Dec. 6, 2024

I was saddened to see a post (from her daughter) that author René Van Dalen passed away yesterday, after a battle with cancer. I’ve not read all of her books, but I did enjoy her Iron Dogz MC series. If you’re looking for a good read, follow the link to her Amazon author page.https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ren%C3%A9-Van-Dalen/author/B07TC7JYX9

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Sept. 24, 2024

My surgery has been scheduled for October 31st, so I’m hopeful that I’ll have Trick’s story ready for release by the end of November…sooner if my recovery goes smoothly this time. Since the last pre-order was a clusterf*ck, I’m not going to do a pre-order for this one, but I’ll narrow down the date and let you all know when to expect it.

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Sept. 15, 2024

I read a quote earlier this evening that really resonated with me for a number of reasons.

“From every wound, there is a scar, and every scar tells a story. A story that says, I survived.” ~ Craig Scott

So, there’s my deeply profound thought for the week, and I’m going to learn to celebrate my scars – the ones you can see, and the ones you can’t. I hope you do the same.

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June 10, 2024

(Trigger Warning for breast cancer reconstruction discussion!)

It is late Sunday evening here in the Midwestern US. I’ve been home since Friday afternoon but haven’t felt much like doing anything but sleeping. Tuesday was grueling. The surgery apparently lasted 10 and a half hours. I wouldn’t really know, because I was blissfully under the influence of a lovely cocktail of anesthesia drugs. I spent 3 days in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit in the US, I’ve no idea what it’s called in other parts of the world.) That’s pretty standard for the type of surgery I had. Everything went well, and I am now in possession of a pair of ta-tas once more. I also have 4 surgical drains, 5 new prescription meds, 3 new incisions that span from one side of my body to the other, 4 new IV/injection sites, a brand, spanking new belly button, and a partridge in a pear tree.

I won’t sugar-coat things…this recovery has been pretty brutal so far. I feel like I’ve been beaten with a bag of rocks, and it’s only bearable thanks to the support of my husband, kids, and my mom – although the narcotic-strength pain meds help, too.

All of this bitching and moaning leads me to the point of this post. I’ve reluctantly made the decision to postpone the release of King’s book. I am so incredibly sorry, because I know that more than a few of you have been eagerly awaiting this story. It is my understanding that those of you who pre-ordered a copy will receive notification from Amazon as to the new publication date, and you won’t need to take any further action.

As those who have been following along know, back when I originally set the pre-release date, I didn’t think I would be having this surgery until July at the earliest. Once I found out surgery would be a month earlier than planned, I figured I could just hurry up and finish the book early.

So, I hurried, and I worked faster, and that has resulted in a book that now feels rushed and slapped together at the end, probably because it was. The last 5-8% of the book was written in between multiple visits to doctors, labs, radiology, etc. to get ready for the surgery, not to mention trying to get my family and my house ready for me to be down for a 6-8 week recovery time. As I read through the manuscript one final time in preparation for submitting it, I realized it’s just not good enough.

I hate to disappoint anyone, but my readers deserve a story that is as perfect as I can make it, and this one just isn’t quite there. I love King, Ella, and the rest of the crew too much to put out a story that doesn’t do them justice, too.

Since I’m not sure how the next couple of weeks of my recovery will go, I felt it best to bump out the date, so that I can avoid any penalties from Amazon for delaying or missing another deadline. I fully hope and intend to actually release it earlier than that.

I also fully hope and intend that at that time, the ending will seem cohesive and be a rewarding conclusion to all their struggles and strife, rather than leaving you scratching your head and wondering if I let my neighbor’s dog ghost-write the last couple of chapters. Honestly as I read it through again this morning, the thought crossed my mind that Finn (the dog next-door) could have done a better job. (That may be the meds, though. In all seriousness, it’s taking everything in me to type this, and I’ve deleted and re-typed it about 7 times now. Thank God for spell check.)

Thanks for your patience, and above all, for your understanding.

Have a good week,

~Erin

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June 2, 2024

Tomorrow is Ta-Ta Tuesday…or Titty Tuesday if you prefer. I go in for my reconstructive surgery at 7:30 am, and will be in surgery for 8-10 hours, so it will be a long day. Not so much for me, but for the 2 surgeons, OR staff, and my husband and son who will be stuck in the waiting room all day.

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May 26, 2024

Hello on this Sunday evening (at least in the US). Today is a big day where I live, because “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is happening as I type this, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s the Indy 500, y’all…and I truly couldn’t care less. That statement might get me banned in certain parts of town, but that’s OK. I’m willing to risk it.

Truly, my only interest in it is that my grandma’s first cousin was one of several men killed during the race, way back in 1933.

Other than that, it bores me to tears. I think it stems from the fact that when I was a kid, we lived less than a mile from the back gate of the racetrack. We could clearly hear the sound of the race cars from inside our house, and our elementary school nearby, all month long as they did tire testing, practicing, and qualifications before the race itself took place toward the end of the month. It was annoying as hell.

Now, this was the mid-to-late 70’s, in the era of tube tops, platform shoes, bell-bottoms, and spandex pants. Things were a bit rougher at the track back then. The infield was known as the Snake Pit, and it was, by many accounts, one step above a bacchanalian orgy, featuring drugs, alcohol, free love, and an annual mud-wrestling contest to crown the King of the Snake Pit.

Because we lived so close, race fans by the hundreds would park all along the streets of our neighborhood, blocking driveways, sidewalks, and in some cases, parking in yards if the homeowners weren’t home to chase them off. They would leave behind trash of all kinds, mostly Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans, from what I recall.

A good number of those fine folks didn’t actually intend to go to the race. They just wanted to have one giant tailgate party. This meant that for the entirety of race weekend every year, my little brother and I had to stay inside because of the hedonistic displays taking place practically in our front yard. My dad would listen to the race on the radio, since it wasn’t televised locally. We had to be extra quiet so he could hear the announcers, which meant we couldn’t do anything fun. We also couldn’t squabble back and forth, which we did all the time back then. We inevitably got into trouble at some point and were threatened with the business end of one of mom’s wooden spoons.

I vividly remember when I was about 7, and my brother was 5. He looked out the front window one fine race day and said, “Look, Mommy, that lady doesn’t have her shirt on!” In the 2.3 seconds it took my mom to launch herself across the room and yank the drapes closed, I managed to get a look for myself. The “lady” was indeed topless…and dancing on top of a black van with a huge wolf hand-painted on the side. I’ve never forgotten it, and believe me, I really, really, wish I could. I’m not sure which was uglier, that wolf, or her saggy tatas flopping around like a couple of baseballs shoved into a pair of stretched-out tube socks.

So, when I think of the race, I think of the wah-wahnnnn sound of the cars, the Floppy Floozy, and my mother telling us that we couldn’t go outside because “there are perverts out there”. Good times, for sure.

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May 12, 2024

Today is Mother’s Day here in the US. For those who are celebrating their own mothers, or being celebrated as mothers themselves, I hope you have a wonderful day filled with love and joy.

For those who struggle on this day for whatever reason, I send you virtual hugs and a sincere wish that you find moments of peace and contentment today.

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May 9, 2024

Today’s writing adventure started off with reading over the “spicy scene” I wrote yesterday and discovering that King apparently has 3 hands. After I stopped laughing, I hit the delete key. While Ella may have enjoyed it, that scene will now be heavily edited so that everyone has the correct number of appendages.

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May 7, 2024

Sometimes when I’m writing, I’ll stop to do some fact-checking, or Google something I’m unfamiliar with in order to make sure that what I’m writing is accurate or that the scenario is plausible. Other times, I’m on a roll and the words are flowing, so I’ll highlight a section so that I can come back to it at a later date to check the details.

My writing time today was interrupted by a midday trip to take my mother to see her cardiologist (all good, it was just her annual checkup), so I knew I wouldn’t be very productive. I decided to take the chunks of time I had available to do some of that fact-checking.

So, now I have some additions to the list of “Things I’ve Googled That Will Get My Name Added To A Government Watch List”…

—How to destroy a g.u.n. prior to disposal (the US ATF website has instructions, including diagrams, by the way)

—Sentencing guidelines for m*u*rder and m@nsl@ughter convictions

—Do hogs/pigs really consume an entire human body

So, if you don’t hear from me for a while, it’s probably because I’m in an interrogation room somewhere, trying to convince the authorities that I’m harmless…I just have a very active imagination.

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Apr. 26, 2024

Happy Friday!

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on social media this month, not only promoting my own books, but also recommending other author’s books if they fit the requested trope or supporting other authors who have recently released books that I really enjoyed.

During this time, I’ve noticed more posts/videos than usual in which authors – indie authors, specifically – are asking how to grow their audience. They say they just can’t gain any traction for their books, as they don’t have a traditional publishing house backing them, don’t have the money for expensive ad campaigns, graphic designs, etc. Sadly, some of them say they are ready to give up writing, which would be a true shame.

I feel I’ve been incredibly lucky since I published my first book in October 2022. I’m not setting the world on fire with my sales numbers or topping any lists, but I never expected to in the first place. I started writing for me and hoped that I’d find a few people who like what I do. Now, I’m making enough money to cover my expenses with a bit left over, I’ve gotten some great reviews (and some not-so-great, but that’s OK. I’m not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and I’ve got a thick enough skin to handle it.) More importantly, I have people like you all who read my books and like them enough to not only join me here on this journey, but to also recommend my books out in the wild.

It’s been 18 months now, and I still squeal like a little girl and do a happy dance around my writing cave when I see someone mention my book-babies in other groups or on other sites. I’ve been so very lucky, and it makes me sad that other authors aren’t experiencing that.

Everything I’ve seen has made me think – which isn’t always a good thing, I’ll admit. It IS incredibly hard to get your work noticed as an indie author, unless you have a lot of luck, for the most part. As authors, we always ask that readers take a moment to post a rating or a review after they’ve read a book, and we are so very thankful when that happens. Now, I’m going to issue a challenge that will help even more.

When you read a book that you absolutely love – not just a good story, but a great one that resonated so strongly with you that it stands out among all the many, many books you read – please shout it from the rooftops. Go to your favorite social media site which is appropriate for that particular story and make a post telling everyone about it and why you liked it. That kind of word-of-mouth exposure can make a world of difference for not only the author, but for readers looking for something that will resonate with them as well.

As a reader, those kinds of posts grab my attention more than those which are likely from a street team or someone who is trying to hype an author, not necessarily fans of that particular story. Nothing wrong with that, by the way, I’ve found some great authors and books that way, too. There’s just something different about a post from a true fan of the story itself that seems more genuine and authentic, and to me, carries more weight. Those are the books I tend to download right away, rather than consigning to the depths of my TBR.

So, that’s my challenge to you. If you laughed so much you almost piddled your pants, or you cried so much you needed another box of tissues, if it made you so mad that you spent the rest of the day in a mood and mentally imagined doing harm to that character, or if it made you so happy that you wanted to dive inside the book and live in that world for a while…tell someone. Tell everyone.

Tag the author, and it will make their day. It may even convince them to keep on writing, on those days when they think the only person reading their work is their best friend or their sister.

You are always welcome to post about your favorite reads here – not just my books, but any book, any genre. Heck, tell us about your favorite cookbook if you want.

I will kick it off with a recommendation of my own. I started down the rabbit-hole of MC romances a few years ago after reading Down & Dirty: Zak, by Jeanne St. James. It is the first book in the series, and Ms. St. James did a fantastic job in bringing the Dirty Angels MC world to life. Zak wasn’t perfect, Sophie wasn’t a doormat, and for me, there was the just the right blend of romance, spice, and MC business. It also introduced us to Diesel’s award-worthy butt – if you’ve read the series, you’ll understand.  I make it a point to reread Zak, along with several others in the series, about once a year.

So, that’s it. Go forth and spread the word about books that just do it for you, and if you haven’t read Zak yet, add it to your list.

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Apr. 24, 2024

Hello all, and Happy Wednesday. I’m trying to get some words in on King this morning, then have an appointment this afternoon with the primary surgeon doing my reconstructive surgery in June. (There will be 2 surgeons, one working on each side). In exactly 6 weeks, I’ll be getting my new b00bs, and I’m pretty freaking excited about it, although that does mean I’ll have to start wearing bras again.

After wearing one daily from the time I was in the 3rd grade, this past year has been strangely freeing that way. It’s been the only upside to this whole d@mned thing.

I spent most of yesterday deleting and rewriting the words I’d written the day before. That happens sometimes, although usually not to the extent that it did yesterday. It’s frustrating, but necessary.

I begin each writing session by reading what I wrote last, so that I can get in the groove and keep things flowing smoothly. Occasionally, when I read things over, I realize that what I wrote was complete cr@p, or I find that I’ve veered off into a direction that I didn’t intend and don’t want. Yesterday was one of the complete cr@p days, LOL.

I deleted almost 2,000 words. As one of my nieces used to say when she was little…”Poof, be gone.” Of course, she said that to people she didn’t like or those she was mad at. I think she was maybe four or five when she first did it, and it may have been a line in a movie or TV show at the time, if I recall correctly. This would have been in the mid-90’s, and my memory doesn’t always stretch that far back. It was a family catchphrase for a while, and I often wished it would actually work sometimes. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Hopefully, this morning’s writing session will produce something more than cr@p that I’ll turn around and delete tomorrow.

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Apr. 23, 2024

Today is a sad day in the romance book world, as it was announced that Catherine Wiltcher has passed away. I’ve spent a number of hours lost in the pages of the worlds she created. From all accounts, she was a sweet and loving woman, as well as being an incredibly talented writer. May she rest in peace, and may her loved ones find strength and comfort in their memories of her in the days to come.

If you have never read one of her books, today would be an excellent day to start. The Santiago Trilogy is a particular favorite of mine.

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Apr. 7, 2024

For those who have ever read my author bio on Amazon or at the back of my books, you’ll know that I discovered my love of reading romances by sneaking my grandma’s Harlequin Romance books out of her bedroom, much to my mother’s dismay. This would have been in 1982, and yes, I realize that makes me sound old. I was 12 at the time, and Mom thought I was much too young to read such things. After she caught me for the second time (Grandma lived with us, so I had easy access to her stash), I was grounded for a month.

Grandma preferred the more chaste/fade-to-black stories. Betty Neels was a particular favorite, and she thought authors such as Penny Jordan were much too racy for her tastes. As I’m typing this, I can hear Grandma threatening to “box my ears” for revealing her Harlequin habit – a favorite threat for us whenever we did something wrong. She never followed through on it, even though my younger brother surely deserved it on more than one occasion, LOL.

My grandma died in 1990 at the age of 84, and today would have been her 118th birthday. Happy birthday, Grandma. If you have any idea how racy the stories are that I write, I have no doubt that you’ll be waiting to box my ears the very moment we meet again.

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Mar. 29, 2024

Happy Friday!

I will be leaving shortly to visit my hair stylist, for the first time since I had her shave my head last June. Yesterday marked 6 months since my last chemo treatment, which means I can now get my hair colored. (It’s recommended to wait at least 6 months to make sure your newly grown hair is strong enough to withstand the coloring process.)

As with many who have undergone chemo, when my hair grew back, it was no longer blonde with some silver mixed in that my stylist covered for me every 8 weeks. Oh no, the new growth was entirely shades of silver and gray.

My short silver/gray hair was such a change from my past-the-shoulders blonde that our Google Nest security camera (which we have programmed to recognize various people who come in and out) would announce that Sharon was at the door. Sharon is my mother. My 81-year-old mother.

We’re supposed to have a beautiful afternoon here, so I will likely skip my writing today in favor of pulling weeds and getting the front flower bed ready for some planting.

I hope whatever your plans are, they bring you joy.

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Feb. 12, 2024

For many here in the US, today was one of the most sacred of all days…the Super Bowl. That’s the big NFL football season finale, for those who aren’t familiar.

Now, I’m not a football fan. Never have been, although I grew up watching it every Sunday, and listening to my dad yell at the TV for hours on end. He’d jump to his feet and throw his hands in the air as he cussed a blue streak because he didn’t agree with a referee’s call, or because his favorite team had fumbled the ball. I hated every second of it. The only bright spot of the day were the commercials, which were usually funny, and occasionally the halftime show, which was usually entertaining.

My husband is a much more restrained football watcher than my father was, although he will yell an occasional curse word at the TV screen during a game. The commercials don’t seem as funny anymore, and the halftime shows generally don’t seem as entertaining to me. Maybe it’s just because I’m getting older, I don’t know.

Now, there was one halftime show that I was glued to my seat for, and that was in 2012. That year, my city (Indianapolis) hosted the Super Bowl, and MY SON performed on stage at halftime with Madonna, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A., CeeLo Green, and LMFAO.

Yes, my son performed on stage with Madonna and company, in front of a record-breaking 114 million viewers.

He was a high-school junior at the time, and the concept for the show included drummers from 3 area high-school drumlines to perform on stage during several of the songs. They did a fabulous job. Madonna and the rest of them were OK, too.

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Feb. 15, 2024

Trigger warning for breast cancer – it’s good news but keep scrolling if this hits too close to home for you.

I’m so excited! I got a call from the surgeon’s office today, and my breast reconstruction surgery has been scheduled for June 4th. That’s a month sooner than I had even hoped for, and I’m thrilled!

New boobs for me! Yay!

The only downside is that King is set to release on June 14th. I’d already planned to have the book submitted by the end of May anyway, but the surgery recovery may restrict how much marketing I’m able to do after it goes LIVE on KU, especially having a presence here on FB. We’ll have to see what kind of pain meds I’ll come home on, and how loopy they make me. I’ll be in the hospital for three days after this surgery, which blows my mind since I came home the same day after my double mastectomy.

The reconstruction is a much more complex surgery (8-10 hours, with 2 surgeons – one working on each side), and the recovery takes longer.

So that’s my news for the day. I hope you’ve all had a fabulous day, too!

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Feb. 6, 2024

I love to find Easter eggs in the books I read, little crossovers of characters or events from other, unrelated books that I stumble upon and I always smile when recognition hits.

I included one in Rome, from my 2nd book, My Only Sunshine, which includes a reference to a Storm Front song, and a mention of Nico and Allie (the main characters in MOS).

I had an Easter egg in My Only Sunshine, too. For those who’ve read it, Nico and Allie get married at a vineyard. It reminded me of Blue Marian and his husband, Tristan Alexander, two of my very favorite characters in all of BookLand. They are the main characters in Borrowing Blue, written by the brilliant Lucy Lennox.

I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if Nico and Allie could get married at the Napa Valley vineyard that Blue and Tristan own?” Then I thought, “Why the h*ll not?” Anything’s possible in BookLand, right?

So, I contacted Ms. Lennox through her FB group, explaining what I wanted to write, and asking for permission to borrow Blue and Tristan for a hot minute. I didn’t really expect a reply, much less a positive answer, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Later that evening, she replied, giving me permission to borrow part of her world, and congratulating me on my book. I had a complete and utter fan-girl moment. “Holy sh*tballs, she said OK!” I may or may not have squealed like a seven-year-old girl and hurt my knee doing an especially uncoordinated happy dance in the middle of my living room that night.

For those who read M/M romance, if you haven’t read Borrowing Blue and the rest of the Made Marian/Forever Wilde series, do yourself a favor and head to Amazon right now to download it, then binge-read the rest of the dual series. You won’t regret it, trust me.

I included this story in the Acknowledgement at the end of My Only Sunshine, and I will forever be grateful that Ms. Lennox allowed me to enter her Made Marian world, even for a short time. It was a magical place to visit.

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Jan. 23, 2024

Things I’ve googled since becoming a writer that have concerned or confused my husband:

How long it takes for a body to resurface after drowning

How water rescue teams search for drowning victims

Sentencing guidelines for an attempted murder conviction

Effects of drugging someone with Ambien

Italian curse words

Indiana gun laws & types of handguns

Different models of Harley-Davidson motorcycles

Indiana divorce statutes

Marriage counseling techniques

YouTube videos on how to tattoo

Tinder

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Jan. 13, 2024

Years ago, when our now 29-year-old son was small, my husband and I went through the drive-up window at McDonald’s and ordered a Happy Meal for him. This was shortly after the original Toy Story movie came out. We pulled up to the window to pay and get the food, and the teenaged girl asked my husband if he wanted a Buzz or a Woody. She was mortified when she realized how that sounded, and my husband was so supremely uncomfortable that he didn’t know what to say. I leaned across him and told her either one would be fine. She darted away, and another woman stepped up to finish the transaction, laughing her @$$ off the entire time. She told us it was the girl’s first day, and nobody had thought to warn her to simply ask “which toy do you want?”. As we were driving away, my still-shocked husband said “Oh my God, Buzz and Woody? I never put that together. I can’t believe those people at Pixar got away with that in a kids’ movie!” Of course, then I had to disillusion him by pointing out all the other hidden gems in Disney/Pixar films.

I bring this up because a similar discussion takes place in Rome’s story. You see, Jagger and Rome came thisclose to being given the road names Buzz and Woody, because as little boys they loved the movie. One day, the got excited about a trip to McDonald’s, with one yelling “I want a Buzz” and the other yelling “I want a Woody”. Poor King almost choked to death trying not to laugh. Grandma Frankie threatened to smack Sinner upside the head after he started calling the boys by those names. Luckily by the time they were patched in, the nicknames of Jagger and Romeo had stuck instead.

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Dec. 8, 2023

The first book in my (seriously overdue) MC series, Jagger, should go live on KU on Sunday, as long as the uploading on the mighty Amazon platform goes smoothly – fingers crossed!

I’m starting to feel human again after my breast cancer saga, but I’m not going to lie…this year sucked b@lls. Chemo is finished, and I’m halfway through with the radiation treatments to take care of any little microscopic cancer cells that might be trying to linger. My oncologist told me last week that I can consider myself cancer-free at the end of radiation, Dec. 22nd. Merry freakin’ Christmas to me!

I will need to begin hormone therapy in January, which will last for the next ten years. This 2-3 drug regimen will help reduce my chance for recurrence over the rest of my lifetime, so while it’s going to majorly suck, it will be worth it in the long run.

While I couldn’t quite focus to do much actual structured writing for the last few months, I have had plenty of time to let my mind wander. Let me tell you, it wandered to some pretty interesting places. My 81-year-old mother would be appalled if she knew, LOL. Hopefully, some of those plot bunnies will continue to develop. I’m particularly excited about a series of marriage-in-trouble books, which would be completely standalone but with that common theme.

I’ll let those continue to simmer in the back of my mind while I focus on Rome, which will be the second book in the MC series. That’s the cheating book, for those of you who’ve been looking forward to that one. I’ve written several more chapters over the last couple of months, and now that the chemo fog seems to have lifted, I’ll refine those and plug away at the rest.

Lastly, I’d like to remind you all to keep an eye on your boobs. Mine tried to kill me.

#CancerSucks #ProtectYourTatas #CheckYourselfMonthly #FeelEmUp

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Sep. 8, 2023

To give everyone a quick update on my health…I’ve completed 6 of my 8 chemo infusions, with my last one due on Sept. 28th. Then, I’ll have a month off before starting 30 rounds of radiation. The fatigue is hitting me hard, to the point I’ve been taking 2-3 naps a day and a simple trip to the grocery store exhausts me for hours afterward. The first few days after each infusion are rough, but luckily, I haven’t experienced the nausea, mouth sores, or other not-so-pleasant side effects that so many patients suffer from. I think the “chemo fog” is starting to clear up a little – either that, or I’m just getting used to it, LOL.

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June 22, 2023

Hello all. I wanted to give a quick update on my health. I had my first chemo infusion this morning. It had to be delayed a week due to the last surgery and lingering infection. All of my CT scans and the bone scan came back clear, meaning no detectable cancer. There could / probably are still microscopic little cells floating around which are too small to show up on scans, which is the reason for the treatment plan. I’ll have 8 rounds of chemo over the next 16 weeks, followed by 30 radiation treatments, then 10 years of hormone therapy to keep my body depleted of estrogen (it ”feeds” the kind of cancer I have). My cancer is officially classified as a Stage 3, due to the size of the largest tumor and the fact that it had metastasized to my surrounding lymph nodes. Prognosis is good with treatment and a bit of luck.

My oncology team has been fabulous, and are taking every precaution to mitigate the side effects. So far, so good.

Knowing I would lose my hair, I had it cut into a short pixie 2 weeks ago, to kind of ease myself into it. Except for a couple of years when my son was little (he’s 28 now), I’ve had hair at least to my shoulders or longer. It was almost to the middle of my back in December, then had several inches cut off back in February, so it was just past my shoulders. I have an appointment next week to have the rest shaved off. Not gonna lie, I’m dreading it, as well a losing my eyebrows and lashes. I figure with my luck, the only hair I’ll have left are the few stubborn chin hairs that decided to sprout around my 50th birthday 3 years ago. Those suckers would survive the apocalypse, I think.

I wrote a scene a few days ago for Rome, the cheating book that is going to be the 2nd one in MC series. The scene depicts an evening where Rome is caring for their children while his newly ex-wife goes on a date. He’s devastated all over again, hating himself for tearing his family apart. He tries to be the better man by wishing her happiness, even if it’s not with him. He breaks down late in the evening, and I broke a little just writing it. It’s still super rough, and I’m sure I’ll tweak it before it makes it to publishing.

I’ve tried to finish up the edits for Jagger’s story, but I’m having trouble focusing on the details. I think I’m making more mistakes as I try to correct errors I find, so I set it aside for a few days.

So, that’s where I’m at. I thank you for being patient with me. I had such big plans for my writing when I started this year off, with the 5-book MC story, a 2 book Mafia spin-off, and a standalone psychological suspense (which has a super cool cover and a story outline, but not much else). My plans were ambitious, but doable prior to my diagnosis. It just knocked the wind out of my sails. It’s also hard to write “spicy” scenes involving body parts I no longer have, to be honest.

Again, I thank you for the supportive messages I’ve received. I’m trying to stay positive, and remind myself daily that I’m lucky to have solid treatment options available, health insurance which is covering almost everything., and a husband, kids, siblings, friends and my 80-year old mother who have dropped everything to be there for me.

P.S. Cancer sucks.

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May 27, 2023

Trigger warning for cancer:

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Apparently one surgery for the week wasn’t enough. I developed a fever and redness around the various incisions, so I was taken back to the OR yesterday afternoon, where they cut away the infected areas, and removed the tissue expanders that had been placed during the mastectomy to allow for future reconstruction. They were contributing to the infection. So, no new tatas for me in the future, most likely. It becomes very tough to do reconstruction without the tissue expansion. Trying to remind myself to look on the bright side…I’ll save a fortune not having to buy bras for the rest of my life.

On the plus side, we are still awaiting the results of one of the CT scans, but the other CTs and the bone scan were clear, with no sign of tumors elsewhere. Chemo is planned, with my first infusion treatment set for June 15th. Radiation and hormone therapy will follow

All in all, I have to say that cancer sucks. 0/10 would not recommend.

With my week going to hell in a hand basket, I didn’t even attempt to write. I did manage to mentally smooth out a story arc that was simmering in the back of my mind for later in the MC series. That book will involve one of the bikers reconnecting with a woman from his past, who is now a voice actor reading spicy romance for audiobooks. He is not happy when the rest of the world hears what his woman sounds like she’s “enjoying herself” or hearing her call out other mens’ names when she does!

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May 24, 2023

Trigger warning for cancer update!

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So, my cancer saga continues. Pathology results showed a very small cancerous mass in my right breast as well, which was undetected in the mammogram, ultrasound, and MRI. 21 of the 23 lymph nodes removed proved to be cancerous as well. Luckily, I had the right breast and all of the lymph nodes removed during the mastectomy as a precaution.

All of this means that I will need chemo, radiation and hormone therapy. Fun times ahead…not. I’m trying to count myself lucky that there are treatment options available.

I am scheduled for CT scans of my brain, chest, abdomen and pelvis, as well as a full-body bone scan on Friday, to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread beyond the breasts and lymph nodes. That will determine the specific chemo cocktail I’ll receive, as well as the number of treatments I’ll need.

I’ve had some issues with the skin not healing properly on the left side, so I had to have another small surgery yesterday so they could remove that section of skin and stitch everything back together. The procedure took about an hour in the OR, because it was a little too involved to be done in the doctor’s office under a local anesthetic.

Sorry if I’m oversharing, but I’ve had several people message me to see how I’m doing. I truly appreciate the thoughts and well wishes.

I did manage to work on Jagger’s and Molly’s story for my upcoming MC series. I’m still hoping to get the final revisions and edits completed soon. I’ll be honest…writing/reading/editing any kind of spicy scene is a little rough for me right now, since I have the whole losing-my-boobs thing going on. It’s proving to be my own personal little trigger.

I also wrote another chapter for the second book in the series (which is the cheating story between Rome and his wife Abby), and worked on fleshing out a plot twist in the 5th book in the series. My writing process feels really disjointed right now, but that’s my thought process in general at the moment.

I hope to be in a better place mentally after the scans are completed Friday, and I know exactly what I’m facing. Hopefully then I can focus on writing and healing.

If you’ve read any really good books lately, please share them with the group. If you want to share spoilers, please make sure you give a spoiler alert first. I personally love them, but not everyone does.

Take care of yourselves, and happy reading.

P.S. cancer sucks.

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May 8, 2023

I’m sorry for disappearing for a couple of months. After I recovered from shingles, I discovered what I assumed to be another simple cyst in my left breast. I’ve had them before, and they have always been benign, fluid cysts. This one wasn’t.

By the time the biopsies and MRI were completed last month, I’d been diagnosed with 2 kinds of breast cancer (one morphs into the other). Because of the size of the largest tumor and the differing treatment protocols for the 2 kinds I have, a mastectomy was the best option. I elected to have both breasts removed as a precaution, and the bilateral mastectomy was completed on Friday, the 5th. I had to have all of the lymph nodes removed under my left arm as well. Final pathology results will be in on Friday, to determine if chemo and radiation are needed(most likely, yes).

I’m doing well 3 days post-surgery, and hope to be up to writing again in the next week or so.

P.S…cancer sucks.

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Feb. 7, 2023

I’m in a reading funk. I won’t name the stories or the authors, to protect the guilty, LOL.

I read a book last night which I’d been looking forward to based on some TikTok teasers I saw for it. It did not live up to expectations. I found the 37-year old “Hero” to be a complete anal-orifice, and not the kind that we’ll eventually decide we love in the end. He was just selfish and completely unredeemable in my eyes, and had the emotional maturity of a potato. I read most of it, then skimmed the last 1/4 of the book (at a reasonable pace, so the author will still get credit). It was well-written in terms of grammar, story arc, and character development. It’s just that the character she developed for the Hero was sorely lacking anything I would want in man, in real life or in BookLand. By the end, I was thinking the heroine should have just taken her chances with her father’s goons, who were trying to capture her so she could be forced into an advantageous marriage to help her family.

Early this morning, while mulling over my latest chapter and letting a few plot bunnies run amok in my subconscious, I downloaded a novella-length book that also looked promising, based on recs from a book group I’m in. Lord, love a duck. I’m not sure who was more unlikeable, the H or the h. The H made Mr. Potato Head from the 1st story look like the catch of the year. The h was a brainless twit. I DNF’d the story, which I very rarely do. The writing was pretty bad. The man, a mid-thirties billionaire man-ho (because of course he was) actually used the phrase “going steady” with the h on more than one occasion. Dude, teenagers don’t even say that anymore.

I think I’ll end the night with a re-read of one of my old favorites, because I’m in desperate need of a palate cleanser after that mess.

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Jan. 19, 2023

I have to share this with you, because it made me laugh.

A review posted yesterday for My Only Sunshine:

“A little too sweet and low angst for me. They fall in love, they get together and aside from a few crazy fans, not much happens except a lot of s*x.”

That’s a fair assessment. It’s not a typical angsty, cheating with groupies kind of rockstar romance. It’s the complaint about too much s*x that made me laugh.

I do appreciate the ratings and reviews that are left for my books. They not only encourage me, but any constructive criticism will help me as a writer. Plus, the way Amazon is set up, more review/ratings mean more visibility.

So, if you have left a review or a rating on Amazon or Goodreads, or mentioned my books in any book groups or social media platforms, thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

And if you thought there was too much s*x in My Only Sunshine, then you might want to skip my upcoming MC series.

Happy Reading!

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Jan. 11, 2023

I didn’t realize that writing would be so awkward in public. Monday, I had to drop off my daughter at an appointment, and pick her up 2 hours later. We do this every Monday, and normally I run errands or bring my Kindle and read in the car while I wait. This time, I decided to bring my laptop so I could be productive. It was lunchtime, so I went to the Panera across the street from her appointment, got lunch and set down at a cozy table by their fireplace. I wanted to face the fireplace – it only puts out a little bit of heat but it was chilly in there – which meant my back was to the room. I ate my soup and part of my bread bowl, and then started to type. All was going well until an older woman bumped my chair getting out of her seat at the table behind me. I turned around as she was apologizing, and saw her gaze flick to my laptop screen. My large 17 inch laptop screen, which was filled with words that would get me banned on here and cause my mother to wash my mouth out with soap. I was right in the middle of a s*x scene folks. It was truly a case of coitus interruptus. I saw the look on her face as the words on my screen registered. She was not amused. So, somewhere in central Indiana there is an old woman in a green coat clutching her pearls and praying for my mortal soul.

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Dec. 27, 2022

Lord love a duck! I’m so glad I waited to take a look at my new cover designs with fresh eyes. I thought I had found the perfect cover models for all 5 books in my MC series. One was looking slightly off to the side, with sunglasses on.

I was going through all of the other images I have of this same model, to make sure I could do my marketing (TikTok, etc.) using the same guy. (Nothing irks me more when looking at book ads on social media, only to click on the actual book to find that the people on the cover look nothing like the people in the ads).

So, here I am scrolling through the other images in this guy’s collection when lo and behold, I find one of that I had overlooked before. He is looking straight at the camera, no sunglasses…and I realize that he vaguely resembles my younger brother (if my younger brother was a badass with a 6-pack). Ewwwww….heck no. I couldn’t delete this guy’s pic from my cover design fast enough.

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Dec. 24, 2022

Our Christmas plans with extended family have fallen through due to the frigid weather we’re having here in Indiana, where my WTForecast app currently states that it is “stupid cold out.” They’re right.

That’s improved from yesterday’s which said “It’s as cold as my heart outside” or the day before that, which informed me that it was “so cold out, you can see people fart”. That just paints a picture, doesn’t it, LOL?

I’m using the extra time at home to continue writing on my next book. I’m excited for this one to kick off an MC series, with 4-5 books planned at this point. I’m on the fence about a book possibly planned for one of the characters. We’ll see how I feel when it’s his turn to be featured.

If you are celebrating this holiday season, I hope it’s a joyous one for you. For anyone reading this, take care and be kind to yourself.

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Dec. 19, 2022

The last two months have been filled with highs and lows, joy and heartbreak, and stress…lots and lots of stress. I published my first book on Oct. 29th, followed by my second on Nov. 18th. The happiness I felt was tempered by the heartbreak of losing my dad. My father passed away in early November after years of ill-health. I’d thought I was ready. He’d been in hospice care at home for months, and dementia had essentially taken him from us long before that. So, I’d thought I was prepared. I was wrong. It’s hard knowing that the first man who ever loved me, the man I’ve spent my entire life loving, is no longer here.

In the midst of all this, I’m trying to work on my third book, which will kick off a new series. The men of the 5th Circle Guardians MC will be coming to Kindle Unlimited in January, if I can get the characters in the first book to cooperate. Jagger and Molly aren’t the problem. It’s Jagger’s brother Rome who keeps causing the distraction. He’s the hero of the second book, and he keeps popping into my head every time I try to work on Jagger’s story. The books are interconnected, in a sense, so Jagger has to come first. Sorry, Rome, you’re just going to have to wait your turn.

If you celebrate this holiday season, I hope it’s filled with love, laughter, family, and friends. Stay safe, and make sure you find time to take care of yourself. Find a quiet corner and a good book. A little chocolate might help, too.