Yes, I’m starting my blog – again! In preparation for the A-Z Blog Challenge in April, this month on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I’ve decided to do a mini-challenge to myself starting with the basic of all basics – the alphabet. Of course, we’ll still have Mish-mash Monday, Way-back-when Wednesday and Foto Friday, but now the entries will be alphabetized. So, let’s start with A.

I love apples. Applesauce. Apple juice and/or cider. Apple pie, especially with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream. Trouble is, it’s not fresh apple season and the apples right now just don’t taste the same as in the fall when they’re fresh off the trees.

Did you know there are over 7500 different varieties of apples and over 2500 of them are grown in the US? I didn’t know that, but to be honest, I never really thought about it. When I was a little girl, the only apples I knew of were Delicious, MacIntosh and “green” (the only kind worth baking with, according to my mother.) I have no idea what variety they were, but since she regularly whipped up mouth-watering apple pies, I had no reason to doubt her.

Who knew back then that the adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” actually had merit? That apples are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, especially the peel? Then again, nobody’d ever heard the word antioxidant either until a few years ago.

My taste buds have expanded a little, but even though I don’t mind a Royal Gala, Empire or Spartan now and then, I’m still a red Delicious girl through and through. What about you? Have you had your apple today?

I’m thrilled to announce the release of my latest romantic suspense novel, Out of Time. I’ve always  loved the story, and the cover my designer came up with fits it perfectly.

Here’s the short description I posted on Amazon:

A sympathy card. A mutilated  doll. Cryptic phone calls. Amanda Beckett has no idea why someone is terrorizing her and her daughter, and she has no choice but to ask for help from her police detective ex-husband, Josh. As the threats increase, they find themselves running out of time to save their daughter’s life – and their marriage.

Out of Time is available now on Amazon

Since the snow is falling outside while I write this post, this week I’m posting  my six sentences from the opening of Winterlude.

“You want me to do what?” Dylan McCabe searched his boss’s face for a sign this was his idea of a joke. He couldn’t have heard the old man right. There was no way he was going to babysit Aubrey’s daughter at some ski lodge in Vermont.

Aubrey St. Clair leaned back in the leather chair and clasped his hands across his ample stomach. “Now, my boy,” he said in a low Southern drawl, “it’s only for a few days.”

Winterlude is available now through Amazon.

Thanks for stopping by, and hope to see you next week. Don’t forget to check out the other fabulous authors and follow on Twitter with the hashtag #sixsunday.

This week’s snippet is from Devil’s Harvest, my latest romantic suspense novel. In this scene, Taryn has entered the residents’ lounge at the hospital.

Automatically, she searched out the duty roster on the bulletin board on the wall. Pain knifed through her as she saw her name scratched out, and Anjaneen’s pencilled in.

Tearing her gaze away, she turned towards the bank of lockers on the opposite wall. Her breath caught. Her locker was open, and it was empty.

“What the–?”

Devil’s Harvest is available on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords and AllRomance Ebooks

Thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate your comments. Don’t forget to check out all the other fabulous authors participating this week at

This week’s sentences come from the opening page of Wild Wyoming Wind, a western historical romance set in the Wyoming  wilderness. Maddie Boone lives alone on her homestead, and she doesn’t take kindly to visitors, especially uninvited ones.

“Get off my land!” Maddie Boone’s finger trembled on the trigger of the Winchester in her hand, but she held the barrel steady.
The stranger drew his roan-colored stallion to a halt. Leaning on the pommel of his saddle, he met her gaze. His horse whinnied and shuffled, raising a cloud of dust in the drought-ridden yard.

“I told you to get out,” Maddie repeated, adjusting the rifle’s aim until it rested in the centre of his broad chest. “I’m not about to tell you again.”

Wild Wyoming Wind is available now on Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords and AllRomance Ebooks

Check out the other entries here

I’m a newcomer to Six Sentence Sunday, but I plan to participate every week, so check back every Sunday for a tidbit from Emma’s Wish, my western historical romance. This week’s sentences are from the first time Emma and Sam meet.

“Mr. Jenkins–”

“Call me Sam.”

She smiled softly, then turned to take a plate from the shelf above the stove. Filling it with food, she set it in front of him.
“Sam,” she said, perching on the chair facing him. “I realize I have no right to interfere, but I must tell you how concerned I am about the children.”

Emma’s Wish is available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Smashwords and AllRomance Ebooks

Welcome to the newest addition to our family. No, not a child or a grandchild (I’ve given up on that), but the next best thing – a grand-puppy. My son and his girlfriend brought him home last weekend. He’s a Golden Retriever named Murdoch and at this posting is about 8-9 weeks old.

Of course, he’s still a baby so he sleeps a lot, and he’s not fussy about where or when. He seems to particularly like to snooze under the coffee table, half in and half out.

He still cries a little at night, hasn’t quite mastered potty-training, and is convinced his step-brothers (the cats, Zander and Kitty) are there for his personal entertainment, to chase and harass whenever he’s in the mood.

Yes, Murdoch’s parents have a lot of work ahead of them, but really, who could resist this face?