and internet connections at my house early Sunday morning. It was weird not having a phone, and even weirder not having internet! I used to have that kind of isolation when we go to the lake, but since Suzie got her Droid phone and can make it a wifi source, we don't have that problem anymore. Budley's iPad worked, but I didn't think he'd want me downloading naked hunk pics to it.



Anyway, we got everything fixed on Monday, and it's working as well or better than it did before. *sighs with relief*



Earlier this week I finally hit on the best title for Cat Star #9. It's the story of Jerden. You remember him, don't you? He's the guy in the Zetithian brothel on Rhylos who gave Ava a free sample of Zetithian joy juice in Virgin. I hope that when when the folks at Sourcebooks ask for a character description, and I send them a picture of the Big Chief Daniel Morocco, I'll actually get the right sort of guy on the cover. I'm sending them this picture--or rather, the edited version of it. Hopefully it will bring about the desired effect.























































I sent in this picture of Derrick Davenport for Stud and got a guy who looks nowhere near as manly. Oh, well. . . At least I tried!























































Now back to CSC #9! The title is so simple, so perfectly obvious, it was staring me in the face all along. So, without further adieu, I give you...



Every woman in the galaxy wants him...



The Cat Star Chronicles #9:



HUNK!