The Conclusion

While FOR HER EYES ONLY is the conclusion of the Psychic Triplet Trilogy, Leona's story, the rain here today never seemed to conclude.

In less than 12 hours, the Missouri Ozarks rainfall was approx 7 inches. The creeks are flooded, the rivers wide and muddy and washouts everywhere. People have been evacuated, and a small bridge collapsed. We are now close to the entire year's rainfall levels.

Lightning and thunder started around 3a. and returned for several bouts,the rain a gray curtain. High winds punctuated the storm.

I had big plans for today, all of which included an early a.m. walk along the river, then a hard day at the computer, which was impossible due to the storms.

The whole area seems to be a washout zone now, the ditches filled with running water. We have mosquitoes, plenty of them, and they love me.

It was an odd day, and I sorted paperwork, etc., but there were many families who will be sleeping in new beds tonight--until they can return to their own.

Great Service to Readers and Authors

I recently attended Lori Foster and Diane Casteel's Reader/Author Event in Westchester, OH, and met Barbara Vey, courtesy of her PW blog.

Here's a reader, not an author, who PW tapped to write a column about author news and books, etc. Barbara Vey not only writes about author news and their books, but she's rapidly becoming a figure in publishing. She is invited to different conferences, i.e. Romance Writers of America in San Fran this year, Thrillerfest in NYC, something I'd love to attend, and other events.

Barbara easily circulates with writers and readers and is an on-the-go woman. If you visit her PW column, you'll see she goes that extra mile and has a lot to say about everything, including when she had a tire blow out on the highway.

Please do visit her column at Publishers Weekly. Especially today, Monday, when she collects various news tidbits from authors. I'm in the pack, rather A STRANGER'S TOUCH, the second in my psychic triplet trilogy is :)

LL Foster's Servant The Awakening

I've thoroughly enjoyed Gaby in the first Servant by L.L. Foster.


I lean toward Lori Foster's grittier style and enjoyed the influence of graphic comic books through the story. Gaby's conflict, her mission, and her surprising romantic adventure are not diminished by the grotesque underlaying drama. If this is what graphic comic are about, I'd love that darker side. Another installment of Servant is due out in August, and this one new is selling for $1.60 at Amazon and on Kindle, which is quite the little PR package to start a new series.

My own Silence the Whispers and Flashback and others had a tinge of eerie, keeping in line with Avon's contemporary romance format, but as a writer, I'd love to step over the line into something like this.

Recommended reading for those who like to step off the edge a bit.

Lori Foster and Dianne Casteel's Reader Event

This last weekend was the most fun I've had at a writer "do" for a long time, thanks to the hard work of Lori Foster and Diane Casteel and all the rest.

This is their 4th year and the contributed baskets are raffled for various charities. These baskets lined the Marriott's dining room in Westchester, OH (located between Cincinatti, OH and Dayton).

Approximately 300 writers, readers, agents, publishers, etc. attended, plus some readers who came in for the booksigning. I loved meeting new people and talking with long term friends like Linda Mc and Vickie M. In retrospect, I do not believe I heard one complaint, and there were plenty of smiling winners at the event, which was not structured like a regular conference.

Lori and Diane labored, and I mean labored over this masterpiece in which many authors sent promos and baskets. Major baskets. One friend won 5 fully stuffed baskets. I was slightly jealous. I took a couple of filled Branson, MO tourist totes and the same person won both! The charities were for a women's shelter, animal centers, service men, and others. Next year, Lori and Diane will sponsor others, and their anthology sales go toward charities, too.

This fantastic reader/author event only cost $35, which is unbelievable when some conferences with a lot less offerings are charging $100 on up, attendance fees. You can read more about it at Lifetime's Michelle Buonfoglio's blog and others. Berkley Editor Cindy Hwang and Spencerhill agent Jennifer Schober and agent Laura Bradford also gave chats and listened to pitches. So some business was done, very cheaply, too.

With all due credit to anyone putting on a conference and their staff, I highly recommend that more of these lower cost events be planned to allow more interaction between authors and their readers, plus the pitches to editors and agents.

Lori and Diane and their crew could certainly teach us some lessons on providing a good entertaining fun, but also business event. I hear that Portland just had one and attendees also loved it.

I met so many of my own readers that I was absolutely thrilled. I also met some Book Junkies from whom I'd just received a recommended read for April's A STRANGER'S TOUCH, also Barbara Vey, who writes a blog for PW.

Here's hoping for more of the same, and thank you Diane and Lori.

A Stranger's Touch

A STRANGER'S TOUCH, book 2 of the Psychic Triplets Trilogy has just received the Romance Junkie's Recommended Read for April award.

I don't think one of my books has ever placed on their exalted list, and that recommends a lot of "Junkies". :) This is a large group with reviewers aplenty, so I am truly honored. Well, Tempest and A STRANGER'S TOUCH is honored, too.

The blurb for FOR HER EYES ONLY is up, if you want to check it out. This is the final installment of the Aisling family, descended from that ancient Celtic seer and her Viking captor.