Time is just flying by!  Every year I gather with a group of friends who enjoyed the TV show JAG. This weekend was the weekend and we realized next year we will have been doing this for twenty years! 

Anyone who really knows the show JAG and reads my books, from time to time will notice a nod to the TV show. I forget which book, but someone had lobster oven mitts. Yep - that was a nod to JAG LOL! 

This weekend we ate, we laughed, we watched DVDs and played games. Since it's crazy hot already time was spent cooling off in the pool too! Unfortunately, it also means that I didn't get my Friday words in or my weekend catch ups - but I should be able to catch up this week - I hope! ​ And here you go - a photo of first JAG weekend nineteen years ago and today - the crowd is a little smaller but we still have fun! 

My hair may be longer and more gray - okay very gray LOL - but at least I can still fit in the same pants!  Okay - I wasn't wearing the same pants for this photo - but I do still own them and I do still wear them so I know they fit lol ! 

So, tell me - Do you have any hobbies you share with friends? Do you have a favorite TV show you never miss? An old show you wish had lasted a little longer? 

Sorry this was late today but it's been a whirlwind few days. 

I have family all over the world. Literally. I actually know and communicate with third cousins who we share childhood memories!  I have one set of relatives who live in Holland who are my fourth cousins. For those who don't quite follow the family line my fourth cousin and I share the same Great Great Great grandparent ! Pretty cool huh? 

Well a little more realistically I am blessed to have a first cousin and his family who are relocating to the same state as me. That means that the last few days have been spent looking at so many houses and neighborhoods and schools that my head is still spinning! 

On the bright side in about six weeks we'll all be in the same state. I'm looking forward to one day attending my niece and nephews graduations and hopefully I'll still be around for weddings and maybe even their children - of course that has a way to go since the youngest is still in elementary school - LOL !  

Do you keep in touch with cousins? 

Also, even with all the house hunting, I've still been tinkering with one of two new series. I really hope y'all are going to like it! 

here's a sneak peek at the opening paragraphs: 

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Kyle Melbourne’s sister Beth threw her purse onto the white leather sofa on the family yacht and stood with her hands on her hips. “Do you have any idea how many years you just shaved off of my life?”
With only one hand, Kyle poured himself a drink.
“A little early in the day to start drinking, don’t you think?”
“It would be if it were something stronger than cola.” He took a slow sip of the fizzing drink. “I gather SOANDSO called you?”
“He. Did.”
The sharpness in his sister’s voice made the hackles on the back of his neck rise. He did his best not to wince at the venomous tone. “Do I want to know what he said?”
Her hands still fisted firmly on her hips, she stared daggers at him. “I was informed, in a voice mail, that you went sky diving. That alone wasn’t alarming considering speed and risk go hand and hand with you. We’re all used to it. The problem is the next part. Apparently you had a little accident.”
He didn’t dare meet her gaze.
“How the hell do you have a little accident falling thousands of feet out of an airplane?”
“You don’t.”
“Exactly.” Now her foot was tapping. “I had visions of your body splattered across miles of empty field. Piece by bloody piece.”
Now he did wince.
“Thank heaven’s the hospital informed me you were alive before I called Mom or worse, the Governor and Grams. News like you’d been in a skydiving accident could have sent all three of them to their graves. At least all I need now is a my hairdresser to hide the gray.”
He really would have to have a chat with SOANDSO about what information was shared with his next of kin. In Kyle’s profession, there just might be a day when he really was sprawled piece by piece across a track and voice mail was not how he wanted his family told.  “I’m sorry. Really.”
Finally, on a long slow breath, her hands fell to her sides and a softer expression washed over her face. “Why couldn’t you have been an accountant?”
That made him chuckle. His entire life his mother had tried to steer him in the direction of a stable career. What she really meant was safe. Sadly for his mother’s nerves, few things in life could beat the adrenaline rush of coming across the finish line at almost 200 mph. If there was a thrill involved, whether it was on land, on the water, or in the air, Kyle was all in. 

Okay- I'm calling it a night - see y'all next week! 

I can't believe how quickly our vacation came and went!  Then I was blessed to have two lovely writer friends join us for a working retreat. I can't think of anywhere nicer than the beach to work and think. 


And we did work.  I am very excited to have not one but two new series under way - we'll see which one comes together soonest.  My K9 family saga is still on the burner but I've been a little distracted with a Texas Billionaire Cowboy series too! ​

I'm especially excited because I have the first book in the Billionaire series already written. I got my rights back to it years ago and have finally gotten around to editing it into the first in a new series.  I'm hopeful that with the help of my plotting friends (see why we holed away at the beach lol) that I can whip this series out by the fall. We'll have to see which one comes together sooner! ​​

And of course, what would a working retreat at the beach be without some fun bird watching - This fellow - I think he's a crane of some kind- showed up our last full day at the beach just wandering outside our door! So much fun to watch. And a little inspiring too! 

Do you have a favorite theme or trope for books you read? I would love to know what's on your To-Be-Read pile? Are you more interested in the family saga with a little marriage of convenience thrown in, or some Texas billionaires? Let me know! 

Until next week - ta ta! lol. 

​Honestly, I think this is the first family vacation since my son’s tenth birthday trip to Disney World.  I’ve gone places with my mom and daughter in the past, or just my mom, or just my husband, or my husband and daughter (to a family wedding) or my kids and me to visit family, but this is the first time my husband and both my kids and I have gone somewhere – to make even sweeter, my mom is here too (in body at least). And of course making it more fun for Oma is the grandbaby. It’s just hanging out at the beach, but it’s been warm, and casual and fun.
 
My grandson really loves chasing the birds, sticking his fingers in the holes in the sand, though we have no idea what animal make them, and dancing in the waves. He’s a little young to jump over them yet, though Oma tried to teach him and learned at my age it’s best to do a one foot at a time jump versus two footed landing (the knees don’t like that!). 

​Of course, digging in the dirt was a fun adventure as well for both the grandson and the PawPaw (granddad). This was mostly accomplished under the tent that took a village to assemble – after we broke the first one and bought a bigger one!  (I of course was the official photographer for the big event LOL.

​I was raised in the northeast and we all just fried at the beach. LOL. The tent seemed like a much better idea after too long in the sun!
 
All in all, fun memories were made and now it’s down to work with some author friends to bring y’all more books!
 
Will keep everyone posted – where is your favorite place to vacation? 

I haven’t had many experiences in my career where people recognize me, but when it happens I freely admit it is seriously fun for me.  The first time it happened I was at a book signing in California at a winery. Lots of strangers there for a tour or lunch wandered into the room and perused our books, some even bought a few. One woman walked up to me and I asked do you like to read romance? She said yes, I’m in KU, then she told me my name looked familiar. I proceeded to explain that she wouldn’t have read me as I’m not available in KU. She was scrolling through her phone and told me if she loves an author she’ll buy their books. Then she got a bright smile and showed me her phone. She owned every book I had written to that date. It was an amazing feeling to find a real fan. 
 
The next time that happened to me I was on a cruise with my mom (before she had dementia) and we were in a massive line getting off the ship. We struck up a conversation with the women behind us. As usual, my mom started bragging on me. The women asked what do you write? I said romance and handed them each my business card with a photo of Adam on the front. One woman actually squealed. Then she told me she’d read all my books and loved me and could I please autograph the business card. Surprised the heck out of me, but once again made me smile.
 
Just the other day it happened again. I had to have a stress test due to a bout with unexplained chest pain (apparently having a mother with dementia isn’t good for a daughter with stress induced heart disease). As you can see from this photo, I was pretty well hooked up, and they let me do the treadmill barefoot!  Due to a few mistakes (like the hospital wanting to charge me 8k instead of 1.5k – and yes heart disease healthcare is expensive so please tell all your friends to buy a few books! LOL) I had to do the treadmill instead of the injection nuclear test. The nurse/technician was lovely and very helpful as I was draped over the treadmill hanging on for dear life (doctor says I’m in horrible condition for my age- but it’s hard to be in good condition when you’re whole day is spent on your derriere hovering over a computer lol).  After it was all over I gave her one of those book cover business cards. She smiled at me and waving the card told me – I knew your name looked familiar to me! Another fan! It put a happy spin on a rather stressful day!
 
I hope everyone who celebrates Easter and  Passover  has had a blessed time with family and friends. Next week I’ll be writing from our family vacation at the Beach! Yay!
 
Do you have any family traditions this time of year? My favorite Easter tip is to let kids color eggs with the egg in a whisk J

 
All winter my pool has been slowly losing water. This week we filled it up, the repair people came, found the latest leak, and plugged it up! Yay - fingers crossed that it lasts all summer! Then I need to start playing the lottery so we can have the darn thing replastered. Considering we’ve lived here for almost thirty years and have never replastered, it’s time!
 
I also tinkered with an old story and restructured it for the beginning of a new series, so after I write the new k9 series, then I’ll work on the Texas Billionaires. What do y’all think of that? I’m trying to plan ahead more.

​And while I’m sitting her recapping my week, accompanied by my dogs, by any chance does anyone have any history with German Shepherds and DM? My thirteen year old Gunny is losing use of his hind legs and even though he’s otherwise healthy, when it strikes, I can see how frustrated he is. Would love any suggestions for things that will make him happier. The vet doesn’t really have any suggestions. We already give him cosequin (?) chews which helps him in general with aged joints, but the DM is different.
 

And back to books – here’s the unedited first few paragraphs of Honeymoon for Five – y’all will see it in its edited entirety next month!
 
           “I absolutely love the smell of Spring.” Mina Ummarino stood on her neighbor’s back porch and sniffed at the air like a dog taking in the scent of a sizzling steak.
           “Smell?” Jo, her younger and more technical sister scrunched her face and shook her head. “The only thing we can smell out here is the exhaust from MacArthur Avenue.”
           "Aren’t we in a mood?” Melody Harwood teased the sisters. “You guys can argue about whether the air smells of rain or flowers or cat litter for all I care. Three more days and Shane and I will be basking in glorious Caribbean skies.”
            “Oh,” Jo spun around and flopped into the rocker. “Ever since my sisters and I bought the house next door to Angie and have heard all the great stories, I’ve added a cruise to my bucket list. They sound like so much fun. I just hope that I don’t have to wait till I’m going on a honeymoon to take one.”
           Mina nodded. She hoped the same thing. No matter her intentions of getting some friends together and having a seaside vacation like her friend and neighbor Angie, life had a way of always making other plans. Days flew by too fast. She really would have to make more of an effort if she wanted to pull off a friends’ vacation.
          “The only thing that would have made this little honeymoon trip of ours even better would have been if we had been able to take it after the wedding instead of a year later, but it’s going to be so sweet.” Melody handed a diet cola to Mina and chuckled. “At least I’m all packed and ready to go.”
            “About that.” Shane Harwood, a tall man dressed in military camo came out the kitchen door.
           Melody turned and flashed a sappy grin at her spouse that made all the sisters on the porch smile. Love really was fun to watch.
          The moment Melody’s eyes leveled with her husband’s, the sweet grin slipped. “What’s wrong?”
              “Orders.”
              “One word and already I don’t like the sound of that.”
 
 
Will catch everyone next week! Take care! And keep your fingers crossed!
 

​Too bad I don’t do that. LOL.
 
My week has been good and bad. Work on Honeymoon for Five is now behind schedule. I’m a little stuck and wish that Mina and Kent would start talking to me a little more! LOL. I know they will but they’re not keeping up!

My diet took a large wrong turn. When I do my weekly weigh in later today I don’t expect to see more than half a pound loss for the week if that, and today isn’t going to help any as I’ll be having a writers dinner with local authors. Though I can never complain about time with friends, but I will probably graze my way through the evening!
 
The real surprise of the week was my split across the floor of Fish City. Really tasty restaurant with diet friendly meals.  Newly remodeled and open since the tornado two years ago ripped through that part of town, the place is really nice. And the floors… a pretty shade of blue… and slick. Very slick. As in my right foot slipped one way and my left another! I no doubt looked like a failed acrobat, or perhaps a beached whale, sprawled across the pretty blue floor. At least my dress matched J.  Seriously though, I’m delighted to report one bruised toe. That’s it. No knee damage, no back damage, the hefty hip padding came in handy. I guess when my shoe kicked off it bent my toe out of whack, but I consider walking out on my own two feet a successful, if not graceful, fall.
 
On the bright side, we’ve been giving my German Shepherd Gunny some new pills that are helping him get around. His back legs are slowly giving out to DM and these pills seem to make him feel better because he’s up on his feet more and walking around to greet us and ask for treats. So, I’ll take that as a second win for the week.
 
Until next time! Have a lovely week filled with pleasant surprises. 

I was flabbergasted last week to learn that I have been writing these blogs for a whole year!  Oh my heavens!  Time goes by so darn fast. It’s been great reaching out to everyone and sharing tidbits of life in the Keniston home.
 
Now that we’re a year in – what is it you like me sharing? Are you happy with things the way they are? Anything I can do to make next year even better?
 
I will share that I’m half way through Honeymoon for Five. Books like this is when I wish life wasn’t so modern. Cell phones, internet and other things make story telling a little challenging some days, but I’m doing the best I can!
 
Some of you know that a few years ago I was diagnosed with heart disease after having had what’s called a silent heart attack. I’ve been feeling pretty healthy thanks to a few changes and supplements, but this last week was another story.  Apparently my mom’s alzheimer’s is proving to be a powerful stressor. I’m enormously blessed to have excellent support from my family. My hubby has a better personality for letting the things my mother does roll off his back. I on the other hand get really upset when she does crazy things.  And they’re weird sneaky things. For instance, for some reason she got it in her head that she doesn’t want anyone using the garbage disposal. So she cut up the rubber drain stoppers and told my cousin who lives with mom that the plumber came and said it’s broken and you can’t use it anymore.  My husband thinks it’s amazingly clever and funny and I had to take a few days off to try and relax.  Just in case my cardiologist wante me to have a new stress test in a couple of weeks. I’m hopeful that it will be improved from my last one a couple of years ago.  
 
On the good news side – I am on week three of my strict diet of only lean meats and veggies. I had to say goodbye to all sugar, dairy (oh how I miss my cheese!), wheat carbs, and fats (yeah I miss my butter too!).  But it’s paying off as I’m down ten pounds. The interesting thing is that after a few days I wasn’t nearly as hungry which is making it a lot easier than I expected.  If I can lose ten more pounds I’ll be thrilled.
 
Just for the fun of it – here’s a photo of me back in the day of high hair and pant suits!  The painting on the left was done by my mom, she loves clowns. I’m guessing I was probably around twelve at the time give or take a year! No idea what I was dressed up for, but I was definitely young!
 
 

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned that I am on a very strict diet this month. No fats, no dairy, no wheat carbs, no sugar, blah! I'm eating more greens than a cow in springtime! But, I’ve made it through two whole weeks and I’ve lost eight pounds. I was hoping for a bit more. This is the diet I did the year my daughter got married and I’d lost over twenty pounds then over the four weeks but I’m not as optimistic this time around. It seems like my body has grown more attached to my fat and doesn't want to say goodbye, lol. Reminds me of this old peasant joke. 

​At least I still get to go out with my friends for dinner, I just have to tell the kitchen, plain vegetables and protein. Fortunately, I’m fond of fish so even if the kitchen puts a little bit of oil or fat, I don’t go off the diet too much.
 
On the bright side of life, I didn’t have as much trouble adjusting to the time switch as I normally do. This night owl thing is really working out for me, except when the doctor gives you a 9am appointment – OYE!  LOL.
 
Are all of you ready for Neil? He’ll be here Wednesday. For those of you that preordered, he’ll probably drop Tuesday night. Here’s another very short snippet from NEIL:
 
“Something wrong?” Neil leaned into her. “You have that worried look on your face.”
“I have a worried look?” Pulling her gaze away from DJ, her eyes leveled with Neil’s. A softness laced with concern focused on her.
“Maybe worried was the wrong word. Unpleasantly thoughtful. You had the same look on your face when we walked into the back of the salvage yard. And, well, that first night at the pub.”
“I freely admit at the salvage yard I was wondering what the heck had I gotten myself into.”
“Honestly, at first you looked as if I’d walked you into a pit of rattlers.”
“Yeah, well.” She laughed. “It felt that way. Especially when we started moving all those dusty doors. I kept thinking something was going to jump out and bite me.”
“So what’s going to bite you now?”
“Nothing. I was thinking about DJ. He looks awfully serious, which I guess in turn has me wondering if we shouldn’t all be a little concerned.” Of course she was probably overreacting. Criminal things happened all the time in the county that she most likely never knew anything about. As a matter of fact, DJ had that same look on his face when they’d first figured out Jake Thomas was no longer the sweet kid they’d grown up with but an abuser. 
“I’m sure whatever is on his mind, he’ll take care of.”
“I’m sure he will.” She glanced at all the people in the room, the couples who looked so happy together, the friends teasing and making jokes, and then she looked at Neil already in conversation with his brother at his other side. He really was a nice guy, but unlike the others, his interest in her was only make believe.
Apparently her lack of luck in love was holding. Finally, a great guy falls into her world who can almost read her mind and it was nothing more than a friendly game of pretend.
 
 
Maybe next week I’ll have a snippet of Honeymoon for Five. I’ll give one hint – I’m channeling Now Voyager. Or at least trying to, LOL. At this rate, I might have to change my mind.
 
Oh, and did I mention this week my grandson has started waving Hi to his Oma on the video chats and blowing kisses too! I’m going to take credit for teaching him that. I do it all the time (and yeah I’m sure his mom does too, but I’m still taking credit!). In the beginning of our visit earlier in the week he just watched me, by the end of the visit he was sort of mimicking me, and on the next call the other day, he right away did it!  It really is the small things in our day that make life fun.
 
Hoping y’all have a great week ahead of you and that everyone loves Neil!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It has been ages since I’ve stayed up all night – especially without a good reason!  Already, Honeymoon for Five is giving me grief. I’m not a happy camper, but I’m plugging along. Sometimes I have to be happy with baby steps. Of course I am happy that other things are coming together like the audiobooks and german books, but I’d be happier if all books wrote themselves! LOL.
 
As some of you know my grandson is speech delayed. He has been having therapy the last couple of months and when we talked on the screen and I said hi, for the first time he waved back at me and said hi. Seriously fun thing to hear. What a difference one little word can make. Now when he learns to say Oma I may keel over from the thrill!
 
I’ve also discovered something else in my lack of sleep. The only thing worth watching in the middle of a weekend night has been NCIS New Orleans. I’ve been enjoying it.  Sorry that it was cancelled. Of all the NCIS franchises, this one is my preferred. Though I think it’s the later seasons when Scot Bakula has a girlfriend. So instead of going to sleep, I’m watching another episode. Actually I looked it up – I’m watching season three of seven so not that late. Do you watch NCIS? Have a favorite one? Or are you an old JAG fan like I used to be?
 
And then just to prove that I don’t function well without sleep – I went off to bed and forgot to post the blog – so now it’s a little late in the day but at least it’s still Monday.
 
If only we could be like babies, all the energy in the world and sleep like a log at the drop of a hat!
 
Okay, till next week folks!