To all my friends who are moms, have moms, love moms , I hope you had a great day.
I really, truly do love being a mom to an amazing little man who turned me into a mom eight years ago this past Friday (God, I can't believe it's been that long) and although I wear many hats as being PJ's mom, I truly wouldn't have it any other way.
I'm a cub scout den mom, soccer mom, chauffer mom, working mom, encouraging mom, and huggable mom. Yeah, especially about the last part . I swear that little boy had no qualms about hugging me in public or at home and you know what, I love all those hugs because I know someday it might not be 'cool' to hug your mom in front of your friends and classmates.
Nothing wrong with being a Mama's boy at all in my book .
And if I'm quiet again and retreat once again into my author hole, it's becuase I'm going back into writer mom mode. I'm only about 7k away from finally finishing the first draft of She's Outta This World- the science-fiction YA romance I started on for PJ and gosh darn it, that finish line looks fantastic from this view.
Now will my kiddo enjoy the story- well he's loved what I've read to him so far and he loves all things space related so yeah, I think so

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JoKpny3Cas

I have so much fun with book trailers :-). And thanks so much to everyone who left such kind words about the pretty cover. I cannot wait until I get the release date. Galley's first and then we'll know when :-). Let me know what you think of the trailer

Isn't it pretty? I've had such great luck with the bookcovers so far .
As much as I love being published in e-book format, it'll be so cool to have something to hold and sign for friends, family, and fans . And I'm thrilled to be in an antholgy with two of my best author friends too. Abbey and are linked by the fact that our heroines are sisters, and my heroine and heroine shows up in Amber's story. After all, Wayback is a small town where just about everyone knows one another. Be on the lookout for three great homecoming stores coming soon to The Wild Rose Press in print format- Delighting Miss Daisy by Abbey MacInnis, Return of The Prodigal Daughter by Marguerite Arotin, and Blackest Heart by Amber Leigh Williams. I'll keep all of you posted on a release date.

With it being Valentine's Day and all, I thought I'd share one of my favorite love songs and explain how it relates to yours truly. My mom's a huge Beatles fan. More so the stuff from when they first started out and she shared her love for their music with us kids. Guess I grew up a Beatles fan too and this is one of my favorite songs by them .
"There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all."
And gosh there are plenty of those places. Lets see here ... How many times did I hang out at Garfield Mall Movies as a teenager with my friends? Or Dancin' that teenage dance club close to Value City at the corner of Brookpark and Tiedman? And the old neighborhood on East 114th street ... the house I grew up in ... Garfield Park ... Each one of those places holds memories that are near and dear to my heart with friends and boyfriends who'll always hold a place in my heart.
"But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more."
Obviously, this stanza relates to my hubby.  I can honestly say that for nearly the past fifteen years, he's been my lover and best friend. And as much as I love those people who came before him, I do truly love him more.
"Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more."
Sentimental and mushy? Maybe, but totally true .
May you spend your Valentine's Day with those who love you the most . And rememeber that you don't have to remind them of yoru love on Feb. 14th alone. Share that love every day because like another classic Beatles song says, "And in the end, the love you make, is equal to the love you take." and also, "All you need is love."

I know I've been quiet. Between work, cub scout stuff, and house stuff, I don't have as much time as I'd like . Oh and I keep my eyes out for reviews on Return of the Prodigal Daughter, since they've steadily been coming in.
I posted quite a few of them at my Review Page. But I just got another great one I'll have to post sometime this weekend and like with One Enchanted Summer, I'm up for best reviewed book of the week there! Please drop by and visit Long and Short Reviews and vote for my little Texan romance when you get a chance this weekend .

Check out this video: PJs New Year Countdown 2009

Do you remember what a big deal it was to stay up until midnight or later when you were a kid for New's Year Eve? My sis-in-law got us a new toy for Christmas and I put it to work recording PJ on New's Eve. I played a bit with Microsoft Movie Maker and above's the result. Let me know what you think.

First of all, before I explore my topic question, I just want to wish all my friends a belated merry Christmas . Hope you had as much fun as my family did .

 

I guess I'll elaborate more on my topic now. I pulled out She's Outta This World again and started working on it again today. I still really love that story. Maybe it's because my son was the spark that inspired me to dive into a realm I've never explored- YA science-fiction. But I think it's really because I love my young hero so much. Why wouldn't I when he's based upon PJ? It's more than that too.

Ben has grown into quite the brave hero over the course of the story. He knew that there was a risk that the spacecraft he built with his friends wouldn't fly, but did he let that stop him from building it? He knew that there was a risk he might not make it home when he set out for Dimarra's planet. But still he set out to rescue her and he's only 15! Age knows no bounds when it comes to heroic deeds. I believe that both the young and old can be heroes and heroines. I also believe that  heroes can be afraid, but a great hero overcomes that fear to do the right thing.

So did I nail the definiton? What in your mind makes for a great hero?

 

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update since I have to run out the door in a few for a cub scout camp in at the zoo, but just thought I'd let you know that I'm guest blogging about how I romance the holidays at Simply Romance Review's Blog. Enjoy and I hope you'll drop by and leave a comment . In case I'm quite again over the next few weeks, Happy Holidays to all my myspace friends and I hope you'll find the warmth and love of family and friends light up your heart.

Okay, last year I couldn't participate in National Novel Writing Month due to my edits on One Enchanted Summer. This year I have a fantastic idea that I've been slaving away on . It's called Abracadbra and I came up with the idea aftr listening to the Steve Miller Band song. It's a fantasy romance with a sorcerer hero  from another realm who poses a stage magician in Vegas while trying to track down a demon hell bent on world domination and a jaded female PI heroine who doesn't believe in love or magic, well at least not until she meets my hero that is . I'm happy to say I'm slightly over 6k now and thrilled with the way the story's going so far. I haven't forgotten about She's Outta This World though, the story I'm writing for PJ, and I plan to get back to work on it after November.

Speaking of the little man, he's become quite the little author himself . One day after school, he sat down and created his own comic book entitled Ninja Cat versus the Dog-a-tron 2000. He drew the pictures all on his own and wrote the story all on his own too. All I really did was help him think of name for his Ninja Cat hero (We came up with Mac) and the evil scientist dog villain (Baccarat). Phil made one suggestion that PJ loved about setting up a sequel. We were so proud of the results that I had to take it to the part-time job and make copies. Everyone up at my part-time job said his comic book was amazing and they couldn't get over his wonderful imgination. He even took a copy of Ninja Cat into school and his teacher let him read it to the whole class. He gave her the copy to keep when he was done too.

Now this is really cool. PJ's principal came into my part-time work on Monday (I work the front register at Office Max about 18-20 hrs a week while the kiddo is at school) and asked me if I was PJ's Mom. I answered, "I sure am and I'm surprised you remembered me with all the kids you have in your school" Which is the truth, PJ's school is huge.

Then he smiled and told me he loved PJ's comic book, thought it was incredible, and loved the way he read it with such enthusiasm. I was beaming with pride for the rest of the day :-). He had to write another story for a class project and I really can't wait to read it. His current school writing project is due at the end of November and he has to write a Thanksgiving themed tale or a story about a turkey in a turkey shaped book. Well here's the title of my clever little man's book: The Space Turkey. He drew an air helmet over the turkey's head, wrote NASA on the feathers and a moon and stars on the breast. I'm so proud of him. I know he keeps saying he wants to be a rocket scientist when he grows up, but who knows if he'll follow in my shoes or not with getting his stories published because of the fantastic imagination he has !

Anyway, I just thought I'd check in and let you know what was going on with the clever, creative little boy and if I'm quiet until December, you guys and gals know why

Hi everyone. I'm happy to announce that me and my friend Author Abbey MacInnis shared a guest blog promo spot at Amber Leigh William's blog today. I hope all of my myspace friends will drop by if they can and leave us comments . Oh and both Abbey and I have been on our publisher's best seller list for the past three weeks now. Yay us and Yay Wayback !