Of Ice and Men

My fabulous February, coming off the adult prom, is transitioning into a marvelous March! One week after I got all dolled up and dressed up in my gorgeous purple gown, I had another fabulous weekend spent with an amazing group of fellow hockey romance writers and hockey fans! First, we all went out to the Pens game on Friday night to see Pittsburgh take on Tampa Bay. Nice seats! With the wonderful Lisa B. Kamps Hockey romance writers and readers unite! The Pens won, and we all had a good time together. Then on Saturday, I was up early to head to the Meadows Casino in Washington, PA, for the Angels & Sirens 2017 author event.  Here I am, at my table, my signing pen ready to go: And meeting readers: It was quite an experience. My first ever signing! I met some great people, including fellow authors, bloggers, and readers. I'll admit that I was nervous about my first event —whether anyone wo...

Wow, this month has flown by! I know it's not over yet, but there's only a few days left—and if the rest of February is any indication, those days will pass by just as quickly. My birthday was a few days ago, and it was probably my favorite birthday ever! In the words of Ice Cube, it was a good day . My day in the office went smoothly, and then my friends and I went out to a great new Turkish restaurant. The food and the atmosphere was phenomenal. They even would read your fortune from your coffee grounds! It felt a little like Harry Potter. via GIPHY Luckily for us, she did not read the Grim in anyone's cup! A few of us then went out for drinks. Even though there was some drunk guy trying to talk politics with us, we had a good time at the bar. Good food, good company, and lots of good wishes from you all via social media—I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! Meanwhile, I'm impatiently waiting for this coming weekend, since the Adult Pro...

I noticed something at the beginning of this month, which was a trend of people picking words for the 2017. Like a mantra. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it at the time, although it seemed like a good idea; I didn't think I'd be able to pick just one word to encapsulate my hopes for the entirety of the coming year. That being said, one word picked me. FORWARD What exactly does that one word mean? It means that I will—and must—constantly keep moving forward. I cannot dwell in the moment, good or bad, because I have to think about the next moment, and what is more important: being caught up in the present or what's to come? That also means that I must examine what I am doing in the moment and determine if it's going to help me move forward. Am I writing, working on that next book? Working on the administrative side of things? Engaging in needed self-care? If it's not important, then I shouldn't be spending time on it. That means staying off o...

In my last blog post, I reflected on last year's resolutions and settled on this year's. But there's a difference between resolutions and tasks . Resolutions are changes that I want to instill in myself for the coming year and beyond. But there are also tons of tasks that I want to accomplish in 2017 to make it the best year yet. I want to:    star learning French    get all dressed up for a fancy evening    attend a wine tasting    try yoga    read more    travel somewhere I haven't been before Of course, this is just a short list off the top of my head. Is there anything you're looking to cross off your bucket list this year? Let me know in the comments!

December is so close to be over, and so is 2016. And thank goodness for that—is it just me, or has year been supremely sucky for just about everyone?? For me, it seems like I've hit a new speed bump every time I thought I had caught my stride. I said goodbye to my beloved Maxie Cat, my friend I've had for half my life. Quite a few relationships have fallen apart. I'm lucky that I haven't encountered any major setbacks, but I've had a bunch of smaller inconveniences: computer problems, a stolen credit card, break ups and broken hearts, death and illnesses, apartment disasters, unexpected expenses.... You name it, I'm sure I've experienced it this year. But that doesn't mean this year has been all bad. Two new kitties, Flynn and Anna, have adopted me. I got a new Dallas Comets book published. An amazing friend invited me to see the Pens home opener and banner raising. I've made a lot of business decisions relating to my writing career including ...

Welp, I have the final calculations for how much Home Ice Advantage has made for the Seduced by the Game cancer charity anthology and my charity of choice. Ready for the grand total? $1,448.63 Once all the royalties get paid through, I'll be making the donation to The Mario Lemieux Foundation and of course report on that. All I can say now is a huge THANK YOU to all who purchased Home Ice Advantage and supported the Seduced by the Game cause.

I love  Thanksgiving. It is my favorite holiday! I have so many memories of cooking in the kitchen with my mom, helping however I could—considering I refused (and still do!) to stick my hand in that turkey to stuff it. I'm always disappointed when the stores start playing Christmas music on November 1. I know people are excited for Christmas, but it's like we're all overlooking the wonderful, forgotten holiday of Thanksgiving. I'm going to get a little political in this section (so you can skip it, if you want). Thanksgiving represents a time when people come together, despite their differences; they help each other and celebrate what their cooperation has reaped for them. Of course, I am thinking of the "first Thanksgiving," in which the Native Americans helped the settlers at Plymouth, which lead to a bountiful harvest. Together, the settlers and Native Americans feasted. It is so pertinent to be reminded of this during the current turbulen...