A Poisoned Legacy

I too received my new cover for my next romantic suspense, out on the 30th October 2008.

I worked with the artist but I let him decide which of three schemes to go for so it was a suprise to me when I got the picture. I just love it!

This will be my first novel set in Florida - it will also be my thirteenth novel for Robert Hale...unlucky for some? We will just have to wait and see.

Cheers, Margaret.

My Cover Came!

Yesterday I got my cover for Men of Paradise. It was created by the talented Nicola Martinez and I love it.

Am sharing an excerpt where my heroine, Lauren, learns that her neighbor's will indicates she must share custody of Dudley, the deceased woman's dog, with a man named Yuma Hawk.

“What was Ina thinking?” Lauren said to the equally outraged dog. “This isn’t good for you; it’s terrible for David, and uncomfortable for me.” She eased into a plastic lawn chair and had just stretched out when a grey Chevy Blazer breezed into the driveway.

“You can bite him,” she whispered to Dud as an athletic looking man in jeans, faded blue shirt, and black sport coat approached the porch. His skin was bronze and his hair long and silky. Lauren was sure she had seen someone this good looking before == maybe on the big screen in a chilly movie theater. In her experience guys with GQ looks like his were always morons.

He opened the screen door and crooned, “Hey, baby! How are you doing?”

“Doing all right,” Lauren answered before realizing he was talking to the dog. She blushed and folded her hands behind her back.

Dudley, the traitor, inched forward to sniff the stranger’s cowboy boots. Yuma Hawk whipped out a bone as big as a bow tie. The dog snared it, then gulped it down.

Already he is outspending me on dog treats. Lauren stood frozen while Hawk switched the high-beam smile from the dog to her, and advanced with an extended hand. “Good to finally meet you, Lauren. You’re a bit younger than I expected.”

Here fishy fishy...

I knew there was a reason I don't like going into the ocean past my ankles! Do you suppose this was his last wave? The water's pretty though, huh? A nice clear blue. How would you like to be the photographer? What do you think was going through his mind at the time? What a great shot! National Geographic is going to pay me big bucks for this fantastic picture. I'll be famous.

Hopefully the great white had a big snack before coming upon these two unsuspecting divers.

Details

Here on the farm there are a lot of things to remind me that when I write I should include details. Yes, details. A simple thing, right? But is it, really?

How many times have you read "the sky was blue"?

Is a sky ever really just blue?

What about those lovely slashes of white?

Is a leaf ever only green?

Oh, sure, sometimes...

but doesn't a splotch bring the leaf to life?

Hmm...

not just a sunflower, here.

The purple coneflower is pretty on its own.

But with a little butterfly perched atop?

And this...

now, is it a Swallowtail on a mallow?

Or a mallow embellished by a Swallowtail?

A hard call, no?

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Junk!

I have the decorator in today. I don't want him here, not today, not this week when life is frenetic, but you know these guys, when they say they will come and do the painting you have to agree, otherwise it could be twelve months before they can "fit you in" I used to do my own, I can't do it anymore, too old and painting that ceiling gives me more than a crick in the neck.

But it isn't the Painter that gets me down, it's the stuff you have to move, when you discover all the junk you have accumulated. Do I really need two tea sets...well no, but that white china with the slender gold rim was given to me by a good friend. It was her mother's and I know precious. Okay, that can stay - what about those tiny coffee cups with the thistles on them - we NEVER have small cups of coffee, well my friend Annette bought them for us. She died age 46 and sort of broke our hearts as we saw her as a daughter. Nope, can't get rid of that. I wish I could edit this stuff as I do my books, throwing out those sentences I so loved.

Vases - why do I want loads of vases? It's not as if I get flowers every week - hey come on, it's not as if I get them, once a year! But you see that was given to me when...

So picture me Saturday. I am longing for clean, flowing lines, nothing breaking the symmetry but that is not going to happen. I will be carefully washing all this stuff and putting it back. Some of these things I won't see till the Painter comes again. Ah, well...one day perhaps... but not yet.

Margaret

Coming Soon

I finished the final revision to Men of Paradise yesterday and have a working blurb.

Things should be peaceful in Paradise, Florida. Right? But not for Yuma Hawk, the new director of security at the gated community of Royal Breezes. He's fast falling in love with a woman who has enough secrets to sink a barge, and one of those secrets just may cost him his job. Now Roy, his worst enemy, has just blown into town and fallen -- literally and figuratively-- for Yuma's administrative assistant. That same assistant has just hired Eric, a guard with no skills because he slightly resembles George Clooney. The newbie guard is a menace to the community and himself. Could things get any worse? Come to Paradise and find out.

So today I'm taking off and celebrating. And I guess I'll get my house hurricane ready -- just in case.

A warning for you pet lovers

Even if you don't have a pet, please pass this to those that do. Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and wanted me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving friends and family. Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. They loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog Calypso decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn't acting lethargic in anyway.

The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk. Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and died instantly. Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company's website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats. Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that 'It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it. This Snopes site gives the following information: Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called 'Theobromine'.

It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution, check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens. Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker's chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline.

A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cocoa bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cocoa bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.