Real Men of Othercross, who doesn't love these books from Celia Kyle and Marina Maddox? I was thrilled when I was invited to be part of this world. I wasn't sure which world I wanted to write in, Othercross, Shift, Stonehave, or Wildridge. So I started with Othercross and stayed there through all the books and fell in love. I HAD to write a story with a vampire. I also wanted to try something new and cleared the idea of fairies being in Othercross with Celia and Marina. They were all for it. So I wrote a cute sexy story about an old vampire and a fairy that didn't fit into the perfect fairy mold. 

I can't wait for you all to visit Othercross and meet my Nyx and Caspian. They are so fun and I love their romance. I have more plans for books next year in the Real Men world, so stay tuned!

As I wrote that title, I had to wonder, just for a moment, if it still should. 

The answer in the end was emphatically, yes. Because I know that there is more good than bad out there. That kindness is contagious. There are times in our lives that we feel hopeless, that nothing will ever change or be right. But, that is just part of the human condition. The world does change, not always quickly and most assuredly not quietly. It's in our nature to want to see fairness in our communities. We want to feel that our families and friends are safe living their lives from day to day.

I posted recently a quote from Margaret Thatcher that said, "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it."

The fight is what keeps us alive, it's what keeps us from being complacent. I am, for a lack of a better word, a humanist. I put humans needs and desires first. And without a shadow of a doubt, we are all human beings. Everyone has value and everyone deserves to be treated as such. 

Take a moment and think before you speak, before you judge, before you let hate leave your mouth. I hope that the world keeps turning, that there are brighter days ahead. I have to hope the pain we go through will all be worth it. 

​Moxie

Of course I'm exaggerating, but really, who hasn't lost track of the days? 

I have to imagine some of you are feeling much like me. I'm grateful for my health and my ability to work from home. I feel guilt that my living situation hasn't changed hardly at all (my man works from home too). And just the general feeling of having to be positive all the time.

I'm struggling, I'm not gonna lie. I feel like I'm doing a daily privilege check, which is honestly not a bad thing. I wonder what my life would look like if I hadn't started writing. There are so many unknowns at the moment that I'm feeling isolated. Common sense says EVERYONE is struggling in some way. That thought alone is overwhelming and feels drastic. 

So how do I, and everyone else continue on? I honestly don't know. Hour by hour? Day by day? Should we even dream of the future when we have no idea what that is going to look like? 

I write. I garden. I stare out the window and watch the birds. I find  joy in sitting in a chair in my backyard and breathing in the clean air. I take a mental snapshot of the laughter when we try to figure out what to cook for dinner...again. I check in with people more often. I don't let the days go by so quickly without making sure everyone is still there. Is that all any of us need to do? I'm not going to learn a new language, or take up knitting. I wouldn't do that anyway. So I'm not going to let myself feel bad for playing video games or binge watching a television show. I'm surviving. I'm doing things that bring me joy. It's selfish and I'm not going to stop and I'm not going to apologize. 

My hope is that everyone gives themselves a break. Please don't feel that your children's entire education is resting on your shoulders. You didn't plan on being a teacher, so don't expect to become one over night. Are you kids watching their tablets all day? Are they happy doing it? Maintaining mental health is more important right now than enforcing rules about child rearing. Give yourself a break. Let them have chicken nuggets... again. PJ's all day? That sounds amazing. 

Just breath. Take that moment alone, in a closet works. Calm your mind and your heart and get to the next moment. You're not alone, there are millions of souls just like yours. If you need help, ask for it. If you need an ear, reach out for it. Love yourself and each other. 

Moxie

Normally this would not be such a bold statement for someone that writes romance. But in this case it's a tad more literal. 
I needed this rooster. 
Not being someone who usually goes out for insane purchases, I tend to be more frugal. I always like to debate, 'Is this reasonable?'. In the case of Winston Reginald Cluckhill III, all thoughts of practicality went out the window. I currently do not own chickens, but plan on them in the future. I'm sure my new guard rooster will be beneficial to the happiness of my future hens. 

*This is what happens when I finish a book, (Wayward Bride is off to edits!) and need to start the next book. Shenanigans ensue. 

New year, more books. That's my one and only resolution for this year.

I'm still working on the next 7B7B book, it's a little complicated so I'm taking my time. I have plots finished for the next two books, so you will see them all by summer!

I will be also having books sales or freebies every month there is not a new release this year. That way if you've read my books on Kindle Unlimited and never bought them, you can get them at a great price or even FREE!

Starting soon, (exact date pending) I will be releasing chapters to a short story in my Newsletter. Periodically I will be adding to the story as the year goes on and releasing the collection at the end of the year as a novella. This will be newsletter exclusive content for 2020 so make sure to open each one!

I'm off to stock up as I have been informed by my Alexa, that snow is on the way. Stay warm everyone and read something yummy :)

Moxie

I know I was anticipating it, planning, decorating, then poof, it was gone. I swear the build up to the holidays is what makes the actual day so anticlimactic. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful quiet Christmas. Close family and good food. Maybe a little more Prosecco then I should have, but was fun was still had. 

As we creep closer to the new year, I wanted to let you all know how grateful I am to have such amazing readers supporting me. I love bringing you new books, and even though I was so busy with moving and buying a house, I've received nothing but support from all of you. 

Next year I have a simple plan. I will be completing the last three 7B7B books. Then I have a new three book series that I'm positive you will all love. 

Until I can get to that new series, I'm going to be starting a newsletter serial. Meaning once a month I will be posting in my newsletter a chapter to a Novella that will eventually be a book. I want my loyal readers to get it first and I hope you think it's a fun idea. 

2020 is going to be a year of change, I have no doubt. I can't wait to spend it with all of you. 

​Moxie

I spent last weekend in Houston, Texas surrounded by my rock stars. Not people that play music, but people that write worlds. 
Being lucky enough to attend Romance Author Mastermind for the second year in a row, I was not surprised by how much information I was given. I knew from last year that industry icons were going to tell us all how to build our businesses. Not write better, longer, funnier. Just to manage our writing like a job and hopefully make a living at it. Now not everyone attending were full time authors. Most had a day job still that brought home the necessary money and only a few could support themselves with writing alone. 

I'm lucky that my partner works full time and my writing is not relied on to support us fully. But many in the audience this weekend were looking at the presentations as a way to survive. It's not something talked about often, because usually we talk about stories, worlds, romance, and how they make us feel. Which is why we all started writing in the first place. 

The other side of that hearts and flowers is that drive behind those words. It's rent money, car payments, groceries, and healthcare of children. You can love writing books, but still need to make money doing it.  I realized that my drive to make a living writing is slightly hampered by the fact that my partner makes a good living. But what if that went away? Could I step up and do the hard work to be the main wage earner. 

So if you start to see me posting more, engaging more, and over all promoing my books more, just know it's because I'm trying to make sure that if life happens, which it usually does, I won't be be starting at the beginning. 

2020 for me is going to be there year that I create the security and comfort my family needs. I'm going to be doing that by writing. I'm going to finish my 7B7B series. I'm starting a new series, and I will be ahead of anything the world can throw at me.  Skip the resolutions this year, instead create a plan of attack. How are you going to change your world? 

I can imagine your confusion. Why is Moxie showing off her very tidy and efficient storage unit she's currently using? That's because this is how I recently sorted and organized my pre-orders for my two author signings this year. I sold my house a few weeks ago. It was much quicker than I was expecting so I had to shift gears rather quickly. With my signings and summer trips already planned I decided that house hunting needed to be postponed a few months. 

August is looking like my time to get organized and find a place to permanently rest my head. Until then, I have fun and exciting things planned. My first event, Kinky in Kansas city is June 22nd. This is my first mid-west-ish even and I'm looking forward to meeting some readers that I haven't been able to before. 

July is Readers and Writers in Seattle. I've done this event before and had a great time. Home town signings are always a blast. I'd love to see you if you're in the area or can make the trip. Tickets are still available for the events and links are on my front page here. 

In between these signings I'm trying to get ahead of some books that are due later this year. Currently I'm working on my next installment of the Mountain Mermaid series that will be coming out in September. After that I will be working on Book 5 in the 7 Brides for 7 Bears series. I'll also have two more books to add to Milly Taiden's PDA world this year. So just because the suns out, doesn't mean I won't be writing. I hope you all have an amazing first few months of summer. I'll be posting my adventures on my Facebook page so you can come along with me.

​Moxie

Sending warm thoughts to all my awesome readers in the US that are struggling to stay warm this week. I've been lucky to be missing out on the cold weather.  I'm getting regular reports on just how miserable everyone is in the midwest. Cozy up with a good book and some cocoa!

To my Aussie readers, all I can say is think cool thoughts :)

Little update on this week for you. I'm working on finishing up Forbidden Bride so it can start going through alpha/beta read throughs before the editor.  My plan was to start right into book 5 in the 7 Brides for 7 Bears series, but I think I'm going to give myself a couple of weeks off. I'll still be working, I want to invest that time in getting my former Kindle World books back into print. 

The two books I had for Southern Shifter Kindle World will be rewritten into my PNW Cougars series. Super excited about this. Then I will be republishing my One True Mate World book as a one off. Lisa Ladew has graciously allowed us to re-release these books as long as we don't right anymore into her world. I'm thrilled I got the chance to add to her amazing story line and am proud to put the book back out. 

I'm going to put on some fuzzy socks so I can keep writing. 

​Love Moxie