I'm So Pleased

I'm always so pleased to receive email asking about my psychic triplets, Claire/Tempest/Leona and their mother, Greer Aisling. And when they want more, like this a.m.'s email requested, more about Greer and Kenneth and Janice and Saber, and the upcoming babies, I'm walking on air! How nice of you to take the time to write such great stuff. I love this family, but at the present have no plans to continue. Still, you never know about the future--well, we aren't the psychics the triplets are, are we? :)

A writer receives many of these requests and some spur new ideas, which may fly with the publisher, or not. But my heart truly is with these triplets, descended from an ancient seer.

I loved working in the psychic elements, and as I look back, one of my books, a western, featuring mountainman Bear McCloud and the Lady Mariah was labeled a "gothic western". It did have psychic elements as Mariah is on the run from her evil, possessive stepfather and lands in Colorado's mountains, rescued by a mountainman.

Then in a Montana Desire, a cowboy telepath who shares his thoughts with Shep, his dog, mixes with a feminine counterpart/telepath, who is also an empath. I visited Fort Benton, Montana where steamboats brought goods to the Mounties, and where there is a statue dedicated to Shep. Shep, a faithful collie, waited 14 years for his master to return from the train.

Another Montana book, The Wedding Gamble, places a down and out westerner with a baby in a billiards parlor, owned by the top player. In The Wedding Gamble, the stakes are high, her services as a pseudo-mommy against his grubstake. Researching this book landed it as the only romance in the American Billiards Congress museum.

Watch for more backstories and keep sending that lovely email. :)

Hot Flash by Kathy Carmichael

Hot Flash


While this one of my 3 blogs is all about Me, Me, Me, there are just some people you meet and you like instantly. Later, you're thrilled by their success. Such was the case when I met Kathy Carmichael in Kansas City, MO. Highly energetic, full of fun, she's remained a friend, and now she's hit her stride with Hot Flash from Medallion Press.

It's great to see a writer hit their stride and for her books to be presented so well. I just love Hot Flash's fresh and imaginative cover. Kathy's website offers tons of fun, including a marriage survey.

Congratulations, Kathy!

Winter Day Party

Tarot for Writers


Family is great, but there are just some times during the winter-cooped-up season, that a party with friends takes the German Chocolate Cake. Such was last Saturday, and though a winter storm watch was in effect, I drove an hour or so to have a terrific few hours of fun with friends.

Chip and dip, a sandwich platter, and hot/cold tea. Add everyone's individual tarot cards, plus a psychic, and the winter advisories were forgotten in the warmth of friends.

Featured psychic Linda Winders is always phenomenal, as a psychic and as a person. You can find her at Keen Online Psychic readings, or at her Maiden of Mystery blog. She's also a highly talented seamstress/quilter/costume designer, etc. But you can read more about her at her blog.

Linda shared some exercises from Tarot for Writers. One exercise was to answer a prescribed list of questions, one card assigned to each. The cards, plus your own intuitive senses, provided characters sex/age/personality, etc. Every one brought their own tarot deck, some with 2 or 3 different ones, and the around the table discussion got interesting very quickly. I didn't know there were "intuitive" decks, without the Cups/Wands, etc.

While fun and double the fun with friends, I still don't get Tarot, even with an Idiot's guide to Tarot and Fortune-Telling how-to at hand. A friend, the host, is really good at reading her own and references it for answers. As a veteran of creating my own stories without divination, I found the experiment really interesting. While receptive to story-churning ideas from any quarter, I'll have to work on getting a story from Tarot. Reportedly, though, some writers are able to churn story ideas from this method.

Due to snow and sleet and a long drive home, I left the party early. I could have stayed for hours. Loved the visit, the friends, the topic. If you get a chance meet Linda Winders (she's on Facebook), you'll have an interesting experience every time.

We used to have unusual no-cost parties, such as sharing a dish/recipe or a plant start exchange, but this was a first experience for me. It was a very enjoyable Winter Day fun-time with friends.