Welcome to Union
Population: 994
Town motto: Where no secret goes untold

His father’s death forces Dr. Ryan Williams to return to the home—and the woman—he’d left behind ten years earlier. Ryan knows it’s best to avoid Union sweetheart and police officer Emily Winters during his visit. But how? Stuck in this small town, fighting an attraction that hasn’t diminished over time, the sparks are unavoidable—and so are the rumors. The same rumors that made him leave Union in the first place…

 Experience taught Emily to keep her guard—and her panties—up. Until Ryan returns as suddenly as he left, tempting her with promises she already knows he can’t keep. Or so she thinks. This new adult Ryan is one capable of forever and, God-willing, forgiveness. Because even as they learn to trust and love each other again, Emily knows once she reveals her secret, heartbreak is inevitable. 

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I haven’t had a month like this in a year…at least! I can’t believe how off my entire world feels. Every one is wearing cranky pants. My computer is broken and in the shop. My daughter is teething, coughing, and, in general, keeping me up at nights.

My desktop has a version of Word that is 9 years old. Do you know what that means in electro world??? DINOSAUR!

I must forge ahead…
So, tell me. What do you do when your world seems to be upside down? How do you keep your mojo? Is there a silver lining you cling to?

I’m starting to think I better focus on the money. hahaha. At this point, it might be the only thing that pushes me to the end of this road.

I'm so pleased and excited to announce the cover re-design for the first book in my "In Her" series of fun time travel books – and it's available now for only .99!

Cover credit goes to Elaina Lee at For The Muse Designs.

A KNIGHT IN HER ARMS

A 12th century Knight. A 21st century woman. A blind date for all time.

Dreaming of the past. Hannah Falcon loves her job cataloging medieval artifacts and setting up the displays at the Natural History Museum in New York City. What she doesn’t love is her friends insisting she date more. When a man dressed as a medieval knight shows up in the museum, Hannah mistakes him for her friend’s latest attempt at a blind date.

Sent into the future: Sir Gavin of Rogueforth is a battle-hardened twelfth century knight who expects nothing more from life than to live and die by his sword. Sent through time to protect a woman named Hannah and claim her as his own, he expects a reward. He doesn’t expect a woman who refuses to be protected.

Can one passionate night, ten days before Christmas, convince a twenty-first century woman to follow her heart and show a medieval knight there’s more to life than being a protector?

*Previously published as Her Knight Before Christmas, this is an erotic holiday time travel novella* 

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Last night while in the middle of doing laundry, taking care of the kids, loading the dishwasher and trying to plot a book specifically for a submission call…I ended up on Skype with one of my Passionate Critter ladies.

Over the next 30 minutes, we grumbled about our projects, our writing goals and setbacks.

The whole "sprint" vs. "marathon" argument.

Let's face it, when you're stalled on the sidelines, struggling to plot or hating the words on your page – it's not hard to feel sorry for yourself or feel like you're getting left behind when others around you are cranking out their books and signing contracts left and right.

But…a 30 minute pep-talk from your crit partner just might be enough to pull you out of the pity party and get you back in the game (I know, it happened to me last night!)

So, today I'm here to celebrate the small things about my crit group, my fabulous crit partners and the days that they are simply friends to share my ups and downs with over a cup of coffee (or an online chat!) Sometimes it's not just about the perfect critique, it's about support, guidance and knowing when to push and when to offer the shoulder and hold the tissue box.

Yes, for the Passionate Critters the writing business is a marathon and NOT a sprint. It's not about cranking out shit quick to slap it up or send it out. It's about giving life to a story we need to tell, about connecting with characters and giving readers an emotional read. And, it's about doing it at our own speed, on our own track! (Take a look at that sidebar – we're proud of our books!)

This morning I woke up with my fingers itching to hit the keys, with fresh notes on the pad by my bed and next to my laptop. I think this weekend I'm going to buy new running shoes – because my marathon is now and the finish line is looming out there somewhere!

Are you a sprinter or in it for the long haul?

Remember the story of the Turtle and the Hare?  Well, for 2012 I've decided to stop trying to be something I'm not, I've decided to stop writing like anyone other than ME.

I've decided to embrace my inner turtle!

For the last few years I gave myself daily writing goals of thousands of words, then kicked myself every night when my numbers fell short.

Then I gave myself weekly goals of thousands of words, once again to feel guilty or disgusted when I didn't hit my goals.

In the end, all the big numbers posted on the cork-board over my desk did nothing to motivate me, in fact, it did nothing but scare the crap out of me everyday!

Clearly I needed a new plan.

Enter the turtle.

Just before the new year, I sat myself down and analyzed how I work best – and giving myself huge goals didn't make the list. Giving myself a giant goal for the week or the month or even the year is more like a noose for me or just plain quicksand. In a word, paralyzing.

I thought about how I motivated my kids when they were small – YES! I am the star on the calendar kind of girl. I am firm believer in the small successes lead to major accomplishments way of thinking, the whole "slow and steady wins the race" philosophy.

How often do you hear, be yourself in every aspect of life. We don't all fit into a one-size fits all box – we don't all have to write the same way. We don't all have to write 2000 words a day or 20,000 words a week. Yes, we have to write, but for each of us the numbers will vary, just like our plots. And for me, without the 1000 word a day noose around my neck, my inner muse is finally opening up and showing up for work.

I've adopted a very small, very achievable plan of writing 212 words a day – close to one single page. Slow, steady and ONWARD! It's working. I've finished a chapter without the guilt of thinking it should have been last week. My family sees a happier me, and those small numbers not only give me the sense of positive results every day, they really do add up!

What about you?

I didn't achieve those dreams. Well not entirely. I'm not a marine biologist, though my fascination with the ocean and marine life is still alive and well. I do consider myself an artist though. Instead painting on canvas with oils and skilled brush strokes, I create art by painting a picture with words. If I do it well enough, you as the reader will feel as though the story comes alive for you. Like you are actually right there with the characters every step of their journey.

I consider this dream to be an everlasting work in progress. Each time I sit down and open my manuscript, it is an opportunity to grow and perfect my piece of art. I want to learn from the authors I admire and aspire to be like. My critique partners each serve as my teachers (though they may not realize it). They share their strengths through their feedback, they encourage me to see the beauty in what I've created, and most importantly… they keep me positive, grounded, and somewhat focused on the larger picture. And of course my own personal tidbit of advice… listen and don't be afraid to pursue opportunities that fall into your lap.

Once you decide on that dream, the one you can't live without achieving, you want to immerse yourself in the pursuit of it. You want to surround yourself with people who can help you along your journey. So do tell, what do you want to be when you grow up and what little tips and tricks do you have to share about your journey to success?

Every year people rush to make their resolutions. I resolve to get in shape, to lose weight, to finish that manuscript from 1988 about the robots from outer space who come to Earth because of Boy George and Cindy Lauper.

You know what happens to about 98.7% (a figure I made up just for this post) of those resolutions? They get forgotten. The pressure becomes to much and they barely make it past the first month. We forget about them.

No longer will this be the case for this zombie slaying, faerie loving, kilt obsessed author. Oh no. Starting with the year 2012, this will now become the time that I set goals. Small or big it matters little. I know I can hear you back there. "But Moira aren't goals the same thing as resolutions?"

To that I say… bah! The word resolution seems to be steeped in a cloak of negativity. They seem destined for failure. In all actuality, the word just seems to damn big. Perhaps resolution needs to go on a diet?

Okay I'm off my soapbox. My goals for the year have been set. They aren't huge. They are attainable…for the most part. Some might need a little push from cupid, others might need the every present and helpful support of my PC Girls to see come to fruition, but all in all they are goals I can live with. Goals that can be reached. So who's with me? Who is bucking the Resolution tradition and climbing on the back of the Goal Bandwagon with me? Bethanne's got the coffee back here. Silke brought-well if you want to know what everyone brought I guess you will have to just climb aboard and share!