Three weeks traveling on the northeastern part of the continent, visiting fellow writers and friends, taking part in RWA’s national convention, and ending up in Washington DC where I met with more friends and readers. Starting in Toronto where I visited with my good friend and wonderful writer, Angela Addams who showed me some of Toronto, before we had a mini-reunion with members of our writing group the OWG, which was on Kelley Armstrong’s original website. So many of those writers have gone on to publishing success. I’m both proud and grateful to have belonged. The picture above is Angie and I at Casa Loma, before we headed out for my first taste of poutine (delicious!) and my first tattoo which I love! The redness all went away–that’s just my pale skin which doesn’t like needles or anything else. I had to remove the clear bandage after a day, because my whole lower arm was beginning to look like raw chicken, from the adhesive. Gross. But the tattoo is beautiful!!
And let’s not forget the day I walked all the way down to Blue Jay Stadium, in the heat and humidity, to see what looked like goblins from my hotel room window, only to discover they were just people. At least for the walk back I had a Starbuck’s frappuccino to keep me cool(ish.)
Then it was on to RWA New York, for a fabulous conference with so many writer friends, old and new. First there I am with the inestimable Damon Suede, who presented what might be the most useful lecture I’ve ever attended on creating and writing realistic characters. And then there’s Damon and I with our newly discovered child, paranormal romance author Tessa McFionn, who’s not really that short, as you can see in the third photo which is Julie Fine, Tessa McFionn, and I.
And finally on to beautiful Washington, DC, where I was lucky enough to finally meet the lovely and talented Nita Banks who makes all those beautiful book trailers for me, and so much else. I also had lunch x 2 with several readers, which is one of my favorite things to do. I can’t tell you how many friends I’ve made after meeting up with them as readers.
But now, it’s back home to work, work, work. Although, truthfully, I don’t mind leaving the humidity behind on the other coast. No, the heat isn’t always dry in California, but it usually is, and when it’s not, it’s nowhere near as wet. Whew! No complaints, though. I had a wonderful time.
And now for book news!
GABRIEL has been selected as a Kindle monthly special by Amazon.com and Amazon.ca (Canada.) Only US$1.99 (or CDN$1.99) for the e-book through the month of August.
And, LACHLAN, remains a Kindle monthly special on Amazon.au (Australia.) AUD1.49 through the end of August.
And that’s it for now! I’m happy to say that Shifter Planet Book Two is in the publisher’s final stages of preparation, so it’s looking good for an early release (September?) I hope I’ll soon have a firm release date, a cover, and, oh yeah, the final title for you! 😀
And now I’m back to DRAGAN who’s been waiting patiently for me to finish his story. Have a great week, and I’ll see you right back here next Monday.
xoxo
DBR
Yes, my Facebook Messenger was hacked. This is one of those times when it’s lucky I stay up all night, because I was awake when the fake message came through. For the record, I would never send a mass message to my entire list. Bleah.
But that was only one day. I spent the rest of the week getting ready for my trip to the Northeast–visiting the dentist (ick) getting my hair done (yay!) pedicure (double yay!) checking the weather forecast (yuck.)
But most of the week was spent deep in the cave, working on edits for SHIFTER PLANET 2 and writing DRAGAN. I’m so excited about both of those books. Still trying to come up with a title for SP2–I sent four possibilities to my editor. We’ll see which one they pick. As for DRAGAN, the gang’s all getting ready for the big fight, leading up to Nick’s book and the final showdown, of course. I’ve got his story all plotted out, too.
This was an interesting week for sure. I made lots of progress on DRAGAN.
I did edits on Shifter Planet 2 (working title) and filled out a bunch of cover information for it, including the back cover copy and blurb (which many writers will tell you is almost harder to write than the whole book 😀 ) Now, I just have to figure out a better title, so it’s no longer “working.” I’m so happy with this story, though. 
And then there were the earthquakes. We definitely felt it–a long roller–but the epicenter was a fault near Ridgecrest. Two big quakes in as many days, a 6.4 followed by a 7.1. That means the 2nd quake was 50 times stronger than the first. For every point on the scale, the quake is 10 times stronger. Those are two BIG quakes, and they’ve caused tremendous damage, but fortunately no deaths. My thoughts are with the people of Ridgecrest and the small surrounding towns who were most affected by the quakes. 
Yes, DRAGAN and I are deep in the cave, getting ready for the big showdown, with a little help from our friends.
As anyone who follows me on Facebook knows, my Internet was spotty and finally down altogether for more than a week! ATT had to send out three different techs. That was three sit and wait appointments, although they’re always very nice and very prompt. But I wasn’t looking for a new friend, I wanted my Internet fixed. Mind you, I live in a very, very hilly area. I don’t even get cellular reception without help. So, the Internet goes down, I feel totally isolated. Yikes. Anyway, the third ATT guy figured out what was wrong and fixed it! Yay! I now have super-Internet all over my house, and it’s a wonderful thing. (cries softly)
So, now it’s back to the cave with DRAGAN. I want to get his story down before I leave for New York, so I’ve got to get writing.
Heart of the Wolf, an e-novella available in