Bleary-eyed and in desperate need of another day of sleep, but I’m back. I’ll post more tomorrow when my brain is functioning.

Waving howdy to everyone I met at RWA including the amazing Sasha White and Vivi Anna, my two incredible roomies!! :D

I’m off to RWA tomorrow so today will be spent getting my life in order so I can leave. Hope to see you there, if not, I’ll catch you when I get back next week! :)

The game face is working, just not every day. I’ve got 9 days left and 23K to write. Eep. That’s more than 2K a day… Plus RWA is coming…

I’ll be scarce online this week because I’ll be in Atlanta trying to get an agent and an editor in NY, as well as meeting my Samhain and Loose Id peeps, and the Passionate Ink luncheon on Friday. That’s going to be so much fun! If you’re at RWA, be sure to say hello!

On the exciting news front, The Treasure is on the MABM best seller list! Wooohoooo!! Thanks to everyone that purchased it! I’m sooo excited! \:d/

Also The Bounty was up to #122,500 on the Amazon list. LOL! That’s exciting for me – I mean, there are like a million books on Amazon! :D

Have a fabulous week y’all!!

*deep breath*

I’m packing this weekend for the RWA Conference in Atlanta. It’s my first, and I won a scholarship, so I’m purty nervous. Okay, a lot nervous.

My CP and spirit sister, Sasha White, and the ever lovely Vivi Anna are my roommates at the hotel. My two Canadian friends are in for a hot surprise in Atlanta – literally, it’s HOT in the south. Fortunately for Vivi and I, Sasha went to last year’s RWA so she’s a veteran to help us newbies. I don’t want to walk around with my finger up my nose like a dork. :-b

I plan on getting there late in the day Tuesday so I can register and set up my goodies Wednesday morning, then prepare myself for the Literacy Signing. This is the only event open to the public and what’s really, really cool is that I’m on the list of authors! All the proceeds from the sale of the books go to the literacy foundation so it’s a wonderful cause. And I’m going to wander around fawning over my favorites. :”>

I’ll have 25 copies of The Bounty (thanks to my amazing publisher, Crissy B at Samhain) for the signing. If you are in the Atlanta area on Wednesday afternoon, please stop by! I would love to meet you. :D

Anyhoo, between me finishing my current WIP (at 55% done and counting) and RWA, I’ll be scarce for the weekend. However, I will be online from 9 to 12 tomorrow along with the other Loose Id authors on the Literary Nymphs Chat Yahoo loop. Hope y’all pop by! :)

I mean, really really hot. Yesterday’s high was about 100 (that’s 38 to you celsius peeps). H.O.T. The humidity hovers in the 95% area too, making outside feel like a hot, wet washcloth. :-<

Ugh. You walk outside and it slaps you in the face. Within five minutes, you’re sweating and wondering how far away you parked the damned car anyway.

My favorite way to cool off? Ice cream sundae in a nice cool air-conditioned ice cream parlor like Friendly’s.

What about you? How do you keep cool?

It’s finally here – my OFFICIAL release of The Bounty in paperback! You can buy it now at Amazon, and soon at Borders and Waldenbooks stores.

I’m so excited, I can’t stand it!!

I’m also proud to announce that The Treasure, Book 4 of the Malloy family series, is available from Samhain Publishing! Raymond, the oldest of the Malloy siblings finally gets his own story…

The Treasure

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/thetreasure.shtml

Genre: Romance/Historical/Western/Erotic Elements

When a clumsy governess from New York meets a lonely, bitter rancher, more than her heart will fall.

Ray Malloy is a single father in an age when every child has two parents. Abandoned by his shallow wife, he struggles to find the balance between being a father and being a successful rancher. At the end of his rope with his wild child daughter, he hires a governess from New York to teach his daughter, Melody, to be a lady.
 
Lillian Wickham is desperate for a job, poor as a church mouse, and determined as a bulldog. Arriving in Wyoming to a chilly reception, and saddled with a five-year-old girl that could be mistaken for an incredibly, dirty little boy does not daunt her.

Ray is determined to avoid women completely, to ignore Lillian’s luscious figure, ruby red lips, and husky voice. Lillian is determined to turn Melody into a lady, come hell or high water, and avoid the hellion’s devastatingly attractive father at the same time. Until one night when Lillian’s clumsiness drops her right into Ray’s arms and their passion takes on a life of its own.

When unexpected danger steals into their lives, and threatens the stubborn child they both love, will their passion be strong enough to survive, or will it tear their world apart?

Excerpt:

Cheshire, Wyoming, March, 1889

Ray Malloy was nervous. It was cold as a bitch that morning and his damn palms were sweaty in his gloves. Couldn’t feel his fingers after driving the wagon to the train station in freezing temperatures, but his goddamned, nervous palms were clammy.

He didn’t know what to expect from Miss Wickham. She sounded pretty proper and very smart in her letter. There wasn’t any personal information exchanged other than their names. He regretted that now. He could have at least asked how old she was, but hell, Mama said she lived with the nuns.

Truth was he didn’t know much about nuns. Or about Miss Lillian Wickham. He hoped she wasn’t a nasty old troll with a hairy wart and a stooped back.

He didn’t trust his instincts with women. After all, he had gotten trapped in the web of the most conniving, innocent-looking black widow spider in the whole Wyoming territory. His wife. Ex-wife now. Regina had skipped town a month after their daughter, Melody, was born. She divorced him six months later from San Francisco.

He hadn’t been with a woman since. Self-imposed celibacy was something he would have in common with Miss Wickham. Five years was a long time, but he didn’t trust women, excluding his sister, sisters-in-law and mother, of course. Unfortunately, aside from his family, Melody didn’t have any contact with other children or women.

And, he thought with a grimace, it definitely showed. She was nearly impossible to track, had a mouth like a sailor, and absolutely refused to wear “girlie” clothes or even take a bath more than once a month. She was a handful. Make that two handfuls. He had no idea how to raise her. He was obviously doing a shitty job of it, judging by the wildness.

Ray prayed Miss Wickham would be able to do something with Melody. She needed to learn her reading and writing, and maybe some ciphering. And she sure as hell needed to learn manners beyond asking “Where’s the biscuits, Pa?”.

He loved Melody fiercely and hoped he hadn’t caused too much damage to her by his ways. Ray knew he wasn’t affectionate, or patient, or even friendly most of the time. Melody was a tiny version of him, down to the scowl she wore when she was angry. His heart ached with the need to do right by her. Against his better judgment, he’d listened to his mother and hired the damn governess, a fancy word for teacher. Truth be told, he hadn’t been able to find someone willing to teach Melody in the entire state of Wyoming. That left him standing on the Cheshire train platform with clammy hands and a twisted-up gut.

Ray shuffled his feet on the wood-planked floor, trying to get the circulation going to his toes. In the distance, the train whistle shrieked, and inside, he jumped a country mile.

Miss Wickham was about to arrive.

* * * *

As Lily stepped from the train at the Cheshire station and set her valise down, she began to search the people on the platform for her new employer. She had bid goodbye to New York nearly a week ago, and here she was finally in Wyoming. It seemed like a dream, like it was happening to someone else. As she had crossed over the great country, she kept a journal of everything she saw. From rivers, to beautiful buildings, buffalo, wild horses and everything in between. It was all incredible and each amazing sight made her decision the best one she had ever made. Without it, she would never have seen all the treasures she’d been too busy to see when she was a child.

The first thing she noticed about Wyoming was it was really cold. Not the kind of cold on the streets of New York. But a biting, gnawing cold that chewed at her cheeks and left them numb. There was snow everywhere she looked. Even on the roof of the train depot. And icicles hung down, some of them at least a foot long. It was a winter wonderland. She pinched herself to stop gawking and started searching for Mr. Malloy again.

After the steam from the locomotive’s engines cleared, she saw a man standing alone in the middle of the platform.

Now that was a big man.

Squaring her shoulders, as well as her resolve, she picked up her valise and headed towards him.

“Mr. Malloy?” she asked when she was about ten feet away.

As she approached him, he took off his hat and regarded her with a bruising stare. He nodded at her question as his large hands tightened perceptibly on his hat. Setting her valise down, she straightened herself up to her full height of not quite five feet. His wavy hair was varying shades of brown and red, and his eyes were a deep emerald green. Yes, indeed, he was quite an imposing size. His bold gaze raked her up and down without a flicker of warmth. She shivered and wasn’t at all sure it was from the frigidly cold air.

“This isn’t going to work, Miss Wickham. I was expecting an older woman. Why, you’re no bigger than a minute, probably not even eighteen yet. Wyoming is no place for a woman like you. Go back to New York.” He turned, leaving her standing on the train platform.

Well, we’ll see about that.

“Mr. Malloy,” she said loudly as she reached out to grab his arm. He stopped short and stared down at her hand as if it were an offensive creature biting him.

“Don’t touch me.” His voice was low, but incredibly forceful.

The fierceness of his command was not lost on Lily. She removed her hand promptly, but with dignity nonetheless.

“My apologies.” She took a deep breath. “I assure you, Mr. Malloy, I am not a child. I am a twenty-six-year-old woman, long since put on the shelf. As I wrote in my letter, I have served as a governess and tutor for eight years for many of the finest families in New York. Mother Superior has corresponded with your mother about me and gave me a sterling recommendation. I am strong, capable and intelligent. I will not be turned away like a beggar looking for food. You offered me a position, sir, and I took you at your word. I always keep mine.” She finished with a firm nod, a trick she’d long ago learned when dealing with recalcitrant children. Thank God he hadn’t noticed her knees knocking together so hard, they almost sounded like drums.

His right eyebrow rose as she spoke. “Think highly of yourself then?”

She knew her cheeks looked like crimson banners, but she refused to back down. This was her future they were talking about, not a parlor conversation about fashion.

“No, I’m simply stating the facts. I am well qualified for the position you offered as your daughter’s tutor, and I’m a more than adequate housekeeper. More than that, I…I need the position. I have nothing to go back to in New York, and no funds to get there.” She hated to admit it to this man, but the trip to Wyoming cost her nearly every cent she owned. She was, to put it bluntly, poor as a church mouse.

He studied her with his razor-sharp gaze for a minute before sighing long and hard.

“Wyoming isn’t a forgiving place, Miss Wickham, and I’m not a forgiving man. We’re both hard, cold and demand respect. I don’t accept excuses from the people who work for me. The first time one of my hands endangers anyone, or lies to me, they’re out on their ass. Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly. Does this mean I’m hired?” Her heart began to beat a staccato rhythm as hope burned in her chest.

“Temporarily, but only until you’ve earned enough to return to New York. Don’t try to convince me otherwise, because my mind is made up.”

With that, he picked up her valise and started walking at a brisk pace down the platform.
****

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/thetreasure.shtml

I’m happy to say that I’m just about halfway through my book! Woot! The game face seems to be working. I wrote about 5K this weekend. \:d/

Even though I was on with the Samhain Reader Appreciation weekend, and my own regular chores, I felt like I got a lot done. I’ve got this week to pack on hopefully another 15 to 20K, then it will be just the final 10-12K to finish it up next week. Even with RWA, I am GOING to finish this by August 1.

Game. Face. Still. On! >:)

Wondering if it’s possible to juggle two publishers-or more?

ePublishers and NY Print as well?

Want to talk to a thriving erotica author? Want to come and goof off with wild and crazy Sasha? Then join us this Saturday, July 15th for a chat with multi-published erotica author Sasha White. We’ll be in the chatroom at 8PM EST/5PM PST/6PM Central. Just click here:
http://www.romancedivas.com/divaforum/inde…tocom=chatsigma

If the link doesn’t work, just click on ‘Live Chat’ at the top of the forum page.

One year after selling contemporary erotic stories to both Berkley and Kensington, Sasha White’s first releases for both hit the bookstores in the first week of July. She’ll be here on Saturday night to celebrate her newest releases and chat about writing for two top NY publishers as well as two top Electronic publisher; the similarities, the differences, and how she knows which story is right which line.

So join us to help her celebrate … And find out what important lesson’s she’s learned in her first year with NY houses.

Take a look at her recent releases:
THE CRIB ~ part of the PURE SEX anthology from Kensington. July 4
http://www.sashawhite.net/thecrib.php
BOUND ~ from Berkley Heat. June 27
http://www.sashawhite.net/behindthescenes_bound.php

Okay, folks, the time has nearly arrived. July 18 is next Tuesday and that means, it’s time for my very first novel and book 1 of the Malloy family series, The Bounty, to be released in PRINT. :o

The Bounty is available for pre-order on Amazon and will also be in Borders and Waldenbooks stores. I think I might faint (I’ll definitely cry) the first time I see it on a bookshelf in a store! :x

Thanks to all of you who have supported me, bought my books and been amazing readers and friends. I can’t tell you how excited and nervous I am! The next three books come out in paperback one each month through October. Stay tuned as I keep fainting and smiling.

Don’t forget if you’ve already purchased The Bounty in electronic format, send me an e-mail copy of your receipt to be entered to win a print copy free! Also, the first reader to snap a picture of The Bounty in a store gets a choice of download and a gorgeous enamel cowboy boot pin.

Woot! My turn. :D

Pop in to the Samhain Cafe throughout the day to chat, share excerpts and blurbs from historical/western books and join in the contests. I’ll be by this afternoon to post some stuff and perhaps give something away. ;)

Thursday July 13th – Historical/Western (This is where you’ll find me popping in and out!)