by Andrea

Can you hear the high-pitched squealing from over there? (wherever “there” is for you)

I just heard from my editor(!) that my contemporary, interracial romance, Baltimore Heat, will be published on April 25, 2012! SQUEEEEE!

Here’s a little blurb to introduce you to Raquel and Marcus:

At the end of a busy workweek, young businesswoman Raquel Walsh merely wants to shorten the distance between her and the train station while she searches for a taxi. She never expects to find herself lost in a rough Baltimore neighborhood, the victim of a mugging and the unexpected houseguest of the grandmother of a retired, professional basketball player.

Marcus Jones isn’t in the market for a new woman as he nears the end of his self-imposed year of celibacy after his vicious breakup with his last gold-digging girlfriend. Having to play host to a homeless woman for the weekend is messing with his plans, as Raquel distracts him with her curvy, womanly figure and her tendency to land on her face.

by Andrea

Brrrrr…baby, it’s cold outside!

Here on the Lakeshore in Western Michigan the current temp is 14, which has fallen from our morning high of 25. Add the wind chill and we are at a chilly -1 degree with temps to continue falling today.

So with temperatures so brutal, I decided it was the perfect day to have a fire in the family room as I cuddle up with my laptop and write some romantic scenes. Great idea, but two problems. First, we have no newspaper in the house. I mean, who actually gets a newspaper delivered anymore when everything is online? Second, my wood was still outside under the deck, covered in snow and ice. We never brought any in yet this year.

But this would not deter me as I set out to execute the image in my mind of sitting toasty and dry next to the fire with my tea at hand.

After several trips up from the basement with the wood (we reach out the basement window and grab it from under the deck) and the fireplace tools, I realized it was time for the annual clean out of the old ashes. (I did mention that we hadn’t had a fire yet this year, right?) I scooped the old stuff out and looked up to check the chute. Uh, oh. It had been left open all year. I diverted my thoughts and refused to estimate what that had cost us in heating and cooling expenses.

So I had my wet and frozen logs, a bucket of wood scraps from hubby’s workshop for kindling, and…no newspaper. I looked in the recycling box under the kitchen sink and grabbed a couple of pieces of white paper. On the way back into the family room, I caught sight of the school’s newspaper that my eldest had brought home the other night and left on the coffee table. Thank you, Andrew! Real newspaper.

At this point, I really wanted my hubby home. He’s magic with kindling… Anyway, I get everything set up and light the paper.

I love the flame of paper. It gives me such hope that my logs will catch fire and all will be right in the world. But alas, no. Once the paper and the kindling burned out, I had no roaring fire. It took another twenty minutes of futzing with kindling to get something even close to resembling a true fire. I’m hoping as the logs dry the rest of the burning will go better today.

Firestarter, I am not.
I could really have used some Drew Barrymore help.

If you haven’t seen this oldie, but goldie movie, circa 1984, first read the book by Stephen King.

by Andrea

Happy New Year!

This year I’m keeping my resolutions simple:

Write more – Eat less!

And I’ve got two tools to help me succeed because isn’t it always more fun when we have a new toy…err tool to work with.

For my writing resolution, I’ve recently purchased Scrivener for my Mac. It is a project management tool for writers. It does so much more than a word processing program. I can keep all my chapters, scenes, character profile sheets, setting profiles, inspirational pictures, research files, etc. altogether in a single project file.

It has a really flexible window arrangement so I can customize what information I want on screen while I write. If I don’t want any distractions, I can enter the Compose mode where I have my page and a serene background of my choice. I’ve uploaded my favorite picture of the Grand Haven lighthouse for my background. Lovely!

One of my favorite features of the program is that it remembers where I left off during my last writing session. So when I open my project, the blinking cursor is exactly where I left off – no more scrolling through hundreds of pages to find my spot.

For my resolution to eat less, I’ve returned to an app I found last year. It’s called My Fitness Pal. It can be used online or on a smartphone, iPod, iPad, etc. It’s a great way to track the food I’ve eaten because it counts calories for me. It suggests how many calories I should eat a day based on my goals, and I can customize the number if I want. It tracks exercise too and let’s me know how many extra calories I’ve earned. 😀

But it’s more than just a calorie tool. It also has a Community tool to allow you to reach out to other people striving to eat less and reach a healthy weight. Currently, my mom and I are “friends”, and we can see if the other hasn’t logged in for a few days and send a message of support or congratulations for pounds lost.

So what are your resolutions this year? And what tools are you using to help yourself achieve them?