Hope everyone out there has a great 4th of July! I”ll be eating barbecue chicken, watermelon, and, maybe, a nice batch of homemade ice cream today.

Be safe and enjoy the fireworks!

I’m currently working on my galley edits for The Wizard’s Spell. It’s nice to have the actual pages in my hot hands. Ooohhh…I love getting a galley!

My goal is to mail this baby back to my publisher on Saturday. She told me that if I could get the galley back to her by the end of next week, then The Wizard’s Spell would be released on July 15. Wow–that will be two releases in one month: Secrets, Volume 16 (Never Enough) and my Wizard tale. Dang–that’s exciting for me.

I’m going to be hosting a contest soon in conjunction with the release of The Wizard’s Spell. And, yes, for anyone who might be curious, I will be posting my book trailer! 🙂 Thanks, Nick, for working on that project.

I’m also trying to finish up my current WIP. Just a few more days, and that story will be done. And then, well, it will be time for something new. I’ve had a few stories rapping at my mind for the last few days. I don’t know yet which story I’ll chose, but I’m currently leaning toward writing a full-length werewolf story. I do so love my wolves!

By the way…Jack Sparrow will be back next Friday…I can hardly wait!

Felecia sent me a link to a fun What Action Hero Would You Be quiz. My somewhat surprising result: I’m half Lara Croft and half Jack Sparrow. Hmmm…I can completely see myself digging around in an old tomb and searching for artifacts. And, well, I guess I could see myself steering on the high seas as I search for gold. Then there’s the fun bit about the rum Jack likes. Perhaps my quiz result wasn’t as off as I originally thought!

What hero would you be?

A few days ago, I had lunch with a friend at a seafood restaurant on the bay. As we walked toward the restaurant, we admired the two great white sharks leaping from the roof of the restaurant, and then my friend pointed out the alligator that was scaling the side of the building. I remember thinking it would be really weird if gators could scale buildings. (Yeah, I didn’t think it was the least bit odd that great white sharks could be inside said building and bursting through the ceiling!) And, then, today, I see the story about the alligator who climbed a wall and nearly rang a doorbell.

Jeez. Turns out those things can actually climb. I saw an expert on TV this morning who said they’d even been known to scale fences. What???

Scary stuff. Who knows where a gator will turn up next? (Please, please not in my backyard!)

Harlequin is sponsoring a writing contest for its American Romance line. Writers (both published and unpublished) should send in the first chapter of their work (up to 5,000 words) and a synopsis of the story. The story must be set in America. (Cuz, well, it is for the American line…) Winners will receive a subcription to the American line of books for a year AND (here’s the important part) a detailed editorial evaluation. In the past winners of contests like this one have gone on to sell their work to Harlequin.

For complete details, check out these guidelines.