Okay, so if you’d rather not know anything personal about me, then I would most strongly suggest that you stop reading this post, oh, say about HERE.

Because the post right now, it’s about to get very much on the personal side.

Previously, I’ve blogged about my grandmother, Addie. She’s always been a great inspiration to me. Such a strong woman. Amazing, to me. And to all of her family and friends.

During the first week of July, my grandmother was scheduled to have a bit of surgery. There was a cancerous spot on her face that her doctor wanted to remove, and my grandmother–such an independent lady–wanted to have the spot taken care of so that she could go on about her business.

The surgery was performed, but, to the dismay of my family, my grandmother didn’t wake up. The doctors told us that due to her age (92–I’ve previously reported that she was 93 but time must have just erased a year), the anesthesia was probably taking longer to work out of her system.

The day after her surgery, I was at the hospital, staying my shift (my family divided shifts so that my grandmother wouldn’t be left alone). Addie woke up for a while, she talked with me.She was groggy, but coherent, and she could even answer the doctor’s questions about her medications. The doctor was very optimistic–in fact, he told me that she would probably be going home that evening, or at least the next morning.

But Addie stopped talking later. She closed her eyes and seemed to sink back into the fog of anesthesia. Later, the family would be told that she’d suffered several strokes, but, at first, it just seemed that she was sleeping.

And she continued to sleep. For weeks.

We all tried to hope for the best. After all, Addie had beaten strokes and heart attacks before. But the days just kept trickling by, and soon she had to be placed on a feeding tube.

On August 9, we got word that her condition had changed. Her vital signs had taken a “significant” turn. Her breathing was labored, and the nurse said that if family members needed to tell her anything, well, the time was now.

I didn’t really need to tell her anything–Addie already knew how I felt. But I went to her side anyway. Because she would have come to mine. And because I loved her.

At 12:51 a.m. on August 10, my grandmother passed from this world. She left behind many, many who loved her, and I like to think that she went to join the many who waited for her–the husband who had passed over twenty-five years before, and the four sons she’d had to watch slip away from her.

I hope she’s happy now, and I hope she knows how very, very much she will be missed.

I wrote my first real piece of writing for my grandmother–she was my inspiration. And she will continue to inspire me for many years to come.

Okay, so I’ve blogged before about how I’m trying to get my head in the PR game. With said game in mind, I decided I’d get some postcards printed (both regular size and oversize) to promote my next release, A RED HOT NEW YEAR. On the front of the cards, I wanted to have the image of the book. On the back, I wanted blurb info, contest info, and, well, contact-me info. 🙂 Once I knew what I wanted, the problem became deciding which printing service to use.

I did a bit of online price comparisons, and I discovered that VistaPrint was generally very thrifty–actually, super thrifty. They always seem to be running sales, and you either get discounts or (for the smaller quantities), you can get items for free (provided you pay shipping and upload fees–but you generally only upload your image one time, and after that, well, you’re just paying shipping if you make additional orders.)

Based on their prices, I decided to get my feet wet with VistaPrint. I spent an hour on August 1st designing and uploading my postcard info (and, yep, I did this myself, no help from the techno savvy Nick). The instructions were very easy to follow, and when I made a mistake (cuz, yeah, you knew I would!), it was an easy enough matter to go back and fix my bumble.

I ordered my postcards (not too many–I wanted to see what the print quality was like before I dove all the way into this print company), and today (even though I selected the slowest delivery option), I got my postcards.

The result: Very satisfied. Actually, I love the cards! And, since I’m planning to send out cards like this to several upcoming romance writers’/readers’ conferences, I’m gonna definitely order more. (Then I’ll autograph those babies.) Now, as an experiment, I did the cards in two different styles–basically bleed and no bleed (um, in one, the image goes all the way to the edge of the card, and in the other, a small white box/line skirts the edge of the image). Again, I’m pleased with both images–like ’em a lot; however, I think I may be more partial to the image that goes straight to the edge of the card. But that’s just me (or, heck, maybe I just like the oversize cards more b/c they look more realistically–in terms of size, anyway–like a book, or at least the front of a book.)

So, if you’re a writer looking to produce some promotional materials on a budget, then I would most heartily recommend the magical, not-so-mysterious VistaPrint.

It was a dark and stormy night here in the South, and, dang, but the day was a hot one, too! The heat index topped out at 110 today–just the thought of that much heat makes me ill.

So, what’s a girl to do in this heat? Well, once she finishes up her WIP and pens the novella spinning in her head, she gets to take a few days off and enjoy some reading time.

And here are a few August releases that I’m dying to get my hands on:

1. Edge of Midnight by Shannon McKenna (because I have to read everything this woman writes!)

2. Silver Master by Jayne Ann Krentz (come on, it’s Jayne Ann!)

3. Dark Possession by Christine Feehan (I will proudly admit to being a diehard Carpathian fan)

4. Instinct by Denise A. Agnew (just found out about this one today, and it sure sounds good!)

I haven’t gotten the latest issue of the Romantic Times, so I know I’m probably missing a ton of great books. Does anyone out there have any other recommended August releases that I should put on my buy list?

If you send me an email and do not receive a response withing 3 days, please check your spam folder. I generally reply to emails as quickly as I can, but recently I’ve learned that a few of my responses have gotten tangled in spam-filtration land.

My Avon Red cover is now official! Yay! 🙂 To the right you’ll see the cover image for A RED HOT NEW YEAR, featuring my novella, New Year’s Bites. Here’s a little blurb for my tale:

While on her way to a New Year’s Eve party, Anna Summers is attacked and bitten by a large, wolf-like creature. She is saved by sexy security expert, Jon York. But Jon isn‘t quite who he seems to be, and Anna…well, she’s starting to change. The quiet, good-girl she’d been before the bite disappears, and a wild, sensual, almost…animalistic woman takes her place. The hot lust that burns through her body every moment she’s around Jon soon flares out of control. Filled with new strength and passion, Anna begins to think she may be starting the best year of her life. Yet in the shadows, someone is stalking her–waiting for another sweet bite. For Anna, the New Year that began with a blaze of passion may burn out with the dangerous rise of the moon.