Mother’s Day Idea – and a Free Sneak Peek!

How about a personalized, signed copy of Last Chance Rescue?

Introduce someone you care about to Jessie, an Iraq war veteran, and Brad, a laid-off advertising executive who finds himself on Jessie’s search-and-rescue team.

Bring her alongside Jessie and Brad as they face not just physical obstacles, but their own internal struggles. Will they finally let down the walls and rescue each other?

NOT LIMITED TO MOTHERS!

A personalized, signed book is a great way to say “thank you” or “thinking about you” to anyone in your life (even a GUY, they like this book too!).

GET A ‘SNEAK PEEK’

If you order by May 9th, I’ll include a copy of the first four chapters of my forthcoming novel, True Surrender.

True Surrender is the story of a die-hard military officer whose experience at the hands of terrorists — and the resultant amputation of one of his legs — is just the beginning of his personal transformation. What happens when he is forced to choose between love and duty?

So order now (no special code needed). If you have a special message you want included, put it in the notes. If you’d like it mailed directly to your recipient, just let me know. I’ll do the rest. But hurry – Mother’s Day is coming up fast!

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Reflections on a Second Anniversary

It has been two years this month since Last Chance Rescue was released. I can’t believe it’s been that long!

So I’m feeling somewhat reflective about that … and a little disappointed. In my naivette, I had hoped Last Chance Rescue would have a greater reach. I didn’t know then (and I only know a little more now) how difficult it would be to market a book on my own.

I had also hoped to have my next novel, titled “True Surrender,” completed by now, with letters sent off to agents in the hope that I can find a publisher (so that the book might ‘live larger’ than Last Chance has).

But there are the realities of life. This past year has been difficult for many businesses, and Leader Motorcycle (which I own and operate) has been no different. It has required my all (and then some). Luckily I love what I do. But the “writing life” was put on hold for a good portion of 2009.

I also have no desire to miss out on time with my children (7 and 2-1/2). Nathan’s art was one of only TWO chosen from his entire school to be displayed at the State Capitol (St. Paul, MN) for the month of March (“Young Artists Month”). And Evelyn is showing a true gift for singing (just like her mom, some might say!). I’ve kept up on my taiko studies, but the flight lessons were put on hold in November (and have yet to resume).

Together my husband and I have also undertaken a new service: training to be Marriage Mentors through our church. We feel a true calling to this, as we’ve been through a marital crisis ourselves and we see so many marriages hurting these days.

Many of you have asked how I do so many things and pursue so many interests. The answer has increasingly been, “I don’t … not really …not now.” I’m just like most of you: the majority of my time is spent working or caring for my children.

So where does that leave writing? A distant fifth or sixth, from what I’ve written above. But my life is full and I feel blessed. I will continue to write when I can. “True Surrender” will get finished (and it will be worth the wait!). So thanks for the support you’ve shown, and for sharing Last Chance Rescue with anyone you can think of.

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Last Chance Rescue Video Now on Amazon

If you use amazon, you probably already know they have some neat features. They’ve just added the ability for us authors to upload videos on our Amazon Author Pages.

So, of course, I did! You can check it out here!

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No "Sickly Sweet" Romance Here!

“Last Chance Rescue” was reviewed by Linda at Rhode Island Roads Magazine! Here’s the first and last part of what she had to say …

I was a little reluctant to read [Last Chance Rescue] at first. I’ve had my fill of gushy, sickly sweet romance novels and I just didn’t want to read another one. Surprisingly, I found myself not able to put the book down once I started reading it. I wasn’t expecting such an action-packed book, full of vivid imagery, knowledge about rescue maneuvers and extraordinary character development …

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that likes action-packed, never-ending adventure with a roller coaster romance thrown in the middle of it all. It is well written from the author’s medi-vac and pilot experience making the flow of the book superb. The characters’ development and self-discovery throughout the book transitioned satisfactorily from one chapter to the other. Plain and simple, it was a great book!

Aw, thanks Linda! To read the complete review, click here.

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Photo from Author Signing

In November I teamed up with fellow author and friend Cheri Andrews for a book signing at the Davinci Academy Holiday Marketplace. My sister came by and snapped a photo of “The Authors” (hey, that’s me!). I was hoping I’d sell more books but the people were fun. You can see the picture here (and read some cool reviews too!).

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A Big Thank You! Last Chance Video Ranked #4 in Contest

Just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who voted for my book trailer! I thought you might like to know that the “Last Chance Rescue” mini-movie came in FOURTH place. It missed the top-3 honors list by just 2% … but out of 20 videos, that ain’t bad!

Now that my virtual tour is over, I’m getting back to writing Novel #2 (two hours last night!)…

P.S. If you haven’t already done so, become my Facebook “FAN”!

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Vote for my Book Trailer!

The mini-movie (“book trailer”) for Last Chance Rescue is in a contest and I need you to vote for it (entry #6)!

Besides helping me out, you’ll have fun checking out all the trailers (there are some tough competitors!).

Please vote by Friday (entry #6!), before the polls close: click here.

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How I got Into Flying Helicopters

Today I’m at “Reading at the Beach” talking about how I became a helicopter pilot. Here’s an excerpt:

“The Army trained me as a medic and an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). I was not a good soldier…but I loved being a paramedic. Where I responded to Army ‘regiment’ with near-distain, what I was trained for had the opposite effect: I liked splinting a broken leg. Inserting an IV. Dressing a sucking chest wound. One weekend a month I was a grunt soldier and a token medic. But for two weeks in the summer I was a soldier medic. And during our two-week training of my third year in the Guard, I took part in a mock battlefield exercise that changed my life…”

Read more here!

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Advice for Aspiring Authors

That’s just one of the interview questions from Katie Bug today. Here’s what I said:

Forget about writing what you know (that would be so boring for most of us!), but do your homework to make it as real as possible (but don’t get too carried away – it is fiction, after all!). Don’t write for a particular goal or market; write what makes your heart sing.

Read the rest of the interview here!

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Writing Sex Scenes!

Today I’m also at Mary Eason’s Blog, and she’s got some good questions for me, including one about writing sex scenes!

I try to write scenes with sexual tension rather than actual sex (usually) – which I find more difficult than an actual sex scene, but so much more powerful! I also like to place that tension in unexpected places or situations.

To read a FREE ‘sexual tension’ excerpt from Last Chance Rescue, check this out!

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