So Much Life To Share

 Hello dear readers. 

I haven't posted anything in a while but I have to get back to it. This month Reckless Dreams hit the shelves and as the first book in a brand new series, Stories from the Dream Realm, I had lots of plans for it's release. Not in the least a set of Tuesday Teasers that were going to be posted her. 

However life was a bitch. Earlier this year my 15 year old dog, Shader, started going down hill. A lot of my work was pushed to the side as I took care of her and tried to improve her health and quality of life. I hate that term "quality of life". The moment our vet changed her meds and used that term something in me started breaking. 

You see, Shader was more than just a 15 year old dog. She was family. She was there when I moved in with my husband and when my daughter was brought home from the hospital a year later. She was there on camping trips and when my daughter took her first step and promptly fell on her second. Shader was there when I got my first acceptance letter. She was there for everything.

I know this isn't a blog about a dog, but I'm going to share the story of Shader.

It was 2005 and I had just moved back to South Carolina from New England. My boyfriend decided we should have a dog. I already had a cat and a rat, but a dog added sounded nice. I'm an animal person after all. So off we went to the sad little animal shelter on Poor Farm. The place was under funded and honestly doing the best they could. 

We walked around and saw all the dogs. Even offered to walk some of the friendlier ones. Then we heard the rumbling from the back corner. We made our way over and saw as no less than seven brown puppies came charging from the back of the kennel up to a fresh bowl of food. It was a touching site, but these were young puppies and a sign pointed out they were still on hold before they could be adopted. 

Thinking we'd seen them all we were about to walk away when this little gray and black one came stumbling in from behind. She climbed over all her litter mates and nose dived straight into the tray of food. She then proceeded to stretch out over the food and eat everything in front of her. The other puppies nudged her away, but this little pup was able to protect a few mouthfuls of kibble. My boyfriend laughed and said, "That's the one!" 

I knew it too. 

We paid an adoption "holding" fee and waited a week before the puppy could be adopted. Her brothers and sisters were adopted quickly too. No pup left behind! The only thing the shelter could tell us about her was that the litter were under the porch puppies and had some cattle dog in them. Our sweet puppy would also be called a mutt. 

The puppy came home and like most shelter dogs she was of course scared after the entire ordeal. We just didn't realize how scared. The puppy spent a lot of time huddled at the end of the hallway. I had to go and pick her up and put in on the mattress which had to be moved to the floor for her comfort. This let her sleep with us and over the course of weeks she felt safer.

Boots had to be removed when we got home. She was terrified of them. Later we found out live music scared her too. 

Over those first few weeks we struggled to find a name for her. Finally one of us came up with her being a summa dog. Some of this and some of that. Because of her coloring it changed into a shade of this and a shade of that. That was how the name Shader came into being. She answered to it instantly.

Time began to fly. Shader was a happy and growing pup. We noticed her back hips weren't quite right and were told she had hip dysphagia and that she would grow out of it but it would cause problems when she got older. 

Time kept flying and my boyfriend and I called things off. He went back to New England and I stayed in South Carolina with Shader. At just under two she was full grown and very happy, even with a yellow streak. Living by yourself can get lonely and Shader helped keep that at bay. It was also scary. 

It was a few months after my ex had left and I was on my own at home with just Shader and my grumpy cat. Things hadn't been going well for a family member and I'd cut him off. I don't even remember what he came crashing through the front door demanding, but I do know he had me back into a corner, fists pulled back ready to beat me to a pulp before I could blink. 

Then I heard a growl. Standing between me and this family member was Shader. Her tail was tucked between her legs but she was baring her teeth at the man and growling so loud it drowned out everything else. Step by step she backed him away from me. The conflict ended and the man left. I collapsed on the floor, hugging my whining Shader. 

That family member didn't come around me much after that and never stepped foot back into my home when I was living alone. 

Time flew and Shader was two when we moved in with my now husband. He had a dachshund named Missy. This little ten pound pup got along okay with my 60 pound Shader. She was a little thief and very territorial but she played with Shader and even tried to romance her a time or time. 

I became a wife with Shader stealing half the bed and Missy still sleeping curled up to my husband. That summer we found out we were expecting and I hugged Shader as I cried because I was so scared. Sadly Missy didn't make it to the birth of our daughter. She died of an illness just a few months before. 

Shader had an instant "grandmama" feeling with our little bundle. She was protective but also gave us looks when the baby would cry that clearly stated "take care of her and make the noise stop." If our daughter was sleeping in her swing or seat and I had to step into the next room I'd say "Shader, watch Louie." Shader would push herself up and huff as she walked over and stared down at the baby. 

When Lou started solids Shader and our other pup, Demon, would circle her highchair cleaning the mess. When Lou started walking Shader or Demon were always close by to offer her a hand hold. When Lou started playing tea party Shader was an honored guest. Shader was even painted pink with yogurt once.

By the time we all moved into our current home in 2013 Shader was eight years old and was already starting to slow down a little. She still loved to play, but she didn't enjoy camping anymore. Her last camping trip was my daughter's first back in 2016. 

Slowly over the years Shader couldn't get up on the bed anymore and then the couch. We put a ramp up over the steps so she could make it in and out of the house easier. Every now and then she'd still bow down, butt in the air and play with me, but she didn't play with the other dogs much anymore. In 2019 we had a growth removed from her shoulder. It was the size of a soft ball and she was under for over an hour. We were scared her heart might not take it and she might not wake up. 

Shader did wake up and when I went to pick her up she drug me out of the vet's office with the strength of a bull. It became more clear after that how hard it was for her to get around. We started talking about leg braces or maybe even a doggy wheelchair. I moved things around to make it easier for her to get around without bumping into things. 

She was put on meds to help manage the pain and arthritis in her hips. Shader spent almost two years getting a nightly slimjim treat stuffed with her pills. Then it started. Even with the meds she wasn't able to get up on her own anymore. She needed help. That was last summer. 

Shader's meds were changed a few times, but her condition kept degrading. At 15 years old it was expected, but that didn't make it easy. Finally at the beginning of this year she was put on "quality of life" meds and we were told the vet was there for us and Shader whatever we needed. 

By the end of February it became clear that Shader's quality of life was eroding quickly. She couldn't walk on her own at all by this point. I carried her into the vet's office with the help of a few nurses and had to hear the worst things I've ever heard. "I think its time."

That was my daughter's birthday. We waited before telling her and that weekend we spoiled Shader. We gave her treats and she got her own plate at diner. Popcorn chicken, hot dogs, hamburger steak with gravy french fries. She got whatever she wanted, because that next Monday I carried her into the vet's office and said good bye for the last time. 

I carried her into my life night after night moving her to my bed when she was a puppy and I carried her out of my life over 15 years later. She would have turned 16 this month. 

Shader was more than just a dog. She was family and her story needed telling.

Peace and Love

Full Moon New Releases (Jan 2021)

 

A new year means new releases and more fictional beasties to fall in love with! 

Pushing Up Posies (Grim Dating Book 1) by Eve Langlais

 

Netflix and Chill takes on a whole new meaning when Posie starts dating the Reaper.

Poor Brody. As reaper leader for the Canadian guild, he and his crew don’t get as much work as other countries until the Dark Lord gives them a new mandate: Establish a dating service on Earth that will facilitate the meeting between citizens of Hell and humans with the end goal being babies.

In other words, become a pimp.

It’s a cruel demotion for a reaper who just wanted to guide souls to their final destination. He is dying to return to Hell, until he meets the stubborn woman living across the hall.

The Devil wants Posie mated, but she is resisting all attempts. What will it take to make her see the light?

And how will she react when she finally discovers that death has been knocking at her door?

Released Jan 7th

 

Blood Heir (Kate Daniels World Book 1) by Ilona Andrews

 Atlanta was always a dangerous city. Now, as waves of magic and technology compete for supremacy, it’s a place caught in a slow apocalypse, where monsters spawn among the crumbling skyscrapers and supernatural factions struggle for power and survival.

Eight years ago, Julie Lennart left Atlanta to find out who she was. Now she’s back with a new face, a new magic, and a new name—Aurelia Ryder—drawn by the urgent need to protect the family she left behind. An ancient power is stalking her adopted mother, Kate Daniels, an enemy unlike any other, and a string of horrifying murders is its opening gambit.

If Aurelia’s true identity is discovered, those closest to her will die. So her plan is simple: get in, solve the murders, prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, and get out without being recognized. She expected danger, but she never anticipated that the only man she'd ever loved could threaten everything.

One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard. 

Released Jan 12th by NYLA

Dragon Revealed: A Dragon Kings Novella by Donna Grant

 

The capture of a Dragon King is cause for celebration. Jeyra never dreamed she would actually face one of the creatures who destroyed her home. But the longer she’s around him, the more she finds herself gravitating to him. All it takes is one reckless kiss that unleashes desires and the truth that has been hidden from her to set them both on a course that could be the end of them.

Varek, King of Lichens, has known nothing but a life with magic. Until he finds himself on a different realm unable to call up his powers. Worse, he’s in shackles with no memory of how it happened. When he sees an enthralling woman who leaves him speechless, he believes he can charm her to free him. The more she rebuffs him, the more he craves her, igniting a dangerous passion between them. Can he protect the woman he’s fallen for while uncovering the truth – or will peril that neither see coming tear them apart?

Released by 1001 Dark Nights Press on Jan 12th 

 

Big Bad Wolf (Third Shift Book 1) by Suleikha Snyder

 

They call him a monster. More wolf than man—more dangerous than any predator.
They have no idea.

Joe Peluso has blood on his hands. He took out the mobsters responsible for killing his foster brother, and that one act of vigilante justice has earned him countless enemies in New York's supernatural-controlled underworld. He knows that shifters like him deserve the worst. Darkness. Pain. Solitude. But meeting Neha makes him feel human for the first time in forever.

Lawyer and psychologist Neha Ahluwalia knows Joe is guilty, but she's determined to help him craft a solid defense...even if she can't defend her own obsession. Just one look from the wolf shifter makes her skin burn hot and her pulse race. When a payback hit goes wrong, Neha's forced to make a choice: help Joe escape or leave him to his fate. Before long they're on the run?from the monsters who want him dead, from their own traitorous hearts, and from an attraction that threatens to destroy them.

  Released by Sourcebooks Casablanca on Jan 26th

That's all for now lovely readers. Hope you've found a new book for the night stand!

Peace and Love

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale

 

It's the season for hunting down deals!

Everyone is looking for a good sale after Thanksgiving and why not add a few books to your list?

Black Friday through Cyber Monday the entire Star Crossed Series will be on sale for just .99 cents each!

That's five paranormal romances for just $5!

Start with the first book, Just Beyond Daybreak, or pick up where you left off and enjoy some reading after all the cooking and shopping madness!

 

Here's the Amazon links:

Just Beyond Daybreak: Click Here

 Caught by Nightfall: Click Here

Chasing High Noon: Click Here

Witching Hour Madness: Click Here

Knot in Destiny: Click Here

 

 

Story Time: Dyslexia Fonts

 Hi all you lovely readers. It's been a long time since I made a post, but today I really felt the need. So, this is story time and I'm going to share a few things with everyone.

I am dyslexic. That means words and letters get mixed up in my brain when I'm reading or writing. This is a pretty common condition. Some research has stated that upwards of 20% of the US population show symptoms of dyslexia. In fact over half the children in our school systems labeled with a learning disability have dyslexia. 

That's not a fun word. Disability. I hate that word and the reason is pretty simple. Dyslexia doesn't seem like a disability to me and it's the word that triggered this post today.

My daughter brings up the topic of dyslexia every couple of years because the schools around here are finally talking about it and testing for it like they should. Little Lou knows what this is and she knows I have it. Thankfully she does not. Watching through those early years when she was learning to read and write was so hard, because not everyone understands how hard it is to be that little kid that's just not getting it. They try and try, but the letters and words just don't look like what everyone else sees.

I went diagnosed until the mid 90's. That was in sixth grade and even then some of my teachers didn't believe it, even though the school administered the tests. It was all good though. By that point I had learned on my own. I didn't independently read my first chapter book until fifth grade and it was an Anne Rice book.  It was still hard. I didn't read as fast as the other kids. I couldn't read out loud. 

Onward in the story. Little Lou brought dyslexia up again last week. She said that she learned some fonts were easier to read for people who were dyslexic. That was BIG news to me. I had never thought about it. I knew somethings were easier to read than others but I just thought I was tired or just couldn't concentrate. 

So WOW. I looked into this. There are fonts that make reading easier. There have been studies done on this. A little bit of reading led me to a paper that states sans-serif fonts and other fonts are a really good font to use for people with dyslexia. I'm gonna switch over to something like that... 

Now. This is Courier font. It spaces out letters a little more and most of the letters look different enough to stop mirror imaging. There are two spaces between each sentences that helps break it up. There are also fonts designed with dyslexia in mind like OpenDyslexic. 

Those fonts have heavier bottoms so that there is a defined bottom of the image. This keeps letters and words from flipping upside down. Some of these special fonts also have bold capital letters. This makes an easy starting point. 

I don't have any of these special fonts on blogger, but I'm looking into it. I can however say I'm interested in changing the font of my books. We are so used to Times New Roman and Arial being our go to choices and I want to shake that up. 

Personally I can't take the look of Courier. It makes me feel like I'm in an old school detective novel and typing at the daily news paper. Fun to imagine but it can get old. I do admit now that I know what's going on, this is a lot easier to read. 

Well, that's it for story time. I hope this has led to some of you lovely readers learning something new and maybe something helpful.

Peace and Love

 

 

Full Moon Releases (July 2020)

It's that time again!

The heat is turned up high and it seems safer to stay inside or at least tucked under a shade tree with a brand new book.

Just a note. I'm not liking the new Blogger format.

Pampering the Ladies of Star Crossed

Recently I started a collaboration with a very gifted nail artist and decided my leading ladies needed a little bit of pampering. If you love these nails you should visit Lush Pursuits on Facebook. She has some amazing nails up for sale.

I started with Meredith and Sydny from the Star Crossed Series. Enjoy!

Meredith Blackburn - Leading Lady of the Star Crossed Series

She fell in love with the dragon inspired nails. They spoke to her of power and strength. The calming waves of color whispered of her courage. Leading a magical family is a tall order, but with a swish of her hand the blue swirls can make magic happen. 

Nail Art brought to you by : Lush Pursuits

Visit their Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/Lushpursuits

Sydny – Leading Lady in The Silver Moon, a Star Crossed Short Story

Sydny fell in love with the soft pinks and reds of these nails, but she’ll never admit it. The rose and heart shapes and colors let her indulge in her girly side, even if she’s just in PJs and clicking through the channels. Normally a tough as nails, get it done kind of girl, Sydny has caught herself admiring the delicate curves with a smile. 

Nail Art brought to you by : Lush Pursuits

Visit their Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/Lushpursuits

This Sunday I'll be pampering Lillian from Lost Relic! 

If these inspired you to find out more about Meredith and Sydny follow the links below to read more.

Just Beyond Daybreak (Star Crossed Book 1) :  

When the source of her family’s magical energy and life force is stolen, Meredith Blackburn is left with little choice, but to search out the best magical tracker she knows. Unfortunately Malcolm Blackwood is more than just a tracker, he is also a man who captivates Meredith’s thoughts. 

She strolled into Malcolm’s life with a job that he didn’t want, but instantly he regretted turning her away. Now, with his own family relics in danger, Malcolm finds himself unable to leave Meredith behind.

Can they save the Blackburn bloodline? Or will family ties tear them apart?

Find it on Amazon HERE

The Silver Moon (A Star Crossed Short Story):

The veil is thinning, but ghosts aren't the only things running through the city.

Follow Sydny and Liam as they chase down their charges who raced off to play with fairies under the full moon.

Love, magic and a little bit of panic are the best treats on Halloween!

Find it on Smashwords HERE

Or sign up for my newsletter and get it free!

Tuesday Teaser: Reckless Dreams

It's been a while since I've dropped a Tuesday Tease. So here's something from what I'm hoping will be an upcoming release later this year. Reckless Dreams. Just a little back drop: There are three realms. The realm we live in, aka The Waking Realm. The realm of our dreams, aka The Dream Realm and the realm of nightmares, aka The Realm Beyond. This is the first book in a series and let's get to the tease!

When Karlee became aware of anything around her again it was the sensation of a warm body curled up beside her. Stretching and scooting over a little closer, she let out a content sigh. She reached out her hand to let her fingers trail over a solid chest. An arm slid over her side, curling around her back and she sank into the comfort, nuzzling up against the man’s shoulder. 

The salty male scent brought a small smile to Karlee’s lips. Then the fact that a man was in her bed struck her. Panic flooded in as she snapped opened her eyes and shoved away from the stranger.

Deep chestnut brown eyes were staring back at her and before she could scream Karlee took in the full view of the rest of him. A small smile graced his slightly pouty lips and his light brown hair was messed and draped over his shoulders, as if he had been sleeping beside her the entire time. Below the sexy look was an equally sexy chest. Across his bare and well-toned stomach a sprinkling of hair caught her attention and led her eyes lower to the edge of the blanket that rested across his hip. The happy trail continued under the floral pattern of the covers and made it clear that he was nude from top to bottom.

It was the crazy stranger and he was completely nude beside her. Karlee was just starting to freak out when the sound of waves registered. Looking away from the beautiful man, she looked for the water. Instead of her bedroom walls a sprawling beach cast in moonlight surrounded her. Ocean waves were crashing against the shore line and the only thing on the beach besides sand and tropical trees was her bed. “What’s going on?”

“You’re dreaming,” Court said, shifting beside her. When Karlee turned to look at him again he was sitting up against the headboard, the blanket draped a little higher to cover everything below his belly button. His small smile had turned into a smirk. “It’s all in your head.”

Chirping rang out from somewhere behind her and Karlee swept her eyes over the water. The moon was high over the horizon and the rippling waves reflected the light, lighting up the landscape. “A dream?” she mumbled with a smile. Fear and worry were quickly replaced by a feeling of giddiness. Throwing the blanket off, she jumped off the bed and wiggled her toes in the sand. The breeze caressed her body and a bit of her joy flickered as she realized she too was naked.

Covering her breasts, Karlee threw a look over her shoulder at Court. When he rolled his head against the headboard she swore she saw a twinkle in his eyes. “Your dream. Dream up clothing,” he suggested. 

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Karlee figured seeing herself in her favorite nightgown might make it appear. It was her dream after all. It didn’t take long for the silky softness of the gown to slip over her skin. A single glance proved that she had summoned the white billowy gown into place and she threw her hands out and twirled. The salty air curled around her like a welcoming hug and she felt all the stress from her long day melt away as the stars spun above her.

Karlee fell back on the bed with a happy sigh. Unaware that her head was pillowed on Court’s thigh, she let out a laugh and said, “Best dream ever.”

That's your tease for today. Hope you enjoyed. If you want me to get this book published quicker encourage me with a comment or two! 



Peace and Love