Busy Saturday

Saturday is a blur to me. By the time I got home that night I was exhausted. Barely enough energy left to get a much needed shower and collapse on the sofa for some TV before bed. Luckily we stopped for a Big Mac, two for $3.00, for dinner. Now, that's a cheap meal:)

I missed sci-fi Saturday but got to spend the day with three of my favorite people. My daughter, niece and granddaughter. We met at my dad's house to pack up the things he wants to take to North Carolina with him, and have a yard sale of the things he doesn't want to take. Kind of killed two birds with one stone. We spent the whole day there. And we took in more money than we expected, which he can use for the move.

My dad is moving to North Caroline to live with my sister and her husband. He can no longer live alone and for the last month has been staying with long time friends in another part of North Carolina. He loves it there and I can tell when we talk on the phone that the change has been very good for him. He's gone fishing again, something he loves but hasn't been able to do in the last few years, taking care of my mom.

Apparently his friends of forty years live in a nice area where there's mountain views, lakes and lots of mother nature. Dad said they've made him feel very welcomed and comfortable and they've generously offered for him to stay with them. Only problem is, my sister has built an addition onto her home, so sometime in July he'll move on to her place.

I can hear it in his tone that he'd like to stay with his friends. They're his age and have a lot more in common. I told him to think about staying with them a few months out of the year, with Lois and Russ a few months and then come back to Florida during the winter and stay with me. It's a thought. One that might make everyone happy.

The main thing is for dad to be happy and to begin living again. Getting him out of the house he and my mom shared for so long was a start. In July she'll have been gone a year. It was a hard decision but one we had to make.

Saturday was a lot of work but when the three of us girls get together we always have a good time no matter what we're doing. Little Alivia couldn't do much but she was so cute trying. I'm still tired, my back aches, but I feel satisfied that we accomplished what we set out to do.

I'm looking forward to seeing dad when he returns in July.

Happy Saturday!

I've had a cheery start to my Saturday. I just got up and found a fun email in my box.

This week Vineyard Mambo was reviewed by The Long and the Short of It.

It was a really nice review which said in part "...combines the best of the cozy mystery genre with romance..."

Yeah, I smiled. Who wouldn't? :)

Anyhow, they're letting visitors choose which title reviewed in the prior week they'd most like to read. Vineyard Mambo is on the list since it was reviewed just a couple of days ago.

If you'd like to take a peek at their poll, the link is Book of the Week.

Me? I've already read Mambo but there are a couple of others that look pretty good...

Hope you're all gearing up for a relaxing weekend. Around here we're going to lay low. Hubby is a little under the weather so we're going to hang out in the gazebo, read and carve and probably take a nap. Or two. Like I said, really quiet...

What are you up to this gorgeous weekend? Whatever you're doing, I hope you have a great weekend!

Series reading...and writing

In a few days my new book, Sniffing Sand, will be out. I am beyond excited over this one for a couple of reasons. First, it's set on Chincoteague Island, one of my most favorite places in the world. I love Chincoteague, so to write a romantic suspense set there is a dream come true for me. And as if that's not thrilling enough, Sniffing Sand is the first story in a series. That's right, a series! How cool is that?

That means that I get to revisit some of the characters in Sniffing Sand, as well as glorious Chincoteague Island, again. And again. Who knows? Maybe even again. :)

I've got to say I'm having a blast with this whole series. I feel like I'm hanging out with old friends when I sit down to work on the subsequent stories. Of course they all won't feature Nina and Maxx--or the corpse of Nina's husband's girlfriend!--but Nina and Maxx will make an appearance, along with some other familiar faces, again.

As a reader I've always loved series. I mean, I fell for Nancy Drew when I was very young. And Trixie Belden, she was another early heroine who had a series. As an adult I'm still drawn to series reading.

Now that I've had a taste of writing a series I've got to admit I like it. A lot.

I hope readers will enjoy the Chincoteague Island stories, too. Who knows? Maybe I'll encourage a surge of visitors to the perfect little island.

The backcover blurb from Sniffing Sand:

Building the perfect house on idyllic Chincoteague Island is a dream come true—or so Nina thinks. But when her marriage ends just as the finishing touches are put on her beachfront home, Nina’s pleasure turns to pain. To further complicate things, a body washes up just outside her back door. Not just any body, either. Facedown and seaweed-covered, the corpse is her ex’s new lover. Now that presents its own share of problems!

Maxx Tallman, Chincoteague’s Chief of Police, is smart, handsome and fast on the trail of the murderer. He just might be the man to help Nina free herself from the web of intrigue that ensnares her. Who knows? He might be the one to help fill her lonely nights, too.
But first they’ve got to catch a killer. Fast—before the tide pushes any more bodies onto the sand.

Funny thing? I just realized I'm reading a book that's part of a series! Wild Hunt, by Lori Devoti...it's a Silhouette Nocturne and is the third book in her series. I'm really enjoying this one, although I haven't read the first two.

What about you? Do you enjoy books in a series or do you favor stand-alone stories?

Hope you all have a nice weekend!

New Cover

Hi, Thought you might like to see the new cover for my book out in August. Jinger Heaston has designed it and it is up to Jinger's impecable standard. I told Jinger, I don't know how she does it but I had that very beach in mind!

Life is still hectic, hence the "cop" out this week. Sorry no "real" blog. I won't be here next week either. I'd like to share why - my son who is an American is flying in to Dublin, Ireland, on business, he is bringing the whole family and has sent me an air line ticket to join them. I fly out Monday to Kerry in the far West of Ireland. I am SO excited, I am meeting myself coming back!

Amazingly, and even more amazing with the country's closeness to ours, I have never been to Ireland. You know what it is like, when a country is close you always say, I am going to go there but there's plenty of time. Even more reason to go is that my Grandmother, whose name I used to write under, Ellen Noone, was from there. I never knew my Irish Granny as she died years before I was born. She had a very hard life and I always carry her in my heart. I will be looking out for Noone's while I am there!

So bye for now and I will tell you all about next time I post.

Margaret.

Summer Reading

All of the woman's magazines are including lists of hot books for hot weather. My reading tastes are quirky and I don't always enjoy these books. But I did just read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and loved it. I'm amazed the way she so realistically created the circus world of 1931. I especially liked the book because I'm just miles away from the Ringling Museum in Sarasota and feel nostaglic for the days of the big tents.

I also just read Debbie Macomber's new book, Twenty Wishes. Debbie was signing her books at Wegman's grocery store in Buffalo so my nephew bought me one. I'm amazed she can write three good books a year and still promote the way she does. It's both awesome and humbling.

What are you all reading?

Ageing with a little bit of grace...or not

Getting older isn't what it's cracked up to be. Does anyone really age gracefully? Most of my life I've heard references to "gravity". Well, I figured out what that meant at the age of thirteen when I had to start buying D-cup bras with the wide straps. It started there but one day I was looking in the mirror after my shower and to my dismay discovered my butt had fallen. No one told me that would happen!

As each year passes I notice more things "falling" on my body. My face has definitely changed as those lines of wisdom have pulled my mouth downward. For the first time in my life I have a double chin, which I suspect used to be part of my face. The flesh on my upper arms have fallen. My belly is in my lap. If the madness doesn't stop I won't be able to see my feet!

To add insult to injury I need glasses to find my glasses. Speaking of glasses, some of you can relate to this. I have a pair in my purse, a pair at my desk at work, a pair next to my computer and a pair next to my chair in the living room. I used to laugh at my hubby for that but now I see the wisdom of it.

I move slower, too, and seem to be a little less graceful. Just in the last couple of months I've fallen twice. Okay, it wasn't my fault I didn't see the hole when I stepped out of the car. It was covered with grass for goodness sake! The second time was because the side walk was uneven. Wouldn't you know I hurt the same darn foot twice!

This morning my hands were stiff and ached. I don't know why, I exercise them on the keyboard every day. Is that a sign of arthritis? I'm too young for that!

Lately I've taken to napping on my days off. I never did that when I was younger. And in the evenings when I turn in I can't sleep. What's up with that? Is that fair? Sometimes I take a PM Tylenol to help me get to sleep and then spend the next half a day in a groggy state trying to wake up. It doesn't make sense!

All in all I'm enjoying life and have much to be thankful for. I'm really not that old, but I guess having a much older hubby makes me feel his age more than mine at times. I'll certainly be prepared when I reach his age:)

Don't feel sorry for us ageing folks. You'll be in the club some day, too.

Happy Friday!

Sorry to dash! Am running out the door, hoping I haven't forgotten anything. An unexpected adventure for the day...goodnes, but it puts the kabosh to my thoughts about today's blog.

I guess one has to go where the breeze blows, don't you think? Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs!!