Almost Like Fall...

It is!  Almost like fall around here.  The False Solomon Seal, at left, has bloomed, shed its petals and brought out the fall berries--which as you can see, are half-eaten already by local wildlife.

It's gorgeous here this time of year.  Brisk clear nights and days warming into the '80s.  The Northwest version of paradise.

My flame maple in back is looking pretty red.  It's a big sapling, still, so it's not that showy.  But it's definitely showing me its version of Autumn.

It's been one super-busy summer around here, rushing to meet deadlines, attending the big Romance Writers of America conference in Anaheim.  Great fun.  Photos on my website, here.

I was up for the RITA award twice.  Didn't win.  But sure had a lovely gala night at the awards dessert party.  My younger son came to visit for a few days.  So good to see him.  We showed him the sites of Portland.

And now we're into our big master bath remodel.  (Pictures later) and I'm off soon to plot group to plan more books.

And speaking of books...

Two in a row comin' right up.  In November, The Prince She Had to Marry.  Here's the cover:

I love the look the two of them are sharing.  And her cute little baby bump.  She's about three months pregnant in this scene.

Back cover copy reads:

FOR HONOR.  AND FOR LOVE?

Cold, distant Alexander Bravo-Calabretti was the last man

Liliana of Alagonia had ever imagined marrying! After all,

even a princess longs for happily-ever-after. But when a

one-night fling with her nemesis led to a royal baby-on-the-

way, only a wedding would satisfy their disapproving

families. So with a fast, secret ceremony, they were joined

for life.

Alex had agreed to make an effort for the sake of the

baby, even though letting the lovely Lili close was a threat

to the barriers he’d long struggled to maintain. But the

future of the throne—and his royal honor—was at stake.

And when he and Lili posed as happy newlyweds for the

paparazzi, he found himself wishing that their marriage

could be for real after all….

Then in December, The Rancher's Christmas Princess.  I don't have the cover for that yet.  But here's the back cover copy:

A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 

FROM THE PAST.

Arabella Bravo-Calabretti came to Elk Creek, Montana, with a secret to deliver and a job to do. Being a Bravo Royale, she was going to do it right. Before she handed her best friend's darling son, Ben, over to his unwitting father, they would all spend Christmas together. Only then could she be absolutely sure that rancher Preston McCade was ready to be a dad.

Or...was that really the reason Belle was hanging around?  She and Preston were practically from different planets, yet the attraction was undeniable.  Before long, someone was utterly in love with a rancher--and Christmas in Montana was presenting one suprise after another.

I do love the copy on both of these.  You can click on the titles to order from Amazon.

Happy Reading everyone...and now, to clean up this office a little....

Happy Independence Day!

It's sunny here today, in a lovely, cool way.  The heat, according to the Weather Channel, is finally coming to the Northwest in the next week.

No, it won't be really hot.  But in the mid-eighties.  For us, that's scorching.  It's so strange if you look at a temperature map of the Continental US these days.  Everything looks red-hot.  Except for this little plot of coolness up here in Northern California, Oregon and Washington.

I'm supposed to be working today.  Both the DH and I decided, since it was midweek and I needed to get pages written and he could get brownie points for showing up on the holiday at his job, we would both just treat it like a regular workday.

But you know, it's not.  I look out the window at my flag waving and spy on the neighbors getting ready for their barbecues and I feel a bit celebratory in spite of my intentions to keep my fingers moving over the keyboard, making strings of words appear on the screen.  Hey, it's the Fourth of July!

And tonight, there will be fireworks into the wee hours.  I'm kind of looking forward to lying awake, hearing them going off, nearby and in the distance.

Happy Birthday, America.  You are lookin' good!

FFFt on New Look...

Blogger?  Hello?  Dynamic Views?  Not so much.  So I'm back to the old layout with a pretty forest background.  Yay!

And here's a forest view from out my living room window. Soooo beautiful here.  In the '80s today.  Enjoying every minute of this sunshiny week.

This is cleanup week after the big push to get the most recent book in--which was book 3 in The Bravo Royales series.

Now I'm doing the line edit for the Book 2, THE PRINCE SHE HAD TO MARRY.  And then filing and all other manner of glamorous stuff.  (not.)  And shopping.  Gearing up for the trip to Anaheim in July for the big Romance Writers of America conference.  Rooming with my longtime buddy, Susan Crosby.  It's going to be great fun.

Hope it's sunny where you are!