2/27/2011

Shuttle launch and cover update

As many times as we've seen the space shuttle launches on TV, generally a ground view watching the column of fire and smoke rise into the air, I don't think I've seen it from the air before. This clip was caught by a passenger on a jet, which just happened to be passing by in range to see the Discovery make its last trip into space.

Shuttle Launch clip

I got a black and white copy of the Reef Runner cover for an ad in RT Book Reviews, and there are changes. I don't have a color copy yet, but I'll post it when I do.

2/15/2011

Just a note...

The CAPA winners were announced yesterday during a day-long party on The Romance Studio's website, and the winner for the Romantic Suspense category was J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). Since I was a) not even aware that there was such an award until someone pointed out to me that Blood Money had been nominated, and b) realistic about my chances of winning it, I am not distressed by this, and in fact was expecting it. Congratulations to J.D. Robb for winning, and my thanks to The Romance Studio for even including me on the same list with her.

2/12/2011

Reef Runner



This is the cover image I received for Reef Runner, the third book in the Patty O'Donnell Mysteries series. There's a possibility it may end up looking a little different from this in its final form, but probably not much.

I've just finished going through the galley looking for those niggly bits that managed to escape author, editor, and proofreader on previous run-throughs. So far it looks pretty good, but there's always the chance something glaringly wrong will show up only after it's in print and nothing can be done about it.

It looks like the publication date will be in April, which means it will be available in ebook first, and then paperback about a month or so later, either in May or June, depending on when in April it comes out.

And here's the blurb from the back of the book:

Patty O’Donnell has everything she could want in life—a loving husband, a job she enjoys, and a year-old daughter she adores. An enemy from the past needs to make a lot of money quickly and believes he can use Patty’s skills and talents. Forced to choose between life as his slave and her daughter’s safety, Patty sacrifices her own future to save her child.

Every step takes Patty deeper into a world of theft and deception. A scam on the Great Barrier Reef nets two very different results—financial gain, and the unexpected attention of a dangerous crime boss, who offers them both a choice. Serve him, or die.


You can find reviews and the first chapter here.

2/01/2011

And the winners are...

...by default, Snuffygump and Purplume, since they were the only ones to enter. Ladies, take your victory stroll around the track, and when you come back, email me your addresses (erm, yes, even you, Snuffygump. I've managed to misplace it.)

The weather forecast looks nastier by the hour, so if you guys don't get email confirmation from me on your addresses, just be patient. I'll get to it once we're up and running again. I really hope it doesn't do what they're forecasting. Especially the -7 degrees they're talking about a few nights from now. The houses in this part of the country really aren't designed to handle that sort of cold. Not to mention that a lot of trees were damaged in the ice storm a couple of years ago, and even a light coating of ice with the winds they're talking about is going to bring a lot of limbs down. Ah, the lovely sound of chainsaws echoing across frozen fields buried under 4-10 inches or more of snow.

Naw, I think I'd rather not imagine that.