Post-Thanksgiving Update

I haven't posted anything since early November, so here's a little update for those who want to know what writers do in-between book releases.  Catching up with family is always a joy after being buried in my writing cave.  It's hard to find the right balance, but now that I'm semi-retired from my day job, I'm finding it easier to mesh both real and imaginary lives.

Let's start with Thanksgiving.  I flew to North Carolina (Raleigh) where my oldest son lives with his wife and brand new baby girl, Scarlett.  She was born a few days before I left for Europe so this was my first chance to see her up close.  Scarlett is just as beautiful in person as she is in pictures.  A happy baby and a wonderful addition to the family.  My other grandchild, AJ, shown above with his new cousin, was also present with his Mommy and Daddy who flew in from Chicago the day before the holiday.  We had a full house of 8 adults and 2 little ones.  My son's property is in Apex, just outside Raleigh, and quite spacious.  Room for a lot of extras, including a chicken coop (he's got 12 egg laying hens) and two dogs.  My little guy AJ had a wonderful time collecting the eggs each morning.  It was a definite Farmer in the Dell moment which I'm glad he could experience.   Most of our time was spent buying ingredients for the meals, or planning them, or cooking them, then lying around with distended bellies after eating way too much.  Ugh.  I think I've gained 5lbs over the last week. 

Once the babies were down for the night we played this card game called Cards Against Humanity.  It's the most politically incorrect, albeit hilarious, game I've ever played.  I took great pleasure in shocking the hell out of my adult children.  Serves them right for thinking they could  pull a fast one over their writer Mom who has a more vivid imagination than they ever wanted to know or hear about.  LOL. 

Just before leaving for my trip I got a new contract for a spin-off to my books Impacted! and Bonds of Love.  My new novel is titled Fractured and is scheduled for release sometime in March/April.  It's also set in the same dental universe, but the main characters are new.  There will be a guest appearance by Robin and Scott from the original series before they leave on an extended vacation.  Susie, another familiar character from Impacted! has a key role in this new book.  It's not necessary to read the first two books in the series, but it would give you a little background on the setting, more than anything else.  Impacted! was my first foray into the BDSM world, and I admit, it wasn't my best work (although it sold really well).  Since then, I've learned a lot about the D/s dynamic and I'm hoping it shows in this new endeavor.  I'll keep you posted as I get exact dates and cover art to share.

Lastly, I came across this lovely review of Ride-Off  over at M/M Good Book Reviews.  Here's the link for those who haven't seen it yet.

http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/ride-off-by-mickie-b-ashling/