​It's not often I talk about one of my avocations: trail running. 

Now, before you think that it's glamorous or that I'm like those models in Runners World, trim and womanly yet exuding gentle strength, while decked out in sleek tech gear and  bounding down the trail like a graceful gazelle...that's nothing like my reality.

Imagine if you will a deranged oompah loompah who appears to be on the verge of a coronary, careening off rocks and roots all while muttering profanities. What I do in the woods can barely be defined as athletic -- much less photogenic.

Have I mentioned that my ability to sweat buckets would put a Serengeti water buffalo to shame? It's impressive. As are my cankles. Hey, there's nothing wrong with sturdy legs. (Note to self: never wear skirts and heels.)

Every so often, in between barking my toe on a rock, then using the word f$%k like a verbal paintbrush and the world around me is a Jackson Pollock blank mural, I get kind of philosophical. And then I trip again.

​Writers have certain behaviors and activities associated with stages of the writing process. Some folks drink wine or go out to eat. Others buy a fun book and get lost in the pages for a while. Then there's yours truly.

In honor of my 10th book going out to an agent/publisher for consideration, I bring you: What I Do After Completing a Manuscript

1) Sigh happily with a dreamy expression on my face.

2) Dust the entire house. You heard me. This house doesn't get dusted but maybe 4-5x yearly which interestingly enough, corresponds exactly with me finishing either my first big draft of a new manuscript or the final product of a manuscript. Domestic goddess, I am not. But when the dust bunnies achieve sentience, I need to do something or they'll start unionizing.

3) A treat. Today, hubs got me some kind of magical Gelato that has cookie dough and fudge stripes in it. Makes me want to write another book, just to get more!

4) All the stuff I have been putting off because I need my brain to stay in creative/fiction mode for a while. There's a list. It waits for me. Tomorrow I will work on my doctor resume and a physician leadership application that's due. Talk about switching gears, huh?

It’s here, folks. The post that I’ve hoped to be able to write for well over ten years. Holy moly, over ten years -- that’s a long time. Here’s the story, warts and all. It’s a long story, because, well, it took a long time. And this is my blog, so I get to write whatever dirt and secrets I want! Pull up a chair and a coffee…
 
In 2005 I wrote The Best Book Ever (or so I thought), spiffed it up a bunch of times and sent it out to about 30 agents over the next six years. Amazingly, “Reluctant Sanctuary,” a purple prose-filled schmaltz-fest– SHOCKER—did not get even a whisper of interest. Honest to lordie, this manuscript was bad, you have no idea. But in the revisions and rewriting during 2012-2013, I ended up using this book – and the mentoring of a very patient developmental editor, Gwen Hayes – to learn the craft of how to write a novel. I finally managed to let The Best Book Ever go from my clawed death-grip. By then, I had conceived of a novel which later became Immortal Flame, the first in my Hell to Pay series, written during one of the breaks from revising The Best Book Ever.

Hey folks, check out this opportunity to participate in an amazing auction! Big name authors and high-powered editors (and little authors like me) are giving away all sorts of things: autographed books, editing services, query critiques, and manuscript reviews. It's a great opportunity to support advocacy for humanitarian situation and also get personalized attention for your manuscript or to score some fabulous books!

​Okay. I’m going to bare my soul and do a blog post in the hopes that my mistakes will help keep others from making the same mistakes. Without further ado, I give you: all of the writing mistakes I’ve made (to date) (not complete). Please enjoy, with my sincerest condolences.
 

1. First chapter = all flashback. Hoo boy, it was violent, graphic, and awful. It was detailed. And it had zero emotional anchor to the story since I came right out of the gate with That Terrible Thing That Happened In The Past. Never say never, but in general flashbacks/past emotional traumas can be noodled throughout the story 99% of the time.
2. First chapter = all massive infodump. Explainy-explainerton here, going into minutiae of a character’s day/occupation/dietary habits, and nothing really happened. No one – NO ONE – wants to hear about that, no matter how skillfully I described their morning bathroom routine.

Wow. It's been months since my last post. My poor brain has been locked up tight and all that creativity purged for the past however long ... many months? (A very long time in my estimation.)

Do you ever try to keep going no matter what? Life, work, writing, activities? Maybe all at once? Guess what? Sometimes you can't keep pushing that rock up the endless hill.

But I'm stubborn. Tough. Right? A physical and mental endurance specialist. You're talking to the person who will run for 6 hours on a trail and who takes call for 2-3 weeks at a time. From the outside, it looks like I'll never stop.

Until I do.

Giddiyup cowpokes, because Hell's Valley, my paranormal western romance series (think: sexy, psychic cowboys) set in the mountains of Wyoming is FINALLY here! Hot ranchers, chilly nights, and steamy ways of staving off hypothermia...

Click on the pictures for links to start reading now!

​

Honesty isn't always the best policy when you're a human lie-detector in book #1: Legacy of Lies

In book #2: Legacy Lost, when we ask our partner "what are you thinking"...do we really want to know all of it?

Hey, everyone! I recently fielded a question from a reader regarding my Hell's Valley books not being available and wanted to clarify for you all. (And as a plug -- if you subscribed to my newsletter, you would already know the status update on the books...)

So here's the deal. As you may know, I had my first series, Hell to Pay, published by Crimson Romance/Simon & Schuster. I then began my second series, Hell's Valley (psychic cowboys -- yippie ki-yay), with Crimson/S&S as well. However, In March of last year, S&S shut down Crimson Romance, and my Hell's Valley series took a bit of a break as I (and many of the Crimson authors) regrouped after the sudden swerve/pivot/change in direction. (Parenthetically, I've always heard that publishing is a rapidly-changing business, but hadn't truly experienced just how rapidly it could change until last March... I still have whiplash...)

As you may know, I've recently released Hell's Valley book #3, Legacy of Danger. And I'll release the final book, Legacy Found, in early 2019. (yahoo! -- wait 'til you read it -- I pulled out all the stops!)

However, in the meantime as I publish Hell's Valley #3 and #4, I've been working behind the scenes on rights reversion for Hell's Valley #1 and #2. I finally got my rights back for Legacy of Lies and Legacy Lost and am in the process of republishing them myself. Expect to see these two books back up for purchase in the next month.

So if you're looking for Legacy of Lies and Legacy Lost, hang in there. They'll be back up on all the major retailers soon. The timing was less than optimal, but I think you'll be happy with the final product of the entire series!

​It took over a year, but the final two books of my Hell's Valley series are here! (Well, book #3 will release on 10/16/18 and book #4 a month or so later. So technically not completely done but the finish line is in sight!)

As you may recall, Hell's Valley is my paranormal western series. Think: Big Valley meets Alphas or Bonanza plus the X-Men. I hope you enjoy this latest installment of this exciting story!

Here's the blurb:
Prodigal son and MMA fighter Vaughn Taggart fled his family's ranch when his burgeoning psychic abilities and disastrous decisions destroyed his brother's marriage. But his sister's urgent plea for help prior to her being brutally attached by a demonic monster and the escalating threats from the rival Brand ranch in a ploy to obtain Taggart land, have lured Vaughn back to Copper River, Wyoming—but only long enough to get his family back on track. Nothing could make him stay where he no longer fits in.

​There’s something about airports that gets me in the writing mood. It’s probably because any time I’m in the airport, by default it means that I’m not on call/working at the Day Job. (Okay, that’s kind of a fib. I totally just logged off the EMR where I was putting out a few fires right before this plane boards. Anyway.)
 
There’s a saying in medicine: “You want care that is Good, Fast, and Cheap? Just know that you can’t have all three – you have to pick two.” Yes, there might be some public health folks who disagree, but just go with me on this one, because in broad brushstrokes, it’s true.
 
You know what else is true? I can’t have Medicine, Manuscripts, and Mayhem all at the same time. I have to pick two to focus on at any given time. As writers, we’re always picking two out of the three things. Or sometimes we’re choosing two out of four or more aspects of our lives for our focs! We’re making that seesaw balance, back and forth, all the time.