FIRST order of business: A huge hearty THANK YOU to everyone who hosted me for my book release blog tour! You were all great, and busy–holy cow, I think there were three blog tours running at the same time. Bravo and thank you to all those who stopped by mine and the other tours!
Woo-hoo! Finally the weekend! Kids are at school, the weather is spring-like, and I can relax and unwind from–
“A-hem.”
Damn. He’s behind me, isn’t he. Good thing I decided not to do my version of the Snoopy dance.
“Like I haven’t seen it before, love. Go ahead. Get it out of your system.”
Well, now I don’t want to do it. I turn. Sure enough, my Muse is giving me the “are you quite finished” look. “What?”
He leans against the desk in my writing office, all rugged eye candy, especially with those fine-fitting jeans and his burgundy henley, sleeves shoved halfway up his forearms. He crosses those sinewy arms, which just pulls my gaze to his broad chest.
“You’re not usually so blatant about that, love.”
Damn again. I force myself to focus on his face, with the dimple in his chin and that bare shadow from five o’clock. And those blue eyes …
“Hey,” he barks as he snaps his fingers. “Focus.”
I shake my head to shuffle my thoughts. That was weird.
“Not really.”
“Would you stop that?” I’d feel better if he couldn’t read all my thoughts. Especially those thoughts.
He chuckles, and the room warms. Or maybe it’s just me. “I’m your Muse, love. And it’s flattering.” He raises a finger. “But you need to focus. You have stuff to do before you leave next week.”
“I know. I know. I just finished the blog tour. I think it went pretty well.” Now to catch up on all those other blogs I didn’t get to. Not sure I’ll ever catch up at this rate. “Speaking of, I hope you and Mr. E got your pub crawling done for a while.” I have to get moving on Book 2. For the eighth time.
He smiles that crooked smile that makes the room get even warmer. “You have other priorities this week. Sounds like it’s going to be a grand gathering this year.”

April 4-7 ย Register now, because it’ll be a blast!
Yes! I can’t wait! There is something about being around all those other writers at the conference that stirs up creative energy.
“And you need to get your presentations put together.”
Um. Yeah. “You really know how to crash a weekend vibe.” At least he didn’t remind me of …
“You have cleaning on your list.” He holds up a piece of paper–where did he snag my list from? “Oh, and that can’t wait.” He ticks off an item. “This can wait, but you better do this one this weekend.”
“Where the hell did you get my list? And which one?”
“The dreaded ‘clean the refrigerator’ one.” He sets the list on the desk beside him. “So, can we get the presentations done tomorrow? Then you have the whole next day to clean.”
Oh joy.
This year will be a busy one at the Writers’ Institute, now that I have a real book I can sell at the book sale. And two presentations. And two panels. So, I’ll be getting further behind in my quest to catch up on reading blogs. Next week’s post will go live a day later than usual so I can get all the good stuff in from the big days at the conference. And it’s all good stuff ๐
Enjoy your weekend!

Does this chair make me look fat?
March 30, 2019 at 7:44 am
Wow, you ARE going to be busy. I’m so excited for you with the conference. It sounds like it’s going to be a blast, and I hope you sell a ton of books. I’m locking Mr. E up for a while. He has to help me bang out chapter 2 of the WIP so I can submit my synopsis. Oh, wait–that’s not done either. ๐
You had a great tour. You deserve the Snoopy dance!
P.S….love Zoey and the caption. Typical female, LOL!
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March 30, 2019 at 2:02 pm
I’m looking forward to the conference (and partly because there doesn’t seem to be any snowstorms on the horizon ๐ ). I think the tour went well thanks to all my wonderful hosts!
My Muse will be with me at the Writers’ Institute, so E shouldn’t have any distractions ๐
And Zoey–she’s cooped up in the house all winter, so she puts on winter weight. By the middle of summer she’s scrawny again cuz she’s always going outside. Kinda like the rest of us ๐
Have a great weekend, Mae!
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March 30, 2019 at 8:51 am
What a taskmaster. I don’t know how you do anything with him around, but it’s a good thing he’s there for motivation—you’ve got a lot going on. Good luck and have fun at the conference. I’m doing my Snoopy dance for you!
I’ve told my muse the cleaning can wait. He disagrees. And yet, I feel no motivation. Just his disapproval. Wishing you more luck with yours.
Have a great weekend!
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March 30, 2019 at 2:12 pm
I’m (in) famous for procratination and cleaning. Hosting the family Easter forces me to stop procrastinating ๐ So, if you ever decide to visit, better give me a couple weeks warning ๐
Looking forward to the conference! It’s a lot of fun, and I always leave energized to write. Which I know my Muse will appreciate ๐
Enjoy your weekend, Staci!
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March 30, 2019 at 9:04 am
My muse isn’t so handsome, sigh. But that’s okay because the Hubster is a looker.:-)
You sound awfully busy, but it sounds like fun work, um, except maybe the part about cleaning the refrigerator.:-)
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March 30, 2019 at 2:14 pm
Heh, probably helps that your muse isn’t so visually distracting (but the hubster could povide that distraction ๐ )
Yeah, that refrigerator part always seems to get, um, avoided. But hosting Easter is like the deadline–gotta do it before the family comes over.
Have a great weekend, Priscilla!
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March 30, 2019 at 9:43 am
Good luck with the presentation. The book is so unique, I can’t imagine people won’t love it. You’ll be hearing from me soon on that.
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March 30, 2019 at 2:17 pm
So glad you enjoyed the book, Jacqui!
Now to get my presentations figured out. Sigh. They’ll work out fine, I’m sure.
Enjoy your weekend! Happy Spring!
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March 30, 2019 at 11:41 am
The conference sounds fun and I’m sure your book will be a hit. You fully deserve the snoopy dance:) Glad to hear you are having some spring. Enjoy your weekend!
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March 30, 2019 at 2:22 pm
I’m looking forward to the conference. It’s both exhausting and energizing being around all those other authors. And Spring is tiptoeing her way in; sunny and maybe warm one day, then cooler, then warmer. At least there doesn’t seem to be any snowstorms in the forecast like we had last year!
Have a great weekend, Denise!
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March 30, 2019 at 12:00 pm
My daughter came over and said, “That cat has a very small head,” so apparently that chair does make her look fat!
OMG–your muse can read your thoughts?! Daaaaaang…. So embarrassing.
Does it feel weird to have real life things on your to do list rather than just writerly things? I hate when the real world intervenes, but when you need time away to let the project steep, I guess you might as well be sure your home is still functional.
Hooray for the writers conference! And to have you book with you this time around! Living the dream, guuuurl!
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March 30, 2019 at 2:28 pm
Heh. Zoey stays in the house over the winter, so she puts on winter weight. Once it gets nice out, like this time of year, she starts going outside again. By the middle of summer sheโll be skinny again.
Yes, that real life stuff sure gets in the way of my writing time ๐ But it is an excuse to do some decent cleaningโotherwise I make do with cleaning the bathrooms and sweeping the floor.
Looking forward to the writersโ conference. It always seems to energize my creativity. And yay! I have an actual book this year!
Have a great weekend, Betsy!
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March 31, 2019 at 7:40 am
I’m glad you had fun with the tour, Julie, and do that Snoopy Dance. Enjoy the Institute and then on to book 2. ๐
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March 31, 2019 at 7:57 am
Thanks, Diana! Planning to have a great time at the Institute, and charging the creative energies to apply to Book 2 ๐
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April 2, 2019 at 10:33 am
Dance away, my friend! ๐ You deserve it! Wow, you have a busy time ahead of you! Good luck with the conference and they’ll love your book!! Enjoy! As for cleaning, that’s not going anywhere! Hope all is going well with your next book … no pressure! xx
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April 2, 2019 at 10:48 am
Yes. I keep leaving the cleaning hoping it will get bored and go visit someone else, but alas, it never leaves. ๐ Once I get through the next few weeks and have a chance to collect my thoughts (like herding cats. Or kittens. Or meerkats), Iโll dig into book 2. My Muse is eager to break out the fedora and bullwhip ๐
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