Visits to Costco are good for my ego...

I have a Costco very close to me. It just opened. I go there for gas and for those amazing chickens for my dogs. So unlike most people at Costco, I'm never buying very much at once. Therefore, I go through the self-checkout line. Well, a lot of times there is someone there to help you and they jam through your cart like it's nothing. So last week when I was there, this older woman working the register said, "Oh girl, let me get that for you. You're too cute to check." I mean, light me up, that was so sweet. But she was also adorable, so that wasn't exactly true. 

Today, I go in and I buy some Mucinex for my son.  Apparently, that is one of those "watched" products so they have to put my birthdate in.  Well, the guy who is checking for me makes one up. Because it's clear I'm older than dirt and he says, "I put in 1987."

I laughed and said, I graduated from high school before that, but bless your heart. So now, when I'm feeling bad about myself and I'm not at my word count, I'm going to wander over to Costco and get me a daily dose of Costco Charisma.

Incidentally, I wanted to share that my brain was finally back this week and I wrote like I used to write.  Fast, and without a bunch of edits. I just finished the chapter so I could come back to the fixes later. Yay! 

When I move, I'm not going to be near a Costco, so my dog is really going to be suffering and wishing for the scorching land that is Arizona. 

 

#NewCover for "Under a Neon Moon" Coming Soon for Preorder

Have you ever seen an animal trapped in a corner and they don't know which way to go?  That is completely me when I'm overwhelmed with decisions. I have some big decisions to make and that has messed with my writing time.  I used to be so good at multi-tasking, but apparently, that skill has gone by the wayside, along with my tiny waist. 

I am working on two books right now. One is the third book in the Pacific Avenue Series.  I have loved working on this series because there were no rules. I wrote it the way I wanted it. Not with a neat little bow at the end, but with characters grappling with life (and people) as it is.  Sometimes people -- even in the church -- are rotten in the home and I wanted to address that hypocrisy for all the readers out there who have had to make family where they can find it--because their own is less than perfect. 

I'm also working on a Christmas redemption story set in Lake Tahoe, CA. It's always such a tightrope walk to make a character problematic, but likable. I'm grappling with that now. I like her, but I tend to love problematic, authentic people. Anyway, here is the new cover with the back cover copy for Under a Neon Moon:

In San Francisco society, QUINN WENTWORTH is renowned for her dazzling fashion sense and
captivating charisma. But when her mother’s scandalous past and her father’s notorious reputation
shatter her glamorous life, Quinn must escape the relentless media attention and find her true path. If
only she possessed actual life skills!

After being kicked out of her prestigious English riding club, Quinn finds an unlikely rescuer in cowboy
veterinarian Shane McCarthy. Seeing beyond Quinn’s starlike exterior, Shane offers to shelter her
beloved horse on his ranch, though it’s a world away from her turbulent life in the city. Although they
go together like Chanel and Carhartt, their undeniable chemistry forces Quinn to reevaluate her
stance on marriage. Perhaps unconditional love does exist . . .

Join Quinn and the Wentworth sisters in a charming new love story about the pursuit of genuine
connection in a world that’s looking for the next photo op.

Cruising the world...

I have cousins and friends who LOVE cruises. Sign them up for domestic, International and even, river cruises. They make me feel...stuck. Trapped. So while I'm envious of my peeps on these fantastic vacations, I wonder what I'm missing. One issue is I like to see one place well, rather than a ton of places with brief stops.

Anyhow, today an ad came up for a European River cruise, and I'm not going to lie. I'm tempted by that. It seems low-key. Made more for the introvert who might get lost in a book while on our way to the next destination.  While on the site, I discovered there is a "longitudinal cruise" that beings in Buenos Aires and finishes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That's seriously intense. To go from one pole to another essentially. Get this, it starts at $44, 950K. My first thought it how many life-altering handbags I could get for that price. (Maybe only one if I loved the Birkin, but thankfully, I do not. )

While I have no interest in this cruise, I would love to meet the people who go on it. Don't you think they'd be fascinating?  Like their lives would make great novels!  These people not only have the big money to vacation as they please, but they're learners. They have a need to see for themselves and I think that's so interesting. My buddy Colleen Coble is on a book tour, and she's been in Charleston and Beaufort, South Carolina. She texted me and said it didn't feel the same without me there ( because I love Charleston so much) and I thought, yeah, I should be there.  That got me thinking about vacation and here we are. Daydreaming while I'm working.  And yes, I did write a little in between this ADD diversion. Anyway, if Denise Hunter tours the south, she may be stuck with me. I don't know what it is about the romance of the southern United States, but I just feel connected to it.  The Civil War is such a tragic era, but it fascinates me. 

I have done the Mississippi Queen cruise and I did really enjoy that one. I've thought about cruising Alaska because I love nature -- but from a well-appointed balcony.  I have no desire to come face-to-face with a Grizzly or even a moose, if I'm honest. Same reason I'd rather cruise the Viking Fjords. Nature. But at a distance.

For some reason, my biggest fear is being murdered in a tent.  Since I haven't been in a tent since I was in my late 20's, I'm not sure where this ridiculous fear comes from, but camping and me are a big no.  In fairness, when I was in high school, it was the era/setting of the "Night Stalker" and the beautiful redwoods I used to visit every month when my kids were little had people murdered in their tents. It was the era of tent murders, what can I say? Add to that all the "Datelines" I've seen and it's quite a reasonable fear. 

Anyway, do you have any plans for summer travel? I wonder if I'd be happier with a new Loewe Puzzle bag. After the year I've had, I'm thinking it's bigger than a new handbag. 

 

"Where's the next book?"

If you're asking that question about my book, first off, thank you.  I appreciate that anyone cares and I love hearing from my readers that they do miss hearing my voice.  What a blessing! The easiest explanation is I've had "monkey brain" which is what I call my ADHD when there is too much going on.  I've been torn between responsibilities at home in California and at home in Arizona. Neither one of which includes writing and that needs to change. This is my resolution for 2024.  Finishing books again is my priority. (BIC -- Butt in Chair is a necessity.)  I don't like the person I am when I don't write. It's too much a part of me, and it's all right to make that a priority. 

I'm working on the next book in the Pacific Avenue series and while the third one has been the hardest for me to complete, I think it's my favorite so far.  I just love dealing with the dysfunctional family dynamics and how the same person can be different people, depending on the audience. Authentic people are my vibe. I don't understand people who change their personalities for an audience. They fascinate me and I wanted  to explore narcissistic personality traits in fiction. I know we all have narcissistic traits, but if you've ever been around a person with true narcissistic personality disorder, it will have you questioning your sanity. I wanted to explore that from the perspective of the children of narcs.  That's how the Pacific Avenue Series started. I know it sounds depressing, but to me, it's not. Children of narcs continue to thrive in this world and overcome! Thank you, Jesus!

I have the cover for the new book and I'm going to debut it here soon. But I love Quinn's story because she's been raised to be a carbon copy of her narcissistic mother. Figuring out she's been on the wrong journey was fun for me. How I love a redemption arc!  I took a break writing Quinn because of a request from my agent for a bigger publisher. It will help me to go back to traditional publishing. When you've been doing things a certain way for 30 years, it's not easy to do it differently. Self-publishing is a lot when you're an old dog constantly learning new tricks -- especially with monkey brain. But if that's what God has for me, I'll keep doing it. 

I've been at my parents' house in California for about a month -- and I bought a new laptop here because my old one is missing keys. Let me just say you have no idea how much you use the letter "A" until you can't anymore. So check back here for the new cover. My word for 2024 is CONSISTENCY! How about you? Any resolutions you want to make public? 

P.S. As a testimony to my dedication to "consistency" I am sitting at my parents' dining room table with David Crowder blasting in my noise canceling EarPods to drown out my brother's CONSISTENT talking. : )

#Wonka Vision...

I finally saw "Wonka" and I'm a new Timothee Chalamet fan.  I thought he was fantastic as "Wonka" and I liked his upbeat, Disneylike version. I figure Willy Wonka wouldn't be so cynical just yet as a young man so that worked for me. He hadn't been through the "Oompa Loompa Wars" as yet.  ; )

I loved Hugh Grant's Oompa Loompa. He's such a fantastic curmudgeon and I do wish there were more scenes with him in it. The movie is a prequel to the original showing Wonka's origin story, which I thought was very creative.  The weak spot for me was the "Noodle" character.  She's adorable and she can sing, but it pulled me out of the fantasy at bit. The "chocolate cartel" did that as well. However, I loved the "Da Vinci Code" version of keeping candy secrets. It was delightfully weird. Wonka is worth a watch, but I probably won't see it again -- which is my measure for a great film.

I'll post a writing update next. I know it seems that I've gone AWOL and don't care a smidgen about my readers, but I promise you, that's not true. It just FEELS true.  Blessings on the New Year. Come on 2024! Get us out of this world where Biff goes back in time with the sports stats and bring us back to the future!