On the Road--Yet again

This time we're in south Florida for at least three weeks, maybe more. Am I complaining? Heck no! It's gorgeous! The weather is absolutely perfect, the scenery is beautiful, the beach just blocks away. If you have to work, it doesn't get much better than this.

More pictures posted on Tony's blog at http://pcsphotography.blogspot.com/

Oh my God. I have a cover!

My editor just emailed my cover for Double Exposure for my approval.

Do I approve? Are you kidding me? It's fantastic! Perfect.

Red Sage does know how to do covers right, don't they? And at this point we're looking at an August release.

Still in the Rio Grande valley, selling pictures the dh is taking. But after 3 weeks, I'm more than ready to head for home.

On the Road Again

Heading out for another photography trip, this time to South Texas. Since I've never been there, it will be a new experience, and hopefully a new setting for a book.

We had a good Christmas this year, with most of the kids home. It was a little different in that we didn't go to my mother-in-law's for the first time in 35 years, but we survived the change. Didn't like it much, but we survived.

Found out my book will most likely be released in July. I'm excited about that. I wish I could afford to go to San Francisco so I could participate in the booksigning--that's something I've looked forward to for years, but unless I make a ton of money in the next couple of months, that won't be happening.

Be sure to pop over to the Wet Noodle Posse blog and check out all the exciting happenings going on there. They've started a several month series on writing--all the how-to's you've always wanted to know about.

Here's a bit of info...

You can enter to win Barnes and Noble.com gift certificates by posting this news release on your blog or forwarding to a chapter/group e-mail loop or newsletter. To be eligible, e-mail the particulars of your forward/post to jillmonroe @ cox.net (no spaces) and post no later than January 20, 2008. A random drawing will determine the winner(s) of the gift certificates.



The Wet Noodle Posse had such a great time with our month of Golden Heart prep that we're giving away writing tips...one month at a time. In addition to book and critique giveaways, join Q&A sessions and read guest blogs from bestselling writers like Sherrilyn Kenyon and Gena Showalter. Check out our line-up of topics! January-Getting Started (goals, choosing story idea, focus, etc.) February-Character Development (names, physical descriptions, backstory, etc.) March-Plotting April - Conflict May-Research June-Business side of Writing (market, marketing, promotion, etiquette) July-Prepping for Conference (both for national and smaller conferences) August-Inspiration (for stories and for keeping yourself going) September-Writer Health (physical and mental) October-GH Preparation November-Writing Challenges (NaNo, BIAW, turning off the internal editor, etc.) December-Editing/Revisions Get great information in a fun community! Visit http://wetnoodleposse.blogspot.com

First book-length sale!

Started to label this post first sale, but actually my first sale was the Christmas story to Woman's World, so this is my first book sale. I sold to Red Sage! The book is tentatively titled Double Exposure. It used to be titled Satin and Steel. It's the one Blaze almost bought, the one that won the Golden Gateway contest a few years ago. The one that just never would let go. I loved that book and couldn't give up on it. So glad I didn't.

Many thanks to Theresa, my new editor, and Alexandria, my new publisher. I'm looking forward to lots of good times ahead.

Catching Up

I've been gone for weeks, on the road helping the dh with the photography stuff. I'll be back in a bit to catch up with where we've been and what we've been up to. This post is just to keep my blogger account open so they don't delete me.

Check back tonight for an update.

Headed for Georgia

We've been asked to drive to Georgia to take pictures. Of course, we said yes! Who can resist an all-expenses paid trip out of town with nearly double our normal rate of pay, a per-diem for meals, an extra .10 a mile for gas (and over 1600 miles, that adds up!) We're excited. My dogs won't be, however, when they realize they're on their own.

Okay, not exactly. They'll have company. It just won't be me. They worry when I'm gone, when I come home after dark, etc. They freak out if I go outside after midnight.

I'm really afraid I'll come home to find my Great Pyrenees male, Willie, has passed. He's 10 years old, can barely get around, and wheezes something awful when he breathes. This heat is really hard on him. And if/when he dies, the female, Dollie, will freak. They've been together since she was 6 months old and Willie was 8 weeks old. I may end up having to put her down.

I'm ready to not own animals anymore. It's too hard to watch them die. We sold the cows (which nearly broke my heart, since I'd hand raised most of them) and the chickens. So the cat and the dogs are all we have left.

But with this job, we'll have opportunities to travel, and that's hard to do when you have furry friends depending on you. I'd probably give the two younger dogs away if I could, but I've had them since they were puppies. How do you give away your babies?

Has anyone ever adopted an older dog? How do they handle a new home and family? Do they miss the old ones?

Long time gone

We've been super busy, learning the photograpy biz, working 12 hour days, driving at least 2-3 of those hours. I'm exhausted. We're not making the money we'd hoped to, either, but hopefully that's a temporary situation while we're learning.

I did manage to cut a 400 page ms down to 200 pages at an editor's request and got it edited and sent off. Now I'm back in the waiting game. In the meantime, I got my first fan mail! A lady read The Christmas Wish, my Woman's World romance story from Dec. 2005 and loved it. Yay! That made my day.

Today is my youngest daughter's birthday. She's now 20, so I'm no longer the mother of a teenager. Last time we didn't have a teenager in the family was in 1989. So I can now say my kids are all grown, they're all beautiful/handsome, and they're smart and talented. Good kids. What more could a mother ask for?