Oh how much fun it is to struggle out of bed with an hour less of sleep - NOT.  As much as I enjoy bright summer days lasting late in the day, I would prefer to only have it be bright till 8pm and stick to ONE time zone all year.  I truly love late days in the summer. More time to run errands, to brighten your mood, but then I feel for the small children who have to walk to school in the morning in the pitch dark of night.  I remember parents complaining the year that we didn't switch back because of the energy crisis.  Of course, back then mom's rarely drove car pool, but still. I'm not convinced the extra hour is worth doing that to our kids - BUT  - if that's the way the world wants to go, I'd be on board.  I'd be on board with anything to avoid switching back and forth twice a year. 

What would  you prefer? 

Back to book news.  Ryan is out with the review team so everything is rocking and rolling for release this month on the 24th!  Yay for the Farradays!  If you like early releases direct from my store- keep an eye on my facebook page, or just check the website after the weekend - the early release should be up, if not this weekend, by next tuesday at the latest. 

This is also a good week for German readers.  This week starts the release of books 1- 3 of the Aloha series in German.  Aloha was my first contemporary romance series. The way the whole thing got started is I have a friend who likes to scuba dive - so we went to the Big Island for her to dive. I of course do not like being 'in' the water so I stayed 'on' the boat. I looked up from reading, saw the captain doing pushups from the back and thought- hmm, I bet there's a romance in there. My friend and I brainstormed some ideas and Aloha Texas was born. The last photo below is later on Maui while making notes for Mai Tai Marriage, book number three.​

​Early in my career i wrote Women's fiction but Aloha Texas did so well that I was told I was to write romance now. It's pretty obvious to anyone who reads my newer stories that the first book was different - it was longer, more complex, and much more serious.  You can see the bridge between larger complex women's fiction books and the rest of the aloha series.  As the rest of this first series continues, it's easy to see my style emerging.  It will be fun to see what the German's think of it all! 

I'm writing this a little late because I'm still on burp and rock duty with the new grandbaby. Today we added a load of infant laundry to the chores - poor thing was out of sleepers! 

Okay- Off to work on Seamus and Sweet Devotion!  Have a good week! ​

I'm still a little flabbergasted that I made my deadline for Ryan - well- that's not totally true - I turned it into my editor five days late, but close enough for her to still deal with it and for the book to hit the shelves as scheduled late this month. whew!  

It was not easy - as many of you know, Ryan is the last of the Oklahoma clan - the Construction Cousins - and I needed to reveal the mystery of the family feud.  Considering I only had a whisper of an inkling of what the problem was, I was thrilled when the resolution worked out. I will admit, I was concerned Mariah wasn't going to tell me what the heck went wrong - but - it came together and you'll finally get to read it for yourself. 

In Ryan, you're also going to meet a whole new branch of the family no one knew about and I think you're going to love it.  You can thank my husband's Irish family for pulling it all together - If any of you saw my blog posts over the summer of visiting the birthplace of my husband's grandmother, you might recognize some of what will come up in the next collection of Farradays- I think you're going to like it - at least I sure hope so! 

We are continuing to put the Honeysuckle books into boxed sets - the next one will release in April.  The next Honeysuckle book will be delayed a month to May.  It was just too close to the wire for Ryan and I simply can't spit out a decent story that fast - AND - spend some time with my new grandbaby!  

Yep - imagine that - the author of family sagas actually likes family LOL.   We didn't know what we were having. My daughter and son in law wanted to be surprised this time - but we have a baby girl. 7lbs 11oz and 20 inches long. She's the smallest of the three because she came with a C-section, but she's a real sweetie.  They had thought she would be bigger - they thought she was bigger a week ago and since natural delivery for the previous two got a bit stressful and baby two actually got stuck - we went the safe route and I am glad to report mom and baby are both doing great. 

I'm not allowed to share any clear photos - but you'll get the drift here: 

Our next stop on this years big trip was Rio De Janeiro.  I always wanted to see Rio. I've had more than one relative live there for a few years because of their work but we never could make visiting work - so I finally got to visit! 

we stayed in a hotel at the famed Copacabana beach- You know it's going to be an interesting stay when the elevator is a work of art. Next thing you realize the hotel is so old that the ceilings are maybe ten or twelve feet high? Felt like we were in a palace! and the views from the room weren't bad either! 

or our second day in Rio - we did the typical tourist stops - Sugar Loaf (and much like the beach I have no idea why this little mountain is so famous lol) and Christ the Redeemer statue - for me this wasn't that big a deal because I've been to the same statue in Cali Colombia that is only a few feet shorter.  It was supposed to be cloudy and rainy our entire stay and yet - the sun kept peeking out and the rain mostly stayed away- though we did get a good shower at the Redeemer statue and had to wait for it to blow over in order to take the elevator back down to the train - this little writer was NOT doing 220 steps down :) 

And that pretty much wound up our trip - it was SO hot and exhausting in Rio - A lot of the reason was that even though most establishments all had central a/c - they kept all the doors and windows open too!  It was SO hard to just cool down for a little bit. As a result on our third day we opted to stay in our cool hotel room and enjoy the view from the window! LOL. 

All in all, it was a lovely trip with a good friend and crossed a few things off my bucket list! 

Now we're getting ready for grandbaby number three who should arrive this week! And of course getting all the book biz caught up.  Tomorrow is release day for the Sweets first box set - Honeysuckle Texas books 1-3.  If you have any friends who prefer box sets to individual books - let them know more of these are coming out soon!  And don't forget about Ryan coming next month - If you haven't put your preorders in - now is the time! 

And that's it for today!  

I'm curious - does anyone have one bucket list place they have always wanted to go? Post below in the comments! 

I'll start with a little business - had a wonderful time Friday night at the Galantine party - I gotta laugh - Still talking with my hands :) 

And for anyone with nothing to do tonight at 5pm pacific, 7pm central - pop over and join Sheila Roberts and myself for a little Monday night chat!  https://www.facebook.com/p/Sheila-Roberts-100044180452595/

Now - we return to the travels of a wandering author! LOL. 

From Buenos Aires we moved on to Iguazu Falls.  This water fall system is seven times larger than Niagara Falls and the largest system in the world - though there are taller waterfalls. The thing spans both Argentina and Brazil so we spent two days on the Argentine side and two on the Brazil side. 

The thing I will always remember from the Argentine side was the warning - We had to sign a waiver that we were held responsible for the Monkeys. Monkeys you ask? Well, it seems that if you do not lock your patio door, the monkeys know how to open the door. More importantly, they know how to find and raid the mini bar - for which you are financially responsible. I couldn't stop laughing when they told me that.  We got to our room, lovely, the balcony was huge, but the view was sweet. You can see the falls WAY in the background, so I said to my friend, wonder where the monkeys are - I turned around and Oh boy! they were running around quietly everywhere!  SO cute! 

And the falls were amazing! they also have these cute little animals called Coati - nicknamed the pig racoon.  They have a long snout like an anteater (hence the affiliation with a pig?) and a ringed tail like a racoon and dark eyes- not the same as a racoon but similar! And they were running around everywhere - the staff kept shooing them away from the tourists! 

From there we crossed the border into Brazil and stayed at a hotel on the brazil side of the national park.  More amazing photos - but the first night was the most stellar- so to speak. 

We accidentally - or more accurately, unintentionally- booked our stay during a full moon.  During a full moon our hotel offered full moon tours - sure, why not! Well, I had no idea there was such a thing as a lunar rainbow- sometimes called a moonbow.  A full arch of white from one side to the other from the moons reflection.  With the naked eye - it's only white - sometimes with the camera shot, you can see hints of color! 

The moonbow was seriously impressive - I'd never scene one before and doubt I'll ever see it again!  The next day we took a ride down to the bottom of the falls and then caught the sunset from the front yard of our hotel - if you like mother nature - you got quite the show! 

The downside of Iguazu is that we were starting to REALLY feel the heat! Very humid and very warm and we peetered out quickly! But, this has been on my bucket list since before bucket lists was a thing! (yeah, I'm that old) 

As for my writing - needless to say, on this trip I got almost NOTHING written so I am SCRAMBLING now to meet my editors deadline, there's a slight chance that Ryan might have to be pushed back a month, but we don't know yet - fingers crossed I get struck by a rush of inspiration and meet the deadline! 

Everything is being planned around the 26th when my daughter is scheduled for a C-section. Due to issues when my granddaughter was born, the doctors feel that with a large baby (already almost 8 lbs with three weeks to go!) that a c-section is in everyone best interest. This will be a little different for us, knowing what day the baby will be here. On the bright side, if it works out as planned, it will be easy to remember the birth date: 2- 26- 26 LOL. 

Okay- off to write some more in Ryan before I fall behind for my daily count! 

First day back to Buenos Aires after the cold Antarctic we settled in from a late arrival and prepared for the next days trip to Colonia Uruguay.   It's a boat trip across the Rio de la Plata (widest river in the world) and we were quite pleased with the ferries. Air conditioned, comfortable seats (wish airlines were like that) and a smooth ride despite our concerns. 

On arrival we were met by a guide, and off to walking in the summer heat we went! I think I was expecting something more like Cartagena - spanish styled houses sort of thing - but it wasn't there were some colonial period buildings scattered around the old section but it was very pleasant. 

For one thing, I hadn't expected so many tree-lined streets - they're everywhere - throughout the old and newer parts of town. Made it feel a smidge cooler some of the time but mostly made it all look so pretty!  Though as you can see - I did have to buy a hat because I could feel my scalp burning like that day on the Delta and thought, nope, not doing that again! LOL. 

The ruins is an old convent built right up against that little lighthouse. Then we had an afternoon snack at a little - and I mean little - cafe overlooking the river.  Had the sourest lemonade ever, I suspect they didn't add sugar or much water! But it wasn't a pleasant break. Then we got to the center square where the old cathedral was. Like most colonial period buildings, the style is quite simplistic - no ornate gold or massive statues. 

 We had a quiet night back in Buenos Aires. This time we stayed in a hotel in the Recoletta section of Buenos Aires. More to do within walking distance so we walked to a local italian restaurant. Probably some of the best food we'd had so far in Argentina, but nothing to write home about!  For delicious foods, I still prefer Europe. South America has a different seasoning palate and it didn't appeal to me much (remember that awful pumpkin side dish - ugh) 

Next day before leaving for Iguazu falls, we walked to the Recoletta cemetery where Eva Perone of the movie and show Evita is buried. The cemetery is all above ground mausoleums. They all have stained glass either ceilings or in the walls. Many are quite ornate and beautiful to look at. Some are better kept than others. That's how you can tell where there is still family and where the last of the family has died off. The handful we saw that were crumbling was truly sad. 

I expected Eva to be buried in her own large mausoleum with Eva Perone in huge letters - but no - she's in her family's cypt - Duarte. You can see my reflection taking photos of the plaques with her name on it as well as her brothers and anyone else buried in there. 

I will say of the four cities we hit in South America - Buenos Aires and its suburbs are my favorite! 

Also - for anyone who is going to be in North Texas this coming Friday - I will be doing a romance author panel and booksigning at Obrien's bookshop in Midlothian. 

That's it for today - now I'm off to finish Ryan the next Farraday book that I am SOOO behind on!  Say a prayer for me - this is going to be quite the push as I didn't get near the writing done on the trip that I had hoped! 

 ​Yep – we have lots of photos of snow and ice and penguins and whales and orcas – and yep – we saw all of that in the Antarctica region!
 
Many of you who know me are aware I do NOT like the cold – I avoid it like the plague. When we have freezing weather in Texas, I bundle up and stay home – well - there are exceptions to every rule!
 
The Drake Passage can be some rough seas leaving the tip of South America to reach Antarctica and we were very blessed to have rolling seas but nothing too bad.  Though we all looked like drunken sailors trying to walk that day.  Next stop – Antarctica and let me tell you – I was working on my computer trying to get caught up on some things and when I stopped and looked up I almost fell out of bed – Oh My – the views are more than impressive. Walls of white mountains and so much deep blue in the ice – it was inspiring. And yes – there were lots of penguins! You can see them standing in the background behind me (the one in red lol).

​One of the nice things about Viking is that they gift you that parka (and the under jacket too) but all I can think is where the heck in Texas am I going to wear that thing! LOL.  Oh well.  The ship had lots of perks – great food – somehow I managed to only gain two pounds and I am thrilled! Then there is the best hot tub in the world with one heck of a view! 

​One day, I'm playing cards with some ladies and we noticed the ship is sort of slowly spinning - we think 'I guess the Captain needs to turn around' - next second a voice comes over the PA : Folks the Captain has spotted ten or so Orcas playing and he's turning the ship - How the boat didn't just tip into the ocean is beyond me - I swear - All three hundred passengers were at the front of the boat –
 
Turns out there were whales and Orcas - and we had a blast following the 'blows' and splashes and tails (the whale tail is in another post) - the sunlight makes the orcas look more brown - but they were black and white (in third photo) and put on quite a show for us!
 
We think... and that's a big 'think' - that the mama whales were pushing the juveniles closer to the ship to get away from the Orcas - because until now, all the whales have been really far away and these guys were real close - one was practically kissing the ship.

​Now whales breach really fast – but somehow with all of us snapping photos like crazy – we managed to get these great photos! 

​And as much as I hate to admit it, with no humidity, when there was no wind, I think it was warmer in Antarctica than most of y’all back home in the states!  I didn’t go outside all that often – remember I don’t like the cold – but some days, even in capris and sandals, as long as I had on a ¾ or long sleeve shirt, I was perfectly okay outside!  

​My friend lugs around three different cameras so she got some great shots – some of these were hers! And since no Antarctica trip would be complete without a few other lazy animals – here are a few shots of penguins and seals too!  The last shot is me in Ushuaia Argentina - the southernmost city in the world - and the last stop for our ship!  

And that - is my trip to Antarctica - while  I've got your attention, I want to thank everyone for picking up a copy of Sweet Rescue that released last week -  SO very thankful for my fans! 

​I hope everyone is staying warm!  Looks like I picked a good time to escape North Texas – everyone is bundling up and hunkering down!  Me – well – we’re having a lot of fun.
 
I’ll share warm thoughts with you!  Our second day in Buenos Aires we did a ‘delta’ tour. Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing, only that the hotel desk recommended it as a good afternoon tour. (I don’t do mornings!)

First we stopped along at a suburban park to see how wide the Rid de la Plata is – apparently it’s the widest river in the world and I admit – I would have sworn I was standing on the shore of an ocean – the first photo you can see Buenos Aires down stream – but if I turned and faced Uruguay, you’d see NOTHING – that river is crazy wide. Then, we stopped in a little town called San Isidro to see the cathedral.  It was just lovely. I really liked the tree lined streets in this little suburb. 

Were we surprised to find ourselves in a small boat toodling down the delta waterways of Argentina. Apparently there are only five in the world and this is one –Since the Mississippi is another, there were times when I felt like I Tom Sawyer could pop out from under a shoreline tree any second. Can’t you picture it – in the first photo – in the shade – two kids fishing off the shore in straw hats and cut off jeans. Yep – I could so see Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in my mind! It was surprisingly fun. 

Next stop, the town of Tigre. No surprise with all the waterways that suburban Buenos Aires is big on rowing (crew?).  They have so many clubs. The one photo is of the second largest and oldest club – that building was amazing. I didn’t get a photo of the largest, might have to make another trip LOL.  The guide showed us the new large casino – frankly, it looked a bit like an IKEA parking lot LOL – he says everyone hates it because it’s so ugly (not that an IKEA parking lot is ugly) and after seeing the original casino—now a museum—no wonder they don’t like it. It’s just a beautiful building.  We did stop for a snack and I snapped a photo of an Argentine rotisserie. A little different than how we do it.  It’s a little hard to see in this photo – but – there’s a large rack of ribs hanging from the right side. That spins around the fire that’s usually in the middle. Since they’re done cooking, they moved the coals to the edge so the meat wouldn’t keep cooking, but picture it- a huge coal fire in the middle, and racks of hanging meet spinning around the coals, slowly cooking. 

​And that, is the end of my second day in Buenos Aires. Day three meant meeting the Antarctic group at—gulp—five am to catch a bus to the airport.  Anyone who knows me knows I’m more likely to be up at five am writing than climbing out of bed. Sooo, I did when any normal, red-blooded, nocturnal animal would do—I stayed awake all night! But, I didn’t miss the bus! LOL.  Next Monday I’ll share all the fun photos of Antarctica! 

Yay! Apparently at 1am it's way easier to access internet than during the day! so here goes!

Forty years ago my cousin went to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina for her honeymoon and ever since it has been a dream of mine to go there. My best travel buddy has had Antarctica on her bucket list for a long while.  So we put the two some-day dreams together and here we are at the start of a rather long adventure. 

We'll begin with Buenos Aires Argentina. I really loved it!  You can tell in a few pictures I'm just having a blast! 

The first photo above is the Casa Rosada where Evita Perrone would speak from. Yep, that’s the balcony where she and Madonna stood! This is in the original center of Buenos Aires. This part of town is full of history including the next photo in front of an old colonial era church. Third photo is the oldest bookstore (from like 1800 and something) Below the two photos are of this huge gorgeous bookstore converted from an old theater - oh wow. We're going back on our way home at the end of the trip so I can take a video because NONE of the photos do the place justice! 

Did you know that we are not allowed to photograph US embassies?  We're not. How do I know this? Because the security people kept shaking their heads repeating No Photos. And I smiled and nodded and as you can see - took it anyway! LOL  Though I will admit my main reason was that it's a beautiful building but gees, that seems like a lot of tax dollars at work!  Though I did get a kick out of the name the street is on!  Made me wonder what the street name was before 1960. ​

Then we had the food - First night I ordered a ribeye. The meat was tender and flavorful, but the seasonings were very different from how we season steaks in the US. Out of curiosity I ordered a pumpkin side dish. Normally I love all things pumpkin, except in the US I don't think most pumpkin flavored things really come from a pumpkin. I remember reading that pumpkin pie filling is made from a variety of winter squashes.  Well, I suspect this really was pumpkin and frankly, I prefer my fake flavors LOL.  The second day we had a snack of traditional empanadas. The round ones are cheese and onion. I admit, I thought it was going to be weird but it was seriously tasty. The ones that look like mini calzones are beef empanadas. They were quite tasty too, but I still prefer the flavor of the empanadas made in Colombia! 

Did I mention all this was our first afternoon? Yep - we arrived and checked into our hotel around one o'clock and then at three o'clock were out the door for an afternoon tour. I took some short videos, one from the airplane at the start of the trip is up on my you tube channel and we're hoping to figure out a way to get the rest up soon, but staying connected is really hard here, and loading videos is even harder!  

Okay - that's it for today - more to come - stay tuned next Monday! 

I can't believe in forty eight hours I will be on my way to the airport!  Time really does go by so darn fast - I know I'm going to blink and this big trip is going to be behind us.  

At the moment, my biggest dilemma, luggage. My carryon is too small and my right size one the wheel broke on our trip to Ireland and I haven't been able to find a match for my smaller one in the medium size.  sigh.  So... I bought a vacuum sealer hoping to make my clothes smaller - yeah well - that doesn't work near as well as they make it sound. It might reduce the size 80% for an air filled comforter, but it does almost nothing for a bulky sweater.  And unfortunately, since we're going to two climates, I need pants and sweaters as well as shirts and capris.  Running out of time, but my daughter may have the size I need - of course I'll be totally mismatched - burgundy checked luggage and blue laptop carryon - but hey- it is what it is- right? 

I promise to take some pictures of me all bundled up - the cruise line gives you as a gift a warm parka - that this Texan will NEVER again use!  So I have no idea how I'm going to fit that thing into my suitcase - maybe then the vacuum pack will work. So many unknowns and once I figure it out - won't need to know it again cause I am never doing this trip again lol. 

Book updates-  Rescue is back from the editor and at the proofer/review team so that should be done and ready to go for schedule release. I am planning on doing a lot of writing on the airplanes - hopefully - I'll get a good start on either Ryan or Sweet Devotion - we'll see how it goes!  

Shall we grumble a little about weight loss?? Sigh - I did so well last year losing about ten pounds and not gaining it back in Ireland - well, I did gain two pounds but considering what I was eating that wasn't bad at all.  Then with my grands here for four month and the change in foods and eating times etc etc - I gained TWELVE pounds - and have tried to get rid of it without stressing but I'm merely back to not gaining - losing has always been hard for me.  I even tried the semaglutide pills for almost two months - I actually gained weight on that garbage- then we tride the tirzepetide pills for a couple of weeks but it had zero affect on my appetite of my sense of feeling full also so - they both got dumped. If I weren't phobic about hypodermics I would try the shots - but shots and I are not good friends. Who knows, maybe with all the walking we'll be doing on our trip and with more real food - unlike the US where sugar and additives are in EVERYTHING - It might help me drop at least a few pounds - would be nice. 

That's it for today - I'm off to work on resolving my luggage issue and some of my supplements that I didn't realize I was short on - I'm taking three weekly pill boxes with me for the trip - One will go in my carryon - the other two in my checked bags - as Bette Davis once said, growing older isn't for sissies ! 

I hope y'all rang in the new year however made you happy.  For us, it was staying home and watching an old movie : While You Were Sleeping. 

We considered going to our favorite supper club but frankly, it's been a long winter lol. I've needed this week to recover from four months of a very active household and keeping up with two little grand kids! There's a reason motherhood is for the young! It was exhausting trying to keep up - we did it - and I'm proud of us, but we're tired! lol. 

I've been spending the first days of the year prepping for my trip - can you believe I'm leaving in just over a week? I've had to buy all sorts of things foreign to my warm weather life! I now own multiple types of lined and wicking socks, insulated under garments (my friend bought those on sale at costco lol) two sizes of gloves, a hat covering that would be perfect if i want to rob a bank after visiting the penguins lol, and of course, polarized sunglasses. Those were the most fun - I actually like the two pairs I bought (in case i lose one) and am looking forward to wearing them back home after the trip! 

I have been having a little trouble with the top of my left foot - it's been bothering me for weeks and I finally decided that I must have a fractured little bone. Unfortunately, I remember Loki - the golden retriever - stomping on my foot not long ago and me being very unhappy at how much it hurt at the time because he's so darn big! Well, I've decided that the two things are probably related. I've bought a couple sizes of ankle compression sleeves and have cut them up to protect the sore part of my foot.  I'm hopeful to get an appointment with my favorite doctor before I leave in case I need to do something else other than wait it out - 

I'm also working hard at straightening out this year's release schedule. As you know, Sweet Redemption released last week! yay!  So far I've heard good things which I'm glad that folks took the time to tell me because the sales are much lower than our December book and hearing that folks enjoyed it makes me feel better about it! So - the next book, the start of the Honeysuckle K9 books will release in February! that will be up for preorder in the next few days - here's the blurb: 

In a convoy explosion, Josh Coleman lost more than his balance—he lost his sense of purpose. Recuperating at the Sweet Ranch, he finds an unexpected connection with an injured K-9 as wary as he is. To avoid organizing another closet, furloughed contractor Katie Lawford heads to Honeysuckle for a quick visit, but is surprised to find a wounded warrior whose quiet strength pulls her in. As dog and soldier heal, can the Sweet family magic show Josh and Katie that some loves are worth fighting for? 

Because of having my family here, the holidays, and issues with my mom, I had to step back from the next book Sweet Devotion - that one will have to release in April because Ryan, the next Farraday is releasing in March.  I hate skipping a month without new material, but honestly, I needed the break to catch up on all aspects of my life !  I can actually see the items on my side table - until yesterday is was a mountainside that kept tumbling into the trashcan below lol, hopefully I haven't accidentally thrown out anything important!  I've managed to cross off a handful of things from my to-do list which is always good for clearing the mind.

I'm hopeful that I'll get some good words in on the flights.  I'll be taking two - one to Miami and then another to Buenos Aires. The one to Buenos Aires is overnight - so I'll probably work a bit at 9pm but then will have to try and get some sleep. We land at 9am which will be 6am for me - not my favorite time of day ever. Then my friend and I will do our best to stay busy and awake all day. I'm going to need to try and get to sleep early because in two days we have to be up and ready to catch a flight at some insane hour of the morning - so insane that I may just stay up  all night LOL, nap on the ship. 

OH - and for anyone who lives in North Texas, I will be on an author panel with my author friends Kellie Coates Gilbert, Leanna Ellis, and Kathy Ivan. We will be having a little Galentine celebration on Friday February 13th at O'Brien's Bookstore in Midlothian Tx from 7-9pm!  There will be a gift basket and lots of fun - will share more info as I find it ! 

All right - I think that's it for this week!  

Will keep you posted on all my efforts! 

​Happy New Year!