Galleys!

Today I received my galley for A MAN FOR THE SUMMER. I'll make a little confession here: I only learned what galleys were about a year ago - and until today I had never seen one of the beasts.

Galleys are simply the print-ready final version of a manuscript. It's the author's last chance to find and correct errors after the editors have gone through and made their own changes and the book has been formatted. Ideally, there should be very few errors to find, as many pairs of eyes have seen the work by this point, but my editor tells me that there is always something to fix.

Some editors send them out in hard copy. Wild Rose does them electronically, in a .pdf file. The responsibility for accuracy at the galley stage rests with the author - so I need to devote myself to this task with fresh eyes and caffeine - a project for the morning.

A friend reminded me over the weekend that we authors must remember to celebrate every step of our journey. It is in that spirit that I intend to enjoy my own personal Galley Day!

Story accepted for Wild Rose Free Read

I'm pleased that a short story of mine, "Dog People," has been accepted for publication as a free read by Wild Rose.

About the story:
"How can Rosie meet the cute guy she always sees at the coffee shop? Sometimes, people need a little help to make the first move. In DOG PEOPLE, help comes in the form of a funny-looking four-legged matchmaker. "

This is a five-minute read. Look for it in the Champagne Rose Petal free reads sometime this fall :)

TGFH (Thank God For Husbands)

Saturday was special around here. My critique group had promised to read my new manuscript for me, and what's more, to review and edit it in two days. I emailed it Friday morning, and as a thank you I invited them and their families to dinner Saturday night.

When you finish a manuscript, there's a strange feeling of suddenly having your days back. It can be a little overwhelming, honestly. For months, I've been getting up every morning to my book, and tucking it in at night before I retreat, bleary-eyed, to my own bed. Soon there will be revisions, but there is a little pause in-between when your time is your own.

I used the time to clean the house (aack- writers don't make the best housekeepers) and cook. The appointed hour came. Everyone arrived. The kids - all friends - ran off to do their own things. Cocktails were poured. And then, like some sort of fifties cocktail party, the ladies repaired to the patio table and the gents went off to the barbecue grill.

And stayed there. For over an an hour. While my friends went through their revisions with me. While we talked earnestly, the guys fixed dinner, fed the kids, cleaned up, re-set the table fore the adults, and kept our drinks refreshed.

If you ask me, our men are aces. Sometimes a real man is the one who steps into the background and keeps everything running so we authors have the chance to do what we do. We love you guys!

So here's a toast to Bob, Jim, & Bob!!!

Thank You Angela!

It was extremely exciting to get cover art for both of my upcoming releases on the same day. Wild Rose does something unique for its authors - they let us choose the artist who will create our covers. I spent some time looking at covers from the entire Wild Rose line, and it was a difficult choice. All of the artists are talented, and all of them create stunning covers.

But in the end I was especially drawn to some of the covers Angela created. So I specified her as my cover artist of choice - and then I sat back and waited. Not long after, I got an email saying she had finished the covers...

And here's the result! I couldn't be more thrilled.


A MAN FOR THE SUMMER - Champagne Rose, Contemporary Romance


ALONG FOR THE RIDE - Scarlet Rose, Erotic Romance, Cougar Club

Pleased To Be Here :)

I've been writing for ages. Years and years. More than a decade. 

Um, much more than a decade.

And now my work is finally going to see publication. I'm so delighted Wild Rose Press has decided to publish several of my favorite stories. 

The best thing about my writing journey, of course, is the friends I've made along the way. So I'd like to dedicate this first post to my critique group, the women who believed in me from the start. Thanks, you guys - I wouldn't be here without you!