Hoo boy, have I been busy lately. My vampire novel has taken on a life of it’s own and is nearing completion. Only, somehow it’s veered from being merely a paranormal romance with vampires and has turned into a full fledged urban fantasy with a whole cast of paranormal beings. My heroine, Frannie, is sucking face with the vampire that turned her when all of a sudden a lycan (werewolf) comes in. Later, she meets the head of the North American sector of paranormal beings, who just so happens to be a demon. A few days later, when she is at a restaurant with her obligatory gay, she is accosted by a zombie in the bathroom. I’ve even managed to add in a moujik and a few undine. Yes, it would seem that the book has taken on a life of it’s own. I have been eating, sleeping, and breathing that book for the last month. I am determined to have it completed by the end of February. It’s a real possibility that I may make the deadline. Odd since we all know how bad I am with deadlines and good I am with procrastination.



I did take a break from writing on Valentines Day. The hubster surprised me with a lovely vase full of long stemmed red roses, a large box of yummy chocolates and a cute card. I gave him the most romantic gift you could imagine – a bottle of Knob Creek bourbon with a note on it that said “nothing says I love you like a bottle of booze.” Did I mention spending my days writing gives me a warped sense of humor? I did spring for a card and a small box of gourmet chocolates so I’m not all bad. After I made my hunny-bunny a lovely, romantic breakfast of Belgium waffles (made with my super duper fancy professional waffle maker) topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, paired with crispy bacon (which I made him cook), we went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We had a lovely day there and I was yelled at only once this time. Yes, I am that moron that always forgets to turn their flash off when they take a picture. I felt really, really bad about it, especially since it was my absolute favorite piece. As you can see in the picture below, my flash is reflecting off the middle panel. This piece was done in the early 1300’s. It is part of a magnificent collection of artwork of the same era. Don’t get me started on art though, I’ll never shut up. That’s one of the many awesome things about living in a large city. The small town I grew up in, Salisbury MD, was 1-1/2 hours away from an art museum. In fact, the closest one was in Washington DC. And when you are stuck on a peninsula, cut off from the rest of civilization, you just don’t make the time to tour places like DC as often as you would have liked. But that’s another story.


(Click on image to enlarge)

That damned groundhog certainly wasn’t off his mark when he predicted six more weeks of winter. We are expecting 3 to 6 inches of snow in the overnight hours. I am so bummed because I really need sunshine. Time to plan a trip if you ask me. Oh, that’s right, there may already be one planned. I’m closed lipped on it though, so don’t ask. Lets just say sunshine, crawfish and BBQ will be involved. But like I said, I’m not saying.

Speaking of trips though, it is surreal to think of this time last year. The hubster was packing to move to Salisbury to start his new job and I was staying here, alone, trying to sell our house. Our doggie was still alive, although ridden with cancer. My ex-husband was still alive and a thorn in my side. We were excited about the new adventure our lives were about to take (boy were we stupid). We were on top of the world. Remember the earthquake we had when he was gone? I bet Ernestine remembers that one, having experienced it herself. Yup, things were very much different. What a difference a year makes.