FALLING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD

It’s light outside as I write this. It seems strange after weeks of doing my early-morning writing by the light of my desk lamp while it was dark out. Like maybe I overslept when in fact the opposite is true. I turned my clocks back last night—even the one on my microwave—but my brain didn’t get the memo somehow. This morning I was wide awake at four instead of my usual wake-up time of five.

What I did with today’s “stolen” Daylight Savings hour was read in bed. A luxury I hadn’t indulged in during the morning hours for quite some time, though as a child I read in bed every chance I got (by flashlight under the covers if it was past my bedtime). These past months I’ve had precious little downtime. I’ve been on book deadline, which seemed endless. No sooner did I turn in one draft than the next one was due. Which is why you haven’t heard from me in a while. I wrote seven days a week, but there are only so many hours in the day.  I turned in the final developmental draft a week ago. If I was one to drink alone, I would have opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate. Instead, I took a walk and enjoyed the fall scenery with the leaves changing here in Sacramento, also known as the City of Trees.

Now, finally, I have time to do this blog post. Also, I have book news. The title reveal for my forthcoming Spring release with Lake Union: ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW. It’s the story of one woman’s journey from domestic abuse to a new life in a new town. Set in the gold country of California, its heroine, Kyra, is a woman who was beaten but is not defeated. She rescues herself in her cross-country flight from her abusive husband, and rescues a dog along the way, who she names Ranger, as in the Lone Ranger, and who becomes her constant companion. A former art teacher, she reinvents herself as a forensic artist and is befriended by a group of local women who call themselves the Tattooed Ladies. She doesn’t trust her heart, though, so when she finds herself falling for her sexy landlord, Coop, she pulls away. The sparks flying between them are caused by friction as much as attraction. The slam-bam finish is set in a snowstorm in the weeks before Christmas.

You will be the first to know when I have a preorder date. Just wanted to give you a sneak preview before then.

What did I do during my week off? All the things that had collected on my back burners for the weeks I was on deadline. Starting with cleaning out my garage last weekend in preparation for construction on our planned garage conversion. It will be husband Sandy’s office/man cave when he becomes a permanent resident next Spring. After that, I did some baking, caught up on my correspondence, weeded through all the emails that had collected in my Inbox, and caught up with friends.

The rest of the time I tackled my mountainous TBR, and read some really good books. Most recently, the new novel by Kent Kreuger, THE RIVER WE REMEMBER, which is my book recommendation for the week, if not the month.

If you haven’t read it, you’re in for a treat. If you’re not familiar with the author, do yourself a favor and buy one of his books, or check one out from your local library. I became hooked on his Iron Lake mystery series years ago, and have been a fan ever since.

What did you do with today’s stolen hour?