Editing Can Be Brutal

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

Hope you all had a Happy Fourth of July weekend! My respect, as always, to those who fought for freedom…and continue to fight for that freedom to this day.

        It’s early Sunday morning as I write this (and already hot…but what do I expect living in Phoenix?). Apparently, we broke a record recently (I think it was 118 degrees on Friday…not really the kind of record I want to see broken). It’s all good though. I’ve been hibernating in my house…in the air conditioning (yes, listening to the constant hum, praying it will last the rest of this year).  

So, what have I been doing while I’ve been hibernating? I took advantage of the holiday and added a day of PTO so I’ve had four days off from the day job (which is really nice but I’ll be paying for it on Monday…and probably the rest of the week) and printed out Wife By Surprise. You may remember that I finished writing the story in May, but I’ve been letting it sit for a bit before I begin editing. That’s part of my process. That space of time lets me look at the story with fresh —sorta—though I’m always surprised when I read something I wrote and it’s particularly striking and I wonder ‘who wrote that?'. The opposite is true as well. The dogs can vouch for me when I frequently  ask aloud, ‘who wrote this $&#$#*&$?’ as I brutally cross it out with my red pen.

Yeah, sometimes there’s a lot of red on my pages (I can be pretty ruthless with that red pen) but that’s all right. It’s part of the whole writing thing. And it’s an opportunity to make the story better (and find those too often repeated words and phrases), which is the whole point. I read the entire thing out loud on Thursday (no, I had no voice left after that) and made all my corrections on Friday (with the help of several very good writing tools, books I cannot live without).

Now that all the corrections have been made (and I'm still happy with the results), I’m ready to send it off to my beta readers, the next part of the process. And while they are reading and making comments, I’ll continue working on The Marshal and Mrs. Morgan, which is coming along pretty well.  

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Make Me Shiver by Heather Slade

 There are still dukes and duchesses, spies, and assassins in the current world.

The Duke of Wells, nicknamed Shiver, is in line to move up when his ailing father dies.  Intelligent and iconically good looking, he has a problem that keeps him on his toes other than running a county in the near future.  His problem comes in the female form with a lot of metaphorical fires to put out.  

Losha is her name.  The rest about her is unimaginable such as she is a former Russian assassin on the run with her baby.  Once the property of Russia, it's impossible to divorce yourself from the government's grip.  She has a bounty on her head and only a few people she can trust to help her escape.  

With a large team to help him find Losha, Shiver will not stop his search and believes he can save her and the baby, no matter who the father is.  

Their past, filled with intensity and lust and love, does not allow Losha to give in to Shiver.  It's a path of deception, killing, and hiding until a romance may have a chance if the heart wins on both sides of the game.

Happy reading,

Dawn

Surprise! It's Me Again!

 

Are you surprised? 

You’re probably asking yourself—didn’t she post last week? The answer would be yes. I did BUT if you’ve read any of my blogs before, then you know what a routine oriented person I am and well…last week’s post was a week late! I know! How did that happen? I don’t know but this is my effort to get back on schedule!

        Speaking of breaking routines, the DH and I went to a movie. AT THE THEATRE! ON A SCHOOL NIGHT! This was also out of routine, not to mention out of character…the DH and I very rarely ever go to the movies…the last time was when ‘The Lost City’ with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum came out! So it’s been what? Two years? Longer?

        Anyway, our neighbors (very lovely people…we are so fortunate to have them) invited us. We saw The Bikeriders (the DH, before his back surgery, used to ride motorcycles so we both wanted to see this). The movie was based on a true story and I thought it was very good, very well done. I thoroughly enjoyed it (so did the DH). And that Austin Butler is so easy on the eyes. Now, to the important question…did I have popcorn? Oh, you bet. Love movie theatre popcorn. I’m ashamed to say I nearly finished the bag (the BIG bag) and what I didn’t finish that night, I finished the next day. I know. Shouldn’t have done it but I couldn’t seem to resist. Even cold, movie theatre popcorn is the best (not to mention highly addicting).  

        Breaking my routine and going to a movie was a nice respite from the day job, which is crazy busy (but when isn’t it?). I feel like I’m a day late and a dollar short, but that’s the nature of the beast, I guess. I just celebrated my five-year anniversary there (I was a contract employee for eighteen months before I was hired on full time…on my grandfather’s birthday, which I consider a good omen).

        The writing is going well, too. The romance between The Marshal and Mrs. Morgan is progressing as it should, which makes me happy and I hope makes readers happy.

And here we are! I am back on my schedule! Whoooo-hooo! That makes me happy!  

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A COWBOY by Lexi Post has released!

 

Between a Rock and a Cowboy (Rocky Road Ranch: Book 1) 

by Lexi Post

has released!

Tanner Dunn must take the reins of the Rocky Road cattle ranch after his father’s stroke. With a brother long gone, a brother deployed, and his youngest brother wanting to leave for his own career, he has his hands full. Still, he’s adamant his father receives the best care. But when their adversary’s daughter, Amanda Hayden Davis, arrives to provide his father’s therapy because she’s the best, it becomes more than he’s willing to shoulder.

Amanda is not happy she’s been assigned to the patriarch of the Dunn family, nor that she is the first Hayden to step foot on Rocky Road Ranch in over twenty years. But she’s a ray of sunshine compared to the grumpy eldest son. When she’s told to leave before she’s started her work, she doesn’t budge. No one tells her what to do. She willingly argues with Tanner, often winning. Despite that, she finds herself respecting his work ethic, his moral compass, and his heart. It doesn’t help that he also has the shoulders of her dreams and looks amazing in a suit.

Tanner admits he’s grateful for Amanda’s efforts with his dad, but that doesn’t mitigate the damage her family has done to them over the years. It’s the Hayden’s fault Rocky Road may have to become a Dude ranch, something Tanner has fought against for the last year. The problem is, he’s fighting his attraction to Amanda as well. Not only is she kind, but she has a zest for life that he can’t resist. But if he gives in to her, will he lose the ranch? Or will resisting her be the biggest mistake of his life?

Amazon 

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About Lexi:

Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of romance inspired by the classics. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she's read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi's first love is romance novels so she married her two first loves, romance and the classics. Whether it’s sizzling cowboys, dashing dukes, hot immortals, or hunks from out of this world, Lexi provides a sensuous experience with a “whole lotta story.”

Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her two cats in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you’ll never see her without a hat.

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BETWEEN A ROCK AND A COWBOY by Lexi Post is available for Preorder

 

Between a Rock and a Cowboy (Rocky Road Ranch: Book 1) 

by Lexi Post

is now available for Preorder

Releasing June 25th

Tanner Dunn must take the reins of the Rocky Road cattle ranch after his father’s stroke. With a brother long gone, a brother deployed, and his youngest brother wanting to leave for his own career, he has his hands full. Still, he’s adamant his father receives the best care. But when their adversary’s daughter, Amanda Hayden Davis, arrives to provide his father’s therapy because she’s the best, it becomes more than he’s willing to shoulder.

Amanda is not happy she’s been assigned to the patriarch of the Dunn family, nor that she is the first Hayden to step foot on Rocky Road Ranch in over twenty years. But she’s a ray of sunshine compared to the grumpy eldest son. When she’s told to leave before she’s started her work, she doesn’t budge. No one tells her what to do. She willingly argues with Tanner, often winning. Despite that, she finds herself respecting his work ethic, his moral compass, and his heart. It doesn’t help that he also has the shoulders of her dreams and looks amazing in a suit.

Tanner admits he’s grateful for Amanda’s efforts with his dad, but that doesn’t mitigate the damage her family has done to them over the years. It’s the Hayden’s fault Rocky Road may have to become a Dude ranch, something Tanner has fought against for the last year. The problem is, he’s fighting his attraction to Amanda as well. Not only is she kind, but she has a zest for life that he can’t resist. But if he gives in to her, will he lose the ranch? Or will resisting her be the biggest mistake of his life?

Amazon 

Amazon CA 

Amazon UK 

Amazon AU  

Releasing June 25th!

Enter to win 30 Contemporary Romances and an eReader!

 

Enter to win TRACE'S TROUBLE and 29 other steamy contemporary romances, plus an eReader!

CLICK HERE

Need vs Want

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

Here’s a question, one I’d never thought I’d ask myself because I’m genuinely thankful for what I have.

What do I want?

Let me tell you what happened and why I’m asking this. I was having lunch with a co-worker and we were discussing mundane little things like coffee makers and such (hahahahaha, I’m not even sure how we got on the subject). Anyway, I mentioned that I have the basic version of Mr. Coffee. You know the one. No bells, no whistles, nothing fancy—the one that costs $19.99. She was telling me about this coffee maker that costs about a grand and makes the perfect cup of coffee every time. I don’t need that. And I would never spend that kind of money on a coffee maker.  

Like most of you, I work to keep a roof over my head and food on my table. Pay my debts, etc. Save a little money if I can (I have a thing about my savings account…once money goes in there, it doesn’t come out). I know how to budget and do without because the DH and I have hit hard times in the past (like most of us) and I promised myself I’d never go there again. I’m pretty proud that I can squeeze a nickel so hard I can get a dime. I am frugal (my DH says cheap but I’m not cheap…I’m just cautious when it comes to spending money—I work too darned hard to just throw it away).

So her question—if I had five thousand dollars just sitting around with nothing to do (hahahaha, like that would ever happen!), what would I do with it? Can’t be to pay bills. Can’t be to get something necessary (need as opposed to want). Has to be something frivolous just for myself.

I couldn’t answer the question. As I said earlier, I’m very fortunate that I have what I need and I’m so grateful for that.

She insisted that there must be something that I want and lowered the amount. I still couldn’t answer and I realized it was because the things I want cannot be purchased with cold, hard cash.

So, what do I want? I want my family and those I love to be happy and healthy. I want more kindness in the world. I want those who struggle to not have to struggle anymore. I want those that live in pain to be pain-free. There’s more, but you get the gist.

She finally accepted my answer because those are the things I truly want but…I gotta tell you, that question has been on my mind since she asked it so I’m going to ask you, gentle reader. What would you want?

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie