I'm baaaaa-aaaaack

I have to say, I had an absolute blast at RomantiCon. There's something rejuvenating about hanging out with authors and readers...even though we kept ridiculous hours. Rooming with Kelly Kirch and Suzanne Graham was wild to say the least, but also a ton of fun.

I also finally got to meet Regina Carlysle, Tessie Bradford, Barbara Huffert, Koko Brown and Cheryl Dragon - five of the most awesome women on the planet. And I hung out with the amazing Desiree Holt, Anny Cook, Cindy Spencer Pape, M.A. Ellis, Tilly Greene, Isabelle Drake and of course, Kaenar Langford.

I also had my very first book signing. It was a little hairy for a while. My books didn't make it over from the warehouse with everyone else's, but the staff sent someone back there so I had them about an hour before the signing ended which was wonderful. I was so bummed when it looked like the signing wasn't going to happen, but EC came through! And...they all sold out in that last hour. It was so cool! However, I forgot to keep out a copy for myself...because I'm just that clever. But I should be getting my author copies soon.

I've been so crazy-busy, I don't think I've even posted the cover for the print book. Magic's Embrace has all three Torrid Tarot stories in it - I Put a Spell on You, Ronan's Grail and Mystic Circle. When my author copies arrive, I'll be running a contest to give away a copy, so check back for details.

Okay, back to work. I'm so far behind, it's not even funny.

What a week...

On Monday and Tuesday, I was informed repeatedly via nasty phone messages and email that I am the "meanest, most selfish person in the world." I was also informed that if the toxic person I jettisoned from my life resumes her self destructive behavior, it's all my fault. I'm not buying into this pile of crap, but I can't say it doesn't hurt.

On Wednesday, my husband and my youngest son and I went out to the boy scout camp for family night and the Order of the Arrow ceremony. The boys chosen for the Order of the Arrow are called up in front of the entire camp, spend the night alone in the woods without shelter, remain silent for 24 hours and perform a service project - the project in this case was chopping wood for 8 hours. Both my son Killian and Brynn's son were chosen to take part. The ceremony was really cool and I'm so proud of both of our boys. Personally, I can't believe Killian stayed quiet for 24 hours, but apparently he did.

Check out Brynn's blog on the subject of camp over at Hitting the Hot Spot. It's great. http://totalebound.blogspot.com/2008/07/brynn-paulin-live-from-summer-camp.html

On Thursday, I got a frantic phone call from my daycare girlies. Usually they call me at around 10 AM when they wake up and I pick them up and bring them back to my house. This morning they called at 8, screaming and crying that someone was trying to break in. They called the cops and I raced over there to find a very frazzled handyman who was hired by the landlord to do some work on the house. Unfortunately the landlord never bothered to call and let the family know that someone would be doing work.

After the police left and the contractor stopped freaking out, I took the girls home with me and we took Corwin, my youngest to the orthodontist where we discovered he needs two phases of braces. yay. Then we picked up his two best friends and they spent the night.

On Friday, the overnight guests stayed 'til suppertime when I happily dropped them back at home. Then I got ready for my RWA meeting the next day. Since Brynn was still at camp, I had to run the meeting. I think it might have been the shortest meeting in RWA history - under 15 minutes.

After the meeting was finished, I picked up Brynn and we drove downstate and had supper at the lovely Cindy Spencer Pape's house (her husband is an awesome cook) Isabelle Drake and her husband were there, as was the delightful Kaener Langford and one super awesome Dakota Rebel. I'd met everyone but Dakota before, and I'm happy to report, Dakota is just as freaking fabulous as she seems like she is online. I laughed 'til I cried and had an all-around wonderful evening.

This week, I'm doing piles of laundry, prepping for our family vacation and writing like a mad fiend.