The Perfect Solution

Cool idea! And since I know we're cat lovers I thought you'd get a kick out of it. I have a friend who has 9 cats, and I'm going to show this to her. I wonder how they got them to all lay down at the same time. I've often thought about investing in a cat bed for my three but then remind myself, they already have a bed...mine! LOL

I'd love to know what their names are. If I had a bigger place I'd probably get another cat or two. My niece just got her third one and since we've willed our cats to each other we've come to an agreement that three each is enough:)

Temptation

With all this gorgeous spring weather we've had I have been shirking my responsibilities, writing-wise. Yeah, I really have. And no, I'm not proud of it. But I've been tempted by the warm, sultry breezes of spring...and I've not been able to resist.

*sigh*

I guess you know one of my weakest points now, don't you? I'm a sucker for being outside.

I do my best writing when it's wet, cold, snowy, windy...you get the idea. When the sun is shining and the world is calling, it's a struggle for me to keep my behind in my chair and my fingers on the keyboard.

Still, one must resist temptation occasionally. So today I'll write. The book is actually nearing the home stretch, the point where I've got to tie the ends up and find a way to satisfy every character, as well as the eventual readers. This is an exciting time for me, seeing my goal is near and completely attainable.Yeah, today I'll write. And tomorrow there's rain in the forecast. Who knows? Maybe by next week I'll be able to play outside without the book hanging over my head.

That is, until I begin working on the next book...

I'm going to enjoy today. I hope you do, too.

A Saxon Tapestry - June 2010

Here is the cover and back blurb of my next historical romantic suspense - it will be published in June by Whiskey Creek Press. Love this cover.

Happy Spring

Wishing you all the joys of spring -- daffodils, tulips, steaming cups of tea and rambling strolls with a good friend.

I love flowers. Any flowers. They don't have to smell or be expensive. I don't have to get them in a bunch, one will due.

There's something about flowers and receiving them that brightens my day. Makes me smile. I can be driving and see a field of wild flowers and suddenly all is good in the world.

There's so much ugliness in the world, but have you ever noticed that it only takes one little thing to dim that and make you feel good inside? We all have something different that works for us. If you think about it you'll realize just what that is. And it can be more than one thing that lifts you up and makes you feel invincible.

My granddaughter's smile has the power to do that for me. My cats, curling up in my lap or nuzzling my cheek, seeing a mother deer and her fawns on the side of the road on my way to work in the mornings. Catching the glimpse of an eagle gliding in the sky. Flowers. Little things in life that seem to wield so much power over us.

Do you have something that makes everything okay?

Grouchy?

Around here we have some unusual dinners. So many factors to consider...lateness of hour... amount of snow shoveled during the day...disposition of cook at dinnertime!

Last night was a pancake night. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do. They're fast, yummy and even a grouchy cook can manage to whip up a batch!

Banana Pancakes

1 ½ cups flour
½ t. salt
2 ½ t. baking powder
2 T. granulated sugar
1 ½ cups milk
2 mashed bananas

Combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar until well mixed. Add milk and bananas and mix until batter is only slightly lumpy.

Lightly coat a large griddle with butter. Heat griddle. Pour batter onto griddle and cook pancakes over medium-low heat.

Dangerous Enchantment

Dangerous Enchantment is now available in paperback from www.whiskeycreekpress.com

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Rest

What have you got planned for today? Have you plans? Or are you just going to kick back and take the day as it comes?

I've decided that today I'm going to do nothing. Really. Nothing. I mean it.

All right, I can hear you laughing.

But that's the plan for the day. Rest, and lots of it. Why? I woke this morning and decided I needed a day off. One to do...nothing--or as close to nothing as I get.

I figure I'm going to hang around by the fireplace. I'm going to read. A lot. Watch movies. Read some more. This afternoon I'll bake brownies. With nuts. Or maybe without nuts, who knows? And then I'll read a few more pages. Or maybe I'll take a nap. Or...well, the day's open to all sorts of nothingness, isn't it?

Whatever you've got up your sleeve, I hope you enjoy every moment of this day.

Me? I'll be the one resting...

Listening

I love to read, reading allows you to create wonderful images. It can take you to strange and magical places. You can laugh and cry, all these things are available in a book.

Well why, you might ask, are you then calling this blog listening? Easy to answer for listening does the very same thing. In the UK we have a wonderful radio station, part of the BBC it's called Radio Four. It's "talk" radio of the very best kind. There are plays, serialisations of books, documentaries, news, features on wildlife, consumer issues, just about everything you can imagine. Two weeks ago we had a full broadcast of Othello - brillient, starring the comedian Lenny Henry in his first dramatic role. This Sunday there is the dramatisation of Clarissa starring Richard Armitage (ladies if you don't know who Richard Armitage is now is the time to google!).

All this at the touch of a button. Whenever I go abroad Radio Four is the thing I miss most. I can do without fish and chips or pie and peas, even forget about Daddies Sauce, but I always find myself longing to reach out my hand and switch on my radio. At home I have one in every room. Radio Four follows me around all day long. In the early hours when I have trouble sleeping, on goes the switch. This is the time for the World Service, with news and events from all around the globe.

I grew up with Radio Four. Well it was called more sternly "The Home Service" then. My Gran always had that playing and I listened to not only Children's Hour but real grown up plays that have stayed with me all my life.

Like reading the radio feeds the imagination - we must never lose it.

Don't You Wish

Don't you wish the publicity people who wrote book blurbs also wrote the script that plays in your mind. Every morning I could get out of bed and say "Here I am an acclaimed author about to have a brilliant day." My tape is more likely to say, "Get out of bed you lazy bones and wash last night's dishes. What were you thinking in leaving them to soak over night?"


Xlibris wrote this blurb for me and though it's a bit over the top I love it.

Water’s Edge: Stories by Kathleen O’Connor


From acclaimed author Kathleen O’Connor comes a gamut of wonderful and emotion-stirring prose and short stories. Containing fifteen masterpieces, Water’s Edge: Stories by Kathleen O’Connor reminds us of the importance of the connections between family, friends, and neighbors.

The title story, Water’s Edge, details how an alienated young woman forges a bond with her grieving grandmother. In Through the Woods, an elderly man reconnects with a troubled foster child. A young boy in With Harry’s Help survives through his bond with a fictional character.

The stories of this collection bear a common theme—the importance of hope and the need to love one another. Feel engaged as you leaf through the pages of this meaningful anthology.

Buy the Book

Connect the bond with your family, friends, and neighbors in this stirring short story compilation.


ORDER A COPY NOW!

At Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Waters-Edge-Kathleen-OConnor/dp/1450032168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268223662&sr=1-1

or at

www.Xlibris.com


ISBN 13 (TP): 978-1-4500-3216-2
ISBN 13 (HB): 978-1-4500-3217-9
ISBN 13 (eBook): 978-1-4500-3218-6

So Sweet!

I just had to post this article a friend sent it to me. The couple riding their bikes, who took the pictures, were really lucky mama moose didn't charge them.

Hello, boss I cannot come in to work today.

There was a moose born on my front lawn and the Mom won't let me out of the house!!!!

Naubinway, MI, is about 40 miles west of the Mackinaw bridge in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In my 33 years in Michigan 's Upper Peninsula , I have never seen a new-born baby moose. This one was not even a half mile from our house. The mother picked a small, quiet neighborhood, and had her baby in a front yard just off US 2, at 5:30 am.

Allen and I were out bike riding when we came upon the pair. The lady across the street from this house told us she saw it being born. We saw them at 5:30 PM. So the little one was 12 hours old. What an awesome place we live in to see such a sight.

Makes it really tough to use your front door, though!

Yum!

When the wind howls here in upstate New York, I do some serious baking. I don't mean I slave in the kitchen all day, using every mixing bowl and whisk. Quite the contrary! I love to whip up something fairly healthy, tasty and warm. These muffins meet all those criteria, and remind me of summer, besides. Hope they're as big a hit in your house as they are in ours!

Strawberry Muffins

1 ½ cups chopped strawberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
½ t. baking soda
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
1 t. vanilla

In a large bowl mix toss the strawberries with ½ cup sugar. Set aside for 1 hour so that the juice of the berries will begin to run. When the juices have rested for an hour, drain the berries, reserving the juice.

Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside.

Cream butter and remaining sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and beat. Add strawberry juice and beat until all ingredients are incorporated.

Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and stir. When a batter forms add the strawberries and mix.

Lightly grease one 12-muffin tin. Spoon batter into cups. Place in a pre-heated 350-degree oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Spring

Spring is in the air, I can taste it, smell it and feel it. The sun is shining, and yes the frost is sparkling, but there is something happening. On my walk I spied the woodland floor where clusters of delicate snowdrops raised their heads. I love these brave little flowers, they bloom even when the snow is on the ground. I think they, as the heralds of Spring, are the most gallant of flowers and beautiful too. I wish I had had my camera but alas, I was too chicken to take it. Didn't want to take off my gloves and mess about with it - I am definitely not a snowdrop.

There has been some friendly banter on the radio about the date for Spring. Some were saying it is the lst of March, others the 21st March. Well it is the 21st March!
My daffodils have not burst into life yet and they too are a sign that spring has sprung. As the heralds - the snowdrops - give us hope - spring is just around the corner - soon the new born lambs will be skipping in the fields, the sun will shine and the rain will be gentle. Jack Frost will be banished. Can't wait.

A New Book

My collection of short stories was released this week. The cover photo was taken by my husband on a snowy day near Niagara Falls.

I don't have a release date yet but I couldn't contain myself from showing off my new book cover. The Wild Rose Press artist did a great job capturing one of the new scenes in this romantic suspense.

Blurb -
Annie McCall finds a patient dead in her office, and now she’s on the run for her life. Detective Marshall Thomas is willing to break the rules to protect the beautiful doctor, but who will protect her from him? It isn't long before the only danger Annie's facing is the sizzling heat between the sheets.