Rub-a-dub-dub...

Laundry day, finally. After delays and illness, we packed four weeks of personal laundry plus sheets and towels in the back of our SUV and hauled it all off to the Laundromat. And I'm still folding, folding, folding...

That's a lot of clothes.

Tomorrow we have doctor appointments and are expecting snain about the time we have to hop on the Interstate to drive downtown. Oh, joy! Can you tell I'm excited?

Anyway, I apologize for taking so long to choose two winners of print books from my commenters on last weeks blogs. Winners by random pick by the hunk were Julia Barrett and N.J. Walters. Ladies, please get in touch with me so I can mail your books to you!

Thank you to all the other commenters. In March, I'll have another contest so keep your eyes open for the details!

anny

Crafty Hunk

 Yay!!! The hunk finished the crocheted bedcover for our bed. KING-sized as you can see. And colorful.

 This is one of my squares. I tend to crochet looser and sloppier. Which did create a small problem when he started putting it together.

 See that row across the top? That was his original strip, planned for the center until we discovered his nice neat stitches were about two sizes smaller than mine. He was going to rip it out and do it all AGAIN! I talked him into using that across the pillows...

 Another view on his side of the bed. Those last two strips were his. So neat...

This is a sample of HIS crocheting. Don't you just hate when your spouse is better at crafts than you? In any case, it's beautiful, don't you think? And another project completed!!!

Today's the last day to comment on the blog if you're interested in being included in my random drawing for a print copy of either Shadow on Stones or Spear of Retribution! The comment must be on the BLOG and anything about the subject of the blog. I'll draw two names after midnight!

anny

Attitude

In general, most things don't get me down. The one thing guaranteed to knock me back is a stomach bug. I can deal with a cold. Or pains and aches. But the belly...

After three days in bed, I dragged myself out of bed, took a shower, had a bowl of oatmeal and settled in front of the computer. Determination and attitude have a lot to do with how we feel. Sometimes, it's best to crawl in bed, pull the blankets over your head and sleep it off.

But I'm slept out. Today, I'll play catch-up. I have a chat at Love Romance Cafe tonight so I'll put together some excerpts to share. I haven't written anything in at least three days so I might see if I've generated any story bits in my sleeping brain over the last three days. And of course, there are always the exciting things like dishes and house work.

How do you get back in the groove after you've been sick? I'm looking for some ideas...

In the meantime, as I said on Monday, in the interest of perking up February, I'll give away one print copy of each of the first two books in the Tuatha Treasures series. What do you have to do to get in on the random drawing?

Well. Comment on the BLOG--not Facebook, but the blog--and the comment has to relate to the blog topic that day. I'll draw two names on Friday night at midnight so be sure you leave me an e-mail addy! Comment on any day this week!

anny

Haz a Bug

Ugh. Woke up this morning with a crappy tummy bug. Spending most of my day on the porcelain throne. So, we'll get back to the important stuff tomorrow.

As I said yesterday, in the interest of perking up February, I'll give away one print copy of each of the first two books in the Tuatha Treasures series. What do you have to do to get in on the random drawing?

Well. Comment on the BLOG--not Facebook, but the blog--and the comment has to relate to the blog topic that day. I'll draw two names on Friday night at midnight so be sure you leave me an e-mail addy! Comment on any day this week!

Since I'm not up to writing a blog today, pick your own topic for your comment!

anny 

On the Boat

  For the last week, in between dental appointments, shopping, finalized edits and other chores, I've been researching "stuff" for my next book. Some of the topics were Hy-Brasil, Japanese yari, Apache wickiups, and pre-historic boats. My usual mode is to narrow down the possibilities via the Internet, then track down more extensive reading materials via libraries and bookstores.

Now about the boats. When you read--or hear--the word canoe, what do you visualize? I bet it's one of those boats you can rent at the lake on summer vacation.

Prior to my initial research, that’s what I thought, too. Specifically, I was considering the use of a dugout canoe for my story. Maybe eight to ten feet long…capable of carrying three or four people. Then I spent some time looking at prehistoric boats and discovered I vastly underestimated our ancestors’ boat building capabilities.

A dugout boat depends on the size of the tree used. Some boats fashioned from ONE tree are capable of carrying sixty people. Whoa! That’s a big boat.

Back to the planning board, right? Since my fantasy world has giant Sequoia type trees, if appears my characters (at least the boat builders) could build any size boat I could possibly dream up, complete with sails, oars, or other necessities.

Which just shows that even minimal research can change and rearrange the wonderful possibilities in storytelling. Now…I’m off to board the boat!

anny

Tuatha Treasures

In ancient times the Tuatha dé Danann invaded Ireland. Some say they appeared in the clouds above the land. Some declare they sailed in from the sea, their ships hidden in a fog bank or by smoke. And a few believe they came to Ireland in great flying ships, landing in the Iron Mountains. Whatever the truth hidden in the legends, the stories all agree on four points. 

When they arrived in Eire, the People of Danu carried four wondrous treasures with them—the Lia Fail (the Stone of Destiny that shouted aloud when the rightful king touched it), the Spear of Lugh (it ensured victory to the warrior who carried it), the Cauldron of Dagda (none went away from it unsatisfied or hungry), and the Sword of Nuada (none escaped the one who wielded it.) No one living today knows what happened to the four treasures, now buried or lost in the mists of time.

The above is the basis for my Tuatha Treasures series. Book one, Shadows on Stone, is the saga of the return of the Lia Fail, the king stone.

When Maxen Pryce and Russet McGinnis dig up a strange stone on their archeological dig, they don’t suspect the startling ways it will change their lives. The stone—the Lia Fail of Tuathan legend—is the property of the goddess Danaii and she wants her possession back. While flying the artifacts to Russet’s winter home, Max and Russet’s plane is seized by Danaii and transported to Cabhán Geal, home of the Tuatha dé Danann.

Alone and dependent on each other for their survival, Max and Russet confess their love and need for each other, taking delight in their passionate interludes even as they struggle to deal with abduction, shape-shifters, hostile natives and the puzzling demands of the goddess Danaii. Unaware of the significance of the cargo hidden on their plane, they meet each new encounter with increasing determination to survive—whatever the cost—as long as they are together.

 

But Danaii has a plan, a plan that will take everything they have to give. If they surrender their lives to the goddess, their futures will be brighter than they can imagine. 

Shadows on Stone is available now. Just click on the book cover. :-)

Book Two--Spear of Retribution--is about...you guessed it! The return of the spear.

In 1820 Virginia, love between a white woman and a Cherokee warrior is forbidden. Fleeing the deadly pursuit from her unbalanced father, Lyrissa Murphy and Gray Horse Redhand enter a new unknown world. There they face dangerous encounters with strange warriors and animals, discover an enchanted, magical future and fall deeply in love. Their desire sustains and encourages them to accept their new responsibilities and abilities as they settle in unexpected lives at the Dragon Fort of the Tuatha.

Gray and Lyrissa's story will be available in November! Yay!

And I'm currently working on the third story in the series, the story of the cauldron of plenty. When Tymon Takenaka crashes his truck in the Great Sea on Cabhán Geal, his adventures are just beginning...