Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

From our house in Florida to yours...wishing all of you the peace, joy and blessings of the season, and best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2008. This is our Santa in front of our house, celebrating Christmas South Florida style!

Finally, Feb. 2008, back to print!

The Falcon and the Dove is scheduled to be reprinted Feb. 2008. Yay!

Why our dog hates us

Tiger is saying, "Must I endure this? This is sooo NOT worth a lousy dog biscuit. Why don't you take these antlers and stuff them up Santa's uh-huh? Tia, I sure hope they don't make you put this crap on in doggie heaven."

Book giveaway

Release party over at Unusual Historicals. Stop by for a chance to win an autographed copy of The Tiger & the Tomb. Click here.

For my Spanish lectores!

Queridos Lectores,

Feliz Navidad! Mil gracias a todos ustedes quienes han optado por mis libros. Yo realmente aprecio esto de corazon. Desde nuestro hogar al de ustedes, deseandoles a todos ustedes y a sus seres queridos unas felices fiestas y un maravilloso y prospero año nuevo lleno de paz y alegria.

Mis mejores deseos,

Bonnie Vanak

P.S. Gracias Raquel y Yolanda!

A special thank you to readers

Just a quick note of thanks to readers. You rock and I deeply appreciate you. To anyone who ever bought my books, thank you. If the book disappointed you, I apologize for letting you down. If the book thrilled you, I'm glad I was able to provide entertainment.

I am trying to squeeze in reading time this month and cherish the utter joy of being able to read, something I used to take for granted. This morning before leaving for work I got in ten minutes of Allyson James's The Black Dragon. I'm halfway through. I finished DRAGON HEAT and loved Caleb and have been dying to read Malcolm's story. He's a very sexy dragon.

Next up is Linnea Sinclair's Down Home Zombie Blues and Loreth Anne White's new one.

Happy reading, everyone!

Tia

One year ago today, we lost our dog, Tia, so I'm taking an internet break, but wanted to post her photo for anyone interested. Such a loyal, wonderful friend she was. I still miss her, tons.

Drama last night when I tried to get home from the day job and found our neighborhood blocked off by cop cars and the SWAT team roaming the streets. Turns out some yahoo with a gun robbed the grocery store one block over. The same grocery store where the little old ladies flock there in their motorized shopping carts and argue with the cashiers about expired coupons.

Anyway, said yahoo then fled into my neighborhood, still armed and dangerous. I think they caught him.

The only good thing in all the commotion I got to see my neighbors again and we chatted. Gosh I have such nice neighbors. We invited one over with his kids to see our trains. Sad that the only time I ever get to talk with them is after a hurricane disaster and when there's an armed robber running loose in the neighborhood. "Hey look, SWAT team, gunman, was that a bullet flying past? Say, are you guys coming to our Christmas party this year? We'll have rum and eggnog." Sigh...

Hump Day Hunk

Everyone join with me now in chanting, DROP THE TOWEL, DROP THE TOWEL, DROP IT!

Hee hee. Have a great Hump Day!

Contest winner and new cover!

Yay! Jennifer and I have a winner for our OLDIES FOR NEWBIES blog contest!

It's Susan, schaballa. Congratulations Susan! Thanks everyone who entered the contest. And for all those who are itching for another contest, I'm running one on my website and giving away a handmade jewelry box. Click here to get more information.

In other news, I FINISHED the book! YAY! My second Nocturne is done! It's tentatively titled Enemy Lover and is Damian's story from The Empath. It's set in New Orleans. Love that city. We visited back in April and did everything from riding the street car to City Park to eating at Brennan's.

Oh yeah, got some great news this week! Found out The Empath, my first Nocturne, made Bookscan's list of Top 100 Bestselling Romance! Yay!

My next release after The Empath, which is officially out this month, is The Scorpion& the Seducer. Another Egyptian historical. Here's the cover. Let me know what you think. It's Nathan Kemp. I like how he's staring at her like he's really conflicted. Should I? Or shouldn't I? Scorpion is Jasmine's story from The Cobra & the Concubine. And the seducer is Lord Thomas Claradon, an earl's heir who falls in love with her, but it's a forbidden love as she's outcast from high society.

Have a great Sunday. I'm going to celebrate finishing my book by cleaning the house and hunting down dust bunnies.

Guest blog

At Fresh Fiction today on the healing power of romance.

Click here.

Hump Day Hunk

Getting down to the wire with the book due Dec. 1. It's almost done. So close, so close. My brain is functioning on Cheerios and 4 hours sleep. But it's Wed and I need to do a hump day hunk. So here's Christian, Portrait of Man In Tub. Sometimes showing no body can be very sexy.

Doesn't it look like he's saying, "Get in the tub now before I come out and get you?" I just wanna play with his rubber ducky. Hee.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving filled with love, blessings, friends, family and lots of good eats.

Here's a gift from me to you... a peek at my new German cover. The book's not out until Oct. 2008. Hope you have a great day. Don't forget to enter our contest below. It ends Nov. 30.

Hump Day Hunk

"A large shadow detached itself from a tree and approached. She smelled forest, pine. Nicolas. A band of moonlight caressed his naked body.

Her hungry gaze roved over his powerful chest, the sculpted muscles banding his arms and legs.

“What are you doing out here?”

His deep voice seemed thick and husky. Maggie stood and faced him.

“Waiting for you.”

She knew what would happen. Though she was a little afraid, her instincts urged her forward.

“Are you ready for me?” she whispered.

The dark hunger on his face gave her the answer.

Nicolas held out a hand. “Come inside, Maggie,” he softly ordered. “It’s time. It’s long past time.”

He waited, his palm outstretched. Maggie took his hand as he led her inside. Nicolas closed the door behind her. Turned around, an intent expression marking his face. Dark, hungry. His body taut, coiled energy ready to spring.

A little shiver went through her. He meant to take her. Tonight. Here. Now. He would not be denied his mate any longer. " From my Dec. Nocturne, THE EMPATH. Saw it last night at Books-a-Million. It's out! Also available on e harlequin and Barnes and Noble.

ENTER OUR OLDIES FOR NEWBIES CONTEST!

Five years ago this month, Jennifer Ashley and I published our first romance novels with Dorchester. Jennifer's book, PERILS OF THE HEART, was a pirate romance. My book, THE FALCON & THE DOVE, was a sheikh romance.

So we decided to mate pirates with sheikhs and our new venture is a sheikh who sails the sands and ends up wandering the shelves of a large mass market merchandiser as he searches for himself. We're calling it PERILS OF THE WALMART.

Just kidding. But we ARE celebrating the anniversary of our debut books. So we're running a very special blog contest.

All you have to do is list in either this blog's comment section or Jennifer's blog comments section the name of the heroines in each of the following debut Dorchester author books:

Forecast by Jana Tara
Grace by Deneane Clark
Divorced, Desperate, and Delicious by Christie Craig
Star Crash by Elyssa Hendricks

To give you a hint, here's a link to Dorchester's new releases page.

One lucky winner will receive one free book from both my backlist and Jennifer's. For my backlist, this includes the Spanish copies of either THE FALCON & THE DOVE or THE TIGER AND THE TOMB.

As a bonus, Colleen Thompson has offered to throw in one of her backlist books as well. Book lists can be found at Jennifer's website and my website and Colleen's website.

Contest ends November 30. Happy hunting!!!

Headboard banging sex is annoying

Thanks everyone for your comments, condolences and emails on the passing of Rainey. It's much appreciated.

I'm near Orlando now, spending the night after doing the Romancing the Holidays booksigning. DH was supposed to join me, but had to work. The booksigning was fun. I met the fabulous Ana from RBL romantica, and two readers, Jann and Ellee from Ocala, and lots of other people. I got to spend a little time with the fabulous Linnea Sinclair and her hubby, Robbie. Linnea won the RITA last year for paranormal and has a new book out the end of the month, THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES. Check it out.

So I spent the night in Altamonte Springs, because I was exhausted to drive home. Here I am in this cheap motel with cardboard walls and the couple next door is having moaning, groaning headboard banging sex.

I tried turning up the TV. the louder it is, the more they moan. Right now it's the travel channel show on Glastonbury, England and country fairs v.s. OHHHHHHHHHHH, OHHHHHHHHHH, DO ME BABY!

Not that I mind headboard banging sex. But when I'm on deadline with a book, exhausted from driving almost four hours yesterday and doing a 3-hour booksigning, homesick and trying to write a very dark scene involving the hero of my book telling the heroine about his tortured past, headboard banging sex is really annoying.

Such is the glam life of a romance author.

Tomorrow Jennifer Ashley and I are running a month-long blog contest and giving away one book from each of our backlists. Anything the winner desires. Check in tomorrow for details.

AMENDED: 8:43 a.m.

OMG, I saw the couple who was in the room next door having the headboard banging sex at 6:30 this morning. They left their room and walked ahead of me as I went to get coffee. They're, like in their early 70's!! There's some kind of senior citizen get together here, a group of older people.

OMG. I had to bite my mouth to keep from laughing. GO GRANNY!!!

She's gone

Rainey died this morning.

We woke up at 5:30 a.m. and I came into the kitchen and she was dead.

She spared us from having to put her down. My instincts told me last night she was dying. She stopped eating yesterday, and was listless. Kept lying down. I picked her up, held her several times. She seemed to like that, me holding her in my arms.

Rainey died from cancer on Halloween. Tia was gone from cancer just before Christmas. I hate the holidays.

I'm going offline until Monday. Monday Jennifer Ashley and I are starting a new blog contest to help out new Dorchester authors. But for now, I just some private time.

Booksigning this weekend

I'm doing a booksigning this weekend with 21 other authors at the Altamonte Mall in Altamonte Springs, Saturday, Nov. 3 from 2-5 p.m. 20% of the proceeds benefits the Adult Literacy League. Stop by just to say hello and get a free signed cover flat of my new Nocturne, THE EMPATH. Click here for details.

Also, stay tuned to this blog. My friend Jennifer Ashley and I were talking and because November is our 5 year anniversary of our debut books with Leisure, we're going to run a cool blog contest. We're still working out the details, so keep watching.

Five years ago we both got published. I totally forgot. I remember how excited I was when I saw The Falcon & the Dove on the shelves of bookstores. Seeing a dream realized is very cool.

Rainey is... hanging in there. My dog is blind now. It's heartbreaking to watch her. but her other senses must be kicking in because she seems to be managing better now than 3 days ago. She's barely eating. Showed no interest in food, other than a hot dog. I think it's because she's dying and also she can't see the food. So I bought her Hebrew National hot dogs, all beef. She ate some. My kosher Shih Tzu.

I suspect she won't make it until Thanksgiving and we'll have to put her down soon.

Such is life. We're just trying to keep her comfortable and keep lavishing love on her. It's all we can do.

The writing has picked up pace a little. The next Nocturne is due in four weeks and I'm not done, but I'm making some progress, which is better than nothing. I was supposed to be in Guatemala this week for the day job, instead I'm just going to the office each day. I opted out of that trip because Rainey is so sick and I couldn't leave DH alone all week to deal with a dog dying from cancer. I forgot how much work it is... giving her all the meds, trying to find food she will eat, and because she's on prednisone, she has to pee every two hours or so. So constantly, she's going outside. And she's having accidents. It's okay. This is why we have a rug machine.

Now Tropical Storm Noel, which is predicted to grow into HURRICANE Noel, may bump our coast. Or come on shore and say howdy. Noel already killed 20 people in the DR.

Tomorrow is Halloween and we get Noel.

What. Ever.

I have no energy to do anything hurricane. Hopefully DH can get some gas for the generator just in case the power kicks out. But other than that... I'm not doing anything. It's already very windy here, expected to be at least 30-40 mph today. I bet the dudes on the beach with their kite surfing are having a grand time. They're probably zipping along the coast and the crashing waves. I can envision it now, one big guy taking his kite and next thing you know, he's in Jacksonville, looks around and mutters. "Whoa dude. How did that happen?" :-)

Negative

This is Marcus Patrick, a very sexy actor. I thought some hunk would suffice for my last post for a while.

Test results for me were negative. Relief.

Vet called, said our dog is just... a mess. Kidney stones, cancer is in her liver now, Cushings disease. Judging by the ultrasound, she's at least 15, maybe older, not the 11 years old the shelter thought.

Yeah, we adopted an older dog because we wanted to give her a good home after our beloved Tia died.

Yeah, we never thought we'd spend the latter part of this year like we did last year... caring for a terminally sick dog with cancer. Trying to ease her pain. We're not putting her on chemo. It's not right. We'd be doing it for ME, because I can't stand to lose another dog so close after we put Tia down.

DH is great. He tells me it was meant to be that she came to us, and had a loving home the last year of her life, with people who really cared. Instead of people who abused her, who didn't care.

It just sucks having another dog die of cancer less than a year than we lost Tia. But that's life. One day at a time, and you do the best you can, and move on. One reason my writing is so important to me. Even if people loathe my books, for me, the writing is a soothing balm. My imagination kicks in and gives me something else to think about other than the bad stuff.

Man, if I ever get very old, I want to be a dirty old lady who works as a Walmart greeter and pinches the butts of cute young guys. Not someone who complains about every little ailment, but someone who really cherishes every moment of life.

So anyway, going off line. Here's a bright spot to think positively. I think he's positively hunky. It's not a hump day hunk, but a Friday hunk.

Have a good one.

So much for staying offline

I had totally forgotten it was Nocturne Day. I did want to share something else, though, seeing its Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Did you know that ultrasound is more efficient in diagnosing a mass that may be cancer than a mammogram? A mammgram shows there's something there. Ultrasound shows if the something is dark, meaning it could be cancer, or clear, which is probably a cyst.

I found out because I went to get both because of the lump I found.I finally worked up the nerve to go to my MD. She says it's probably nothing, but ordered the tests. My aunt died of breast cancer, so I have to be very careful. I had the tests done and will get results back soon. And I hope and pray it's nothing.The tech told me next year they're going to recommend women get a yearly mammogram followed by ultrasound six months later.

I'm trying not to think about the lump, and the test results. I'm already so stressed about having another dog with cancer, and trying to keep her as comfortable as possible and trying to figure out the best course of action. But at least I had it done. And my cousins and I had made a promise to always get our yearly check-ups. Our mothers died of cancer. It's a horrid way to die. Neither of them went to the doctor to get checked.

Am I scared? Yeah. Any kind of abnormality scares me, with my family history. But ignoring it won't make it go away. I remember years ago a co-worker, who had a masectomy, swore she'd never again go through that. She knew something was wrong. Finally she went back for the re-check she had put off for far too long. They found something. She got scared and just took off. Ran away.

Finally she came back. They removed her other breast. But it was too late. She died of breast cancer. Cancer sucks. But they say if you can find it early enough, your chances of survival are very good. I'm thinking of a friend who found a lump when she was only 40. She had it removed, and radiation therapy and is cancer free today, years later.

Two words that are beautiful put together: Cancer-free.

Nocturne day at cataromance

It's Nocturne Day at cataromance.com. Stop by to post questions of Nocturne authors like me and read interviews. You'll get to meet the other authors like Lori Devoti, Lisa Renee Jones, Cynthia Cookie and Vivi Anna.

And ignore that part in my interview about me growing up as a werewolf. Yeah, childhood could be a little hairy at times and I did love full moons, but I was a perfectly normal child. Except for that one time when I bit the neighbor's ankle...hmm...

Bad news

Hi everyone. I'm going offline for a while, only going online to check out certain canine chemo options. Very bad news from the vet today. Rainey, the Shih Tzu we adopted in January after we had to put Tia down in December from liver cancer, has lymphoma and Cushings Disease.

The vet gave her 6 weeks without chemo. The cancer is malignant.

I really am not in the mood to post anything and I still have a book due in December and the day job. Life goes on despite bad news. I'm also awaiting test results for myself.

Last week I found a lump. With my family history (my aunt died of breast cancer), I went to the doctor. I will find out results this week.

So I'm going offline for a while. Best of luck and I hope your days are full of nothing but good things.

Guest blog at FRESH FICTION TODAY

Click here to read about When Romance Authors CHEAT on their Heroes.

The Falcon & the Dove on hip hop

Watch the You Tube video below and you'll see my first book, The Falcon & the Dove. Hilarious. But WHAT are they doing with those apples? Thanks to Deepa for tipping me off!

Armand Van Helden -- NYC Beat

No reservations

I love this show.

Anthony Bourdain just said he's having some kind of bean curd crisis. He's in China and called a dish "looks like jellied mop water."

He's a smart ass food tour guide who exposes other cultures and food in a way that makes raw pork seem... appetizing.

Blurb for THE EMPATH!

I really like this back cover copy for my Dec. Nocturne.

The wolf must have a mate to survive…

Nicholas was the strongest and fiercest of the Draicon, until he was banished for a trumped-up crime. Now, the werewolf has only one path to redemption: find the Draicon’s long-lost empath, the woman who will save the pack – and Nicholas himself – from terrible danger.

Maggie Sinclair is a veterinarian, dedicated to healing. She has no idea of her true nature, the magic waiting in her soul – or the man coming to claim her. The survival of their pack depends on them finding each other, on their ability to become one.

But their enemies have also found Maggie, and will kill to stop her awakening to an all-consuming passion….

Hump Day Hunk

This is what I want to do this morning.

No, not be in bed with the guy. Just be in bed. Asleep. I'm really wiped out this week.

Pretty pathetic when you see a photo of a yummy man in bed and all you feel is...

Tired.

Happy Hump Day.

The Empath excerpt

This is the beginning of a love scene. Hope you enjoy.

She felt herself lifted and hooked her arms around Nicolas’ neck. Maggie squinted, shocked at how easily she could see in the darkness. The cottage he walked toward was square, with brown paint and a dull brown shingled roof. A wood rail fence ran around the edges of the land, ending where the forest began. Beneath a tall oak was a wooden swing built for two. A long wooden porch and sheltering tin roof ran the length of the home. Rocking chairs and wood Adirondack chairs lined the porch. Charming, quaint. Like grandma’s cottage in the woods.

She remembered the Big Bad Wolf, wanting to eat the little girl.

“If you want me to, I’ll do exactly that.”

The smoky desire in Nicolas’ voice filled her with delicious heat. She shifted in his arms as he opened the door.

“No key. No one dares to come here. The magick wards off all intruders, but Draicon.” He set her gently down on her feet, stroked her hair. “Which proves my point, Maggie. If you were not one of us, you couldn’t enter. As soon as you reached the driveway, you’d become so violently ill you’d be forced to turn around. The suggestion of food poisoning would erase any suspicion from your mind.”



Maggie ran a hand up his chest, relishing the hardness beneath her fingertips. He’d done so much to keep her safe, putting her needs before his own. The wolf inside her howled with a different need than to run wild and free. Her fingers slipped up the strong curve of his neck, testing the hard pads of muscle on his thick shoulders.


His big body was like chiseled marble. Suddenly she wanted to test his weight, feel him mount her and be inside her.


Nicolas pushed her hand away. His eyes were tormented.


“Go inside, Maggie,” he said thickly. “Make yourself comfortable. I need to check the property.”

“This time of night? I thought you said it was safe.”

“It is. I’m not.”

Swallowing hard, she watched him start to tug the shirt over his head. “Inside, now,” he growled. “I need to run with the moon before I take you and release this wildness inside me. It’s your first time and I want to be gentle.”


Taken aback, she stared. “How… did you?”


“I can tell,” he said shortly. “I can’t smell another man on you.”

Instead of entering the cottage she watched him remove his shirt. Moonlight gilded the rippling muscles of his biceps, the thick hair on his chest. Stubble shadowed his jaw, though he had shaved before they left this afternoon. He kicked off his shoes, removed his socks. Nicolas growled again and turned his back as he tugged down his jeans. Fascinated she saw the outline of his heavy testicles dangling between his outstretched legs.

“Go inside,” he said in a strangled tone.

Maggie watched the smooth halves of his muscled ass as he loped off toward the forest.

Hump Day HUNK

It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day so here's me commentary on Christian Bale's butt...


Shiver me timbers but there be a fine arse! He could drop his anchor on my ship and fire his cannon anytime.

Speaking of which, the great website, talk like a pirate, offers these Top Ten pickup lines for laddies to pick up a lass or two.


"Top Ten Pickup lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day

10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8. Come on up and see me urchins.

7/ Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?

4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?

3. Ya know, darlin', I'm 97 percent chum free.

2. Well blow me down?And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is ...

1. Prepare to be boarded."

Hello?

Conversation this morning...

Customer service rep: Hello, ____ county property appraiser's office.

Me: Hi, I live out of the area and own land there, and I lost the form to pay my property taxes. We looked all over for it last night but can't find it. I need to know what to do to pay my tax bill.

CSR: Um, the tax bills haven't been mailed yet. They don't mail out until the middle of October.

Me: You mean I lost a bill that hasn't been mailed yet?

CSR: Yes

Me: And I'm trying to pay money for a bill I don't owe yet?

CSR: (Giggling) Yes, m'am.

Me: Ok, thanks.

Me: hanging up, muttering to self: I need a vacation...

Another police officer killed

Yesterday police spent the day looking for Shawn Sherwin Labeet, 25.




He was suspected of shooting 4 police officers this morning, killing one, in Cutler Ridge. Armed with an AK-47 and wearing a bullet-proof vest, he opened fire after police pulled him over in his car for weaving erratically in and out of traffic. They were searching for a burglary suspect.



It was all over the news. Police cordoned off the entire area in Miami where the shooting took place, not letting residents back into their homes while they search for evidence. Then they cordoned off a warehouse near my home, where local news reports say he was last seen. His mother works there. Hundreds of cops from agencies all over S. Florida combed the streets, looking for him. Police closed a major on-ramp to I-95 near my house.

They found him shortly before midnight in Pembroke Pines, hiding in an apartment complex. Police exchanged gunfire and he died.

The dead officer, Jose Somohano, 37, leaves behind a wife and two little kids. He was only doing his job to protect the public. Now he's dead.

I have friends who are cops. This is freaking scary. This is the third cop killing this year down. WTH is this with people on the street carrying semi-automatic weapons? Why should the bad guys be better armed than the street cops?

Hump Day Hunk

Is the amazing Christian Bale. I saw 3:10 to Yuma last night. Needed a movie that would take my mind off Sept. 11. Wow. I walked out of there feeling uplifted. Rarely does that happen at the movies. It's because Yuma is an old-fashioned Western cowboy movie with real heroism thrown in there, plus enough ambigious gray areas to prevent it being stodgy and preachy.

Both Russell Crowe and Bale were excellent, and it was a delight to see Peter Fonda as well play a grizzled bounty hunter.

If you're in need of a hero, go see this movie. It's got violence, but not gore, just guns shooting and one squicky scene with a fork that I closed my eyes to. But it's worth every penny.

We need more movies today with heroes in them.

On another note, my eyes are doing better. I was on meds all last week and now I'm slowly catching up. I have a book due in 11 weeks, my second Nocturne. Yikes. I'd rather sit here and stare at Bale. Bale me out, lol.

Going offline for a few days

This week I came down with an eye infection and need to rest my eyes. No computer for you! Good thing it happened this week, after I mailed the last book. The MD said it should clear up in by early next week. In the meantime, I'm on medication that makes everything in my right eye blurry. So if I don't answer your email that's why. Hopefully by early next week I can play catch up.

Have a great weekend! Mine will pass in a blur, lol.

Hump Day Hunk

Just a little behind this morning...

I was so happy to write THE END to my historical Sunday I thought I'd celebrate with another good end.

Cheeky of me, huh?

Ok, enough already. Time to go to work before I make an a** of myself. hee hee

New cover!!!

Yay! Mailed out The Scorpion and the Seducer and today I received the cover for my Dec. Nocturne, THE EMPATH. What do you think? He looks pretty smoking to me. She looks like she can't wait to rip his clothing off. It's a very sensual book and I think the cover fits the book!

Uploaded a first chapter excerpt to The Empath today to my website. Check it out here!

It's over and I cried!

Sob sob!

I FINALLY finished the book!

The Scorpion and the Seducer is DONE. FINI! COMPLETED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's printed and in a box, ready to be mailed.

I cried when I read over the ending. Oh, it was soooo sweet. I felt like Joan Wilder in that first scene in Romancing the Stone, crying as she finished her book.

Then again, maybe I cried with relief because I was finally finished. LOL! Yeah, that's it. The book sucks. NO, it doesn't. Yes, it does. No, it doesn't. It IS different from anything I've written, and has more of a tone that Panther and the Pyramid and Cobra and the Concubine had.

Enough, enough. It's FINISHED. Ta, book! Now at last I can take a small break. Maybe I'll just collapse on the sofa and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz for a while...

What I've been doing all week

This is a photo one of our guys shot in Jamaica, right after Hurricane Dean hit. This woman lost everything, and huddled in her home as it blew apart around her. I've been in the office all week, writing materials to raise money to rebuild homes and help hurricane victims recover.

Tomorrow it's romance writing. The book is due next week and it's not done. Yet. It's tough to go from writing about people losing their homes to Egyptian romances.

It's even tougher for those we help who have lost everything and have to start over from scratch...

Hump Day Hunk

Today's weather forecast is ...

wet. Thanks to Kathy for the pix! And seriously, it is supposed to rain today. A lot.

A calm ocean here...

We're in Melbourne for the weekend; had a free room at the Hilton and it's DH's birthday. Here's the view from our room...

It's very quiet and peaceful here. I'm so thankful we're out of Hurricane Dean's path, but I keep thinking about Jamaica and Haiti, though. Jamaica is going to take a direct hit, unless some miracle happens. And the storm will be a cat. 5 when it hits.

Loss of life, huge property damage.

I hope our guys who were supposed to head down there this morning are going to be okay. I just read that the Hilton is taking all the guests and putting them into the ballroom for safety.

I keep thinking about all the projects we have there on the island, and our huge warehouse, and all the people... and the storm surge... the flooding will be horrible.

By tomorrow we'll know for sure. It's very odd to sit here, look at how peaceful and calm the ocean is and know that far south of me, it's a far different story.

Hurricane Dean

I'm really worried about the islands where we work. Dean is now a cat. 2, may be a cat 4 when it brushes the DR and Haiti and Jamaica may take a direct hit. We're sending a team down to Jamaica tomorrow to be on the island Sunday when it hits. We'll be standing by to send emergency relief supplies like food, water, etc.

Hopefully the island won't get a direct hit, but it doesn't look so good right now.

I have this horrible feeling it will be bad. Very bad. Any time a hurricane even brushes Haiti, there are floods and mudslides. People die. A lot of people may die from this one, in Haiti and Jamaica. I hope I'm wrong. It's very weird because I'm so damned relieved we're not getting it here here in S. Florida and yet I'm watching the news with this same terrible sinking feeling I had when Katrina passed us and slammed into New Orleans. Like watching a slow moving disaster in the works.

For now, all I can do is sit, watch, wait. And pray. I hope it won't be bad.





But I have that sinking feeling it will be. Very very bad.

Hump day hunk

My good friend Linda Broday is part of a new author blog called Petticoats and Pistols. Go check it out here.

Linda has a new book out next year with Kensingston in an anthology with Jodi Thomas called GIVE ME A TEXAN. It's a Western. Yee Haw. Save a horse, ride a cowboy.

Florida needs a giant condom

Tropical Storm Dean is now official. In five days, it's predicted to turn into a cat. 3 hurricane and the latest projections, though there is plenty of room for error, say Florida may be a target.

Oh joy.

Here we go, again. I have two weeks to finish this Dorchester historical and they say we might get a hurricane? A big weally weally BIG one?

I'm sick and tired of hurricanes. After Wilma in 2005 dumped a tree on our house and caused lots of damage, I decided I've had enough. We have the brightest and best minds in science in this country, so why can't we invent something that keeps them away from my state?

Face it, Florida sticks out into the Atlantic and the Gulf like a giant, well, penis. South Florida, where I live, is the tip and Tallahassee is the balls. Considering what politicians do in Tallahassee, they do have plenty of ... balls.

It's like the whole damn state is dangling out there like manly parts, taunting hurricanes from August to October, the busy season, saying, "HERE I AM, WITH MY BIG GIANT MAN FLESH, COME AND GET ME!"

But hurricanes transmit the deadly STD. Storm Transmitted Disaster.

Now, using the analogy of sex, if Florida is a giant dick, then what do you need to protect a giant dick from an STD?

Why a giant condom, of course.

I suggest scientists invent a giant condom to wrap around the state of Florida for hurricane season. Magnum sized.

Maybe then I can chill during hurricane season.

Today's post is over at

Unusual Historicals, and it's on What Inspires you?

http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/

Burn Notice

They're filming today on the 14th Street causeway, where DH and I crossed over last night to eat dinner at a bar on the beach we like. They're going to blow something up. Cool. Wish I could go there and watch, but I have a book due. Last night was wonderful. We ate dinner and went for a walk on the beach. The water was deightfully warm, lapping at our ankles and the breeze was refreshing. It wasn't even hot.

Burn Notice is my new favorite show. It's great seeing the S. Florida scenery looking resplendent. I can pick out various settings and places.

Next month I'm going to Jamaica and a very violent slum. There was a church caretaker murdered there a few days ago. Who knows why. It's too dangerous to go there now because of elections, which means all the gangs are out in full force. I'm going there to interview a priest about how we're helping him try to change the area by building homes for poor families. Hopefully things will be calm by then, but at least I'll have turned in the Dorchester book so if I get shot, I don't have to worry about that deadline.

I can see it now, me in the slum yelling at the gunmen, "Don't shoot me! I'm on deadline." Priorities, you know.

Today's thought

Now that I'm done with typesets for the Dec. werewolf Nocturne...

Pa janm palé lougarou mal dévan moun.

Almost forgot. hump day HUNK

My bad.

I'm so absent-minded lately. I had to leave Thomas in bed with Jasmine, suspended on a moment of coital bliss in Egypt, for the proposal due in 1.5 weeks, then today what arrived? Page proofs for the Dec. Nocturne. It's fun seeing the different editing styles. It's great working for two publishers.

Got some great news I can't share yet, but hopefully I'll be able to announce it soon. :-)

Okay, back to work. Enjoy the view!

Blogging

“When we got to Guillermo it was too late. His body could not fight anymore. Guillermo fought until the last second and kept saying that he did not want to leave his little brother. The last word from Guillermo’s mouth was his little brother’s name. Guillermo was holding a teddy bear until the moment he died. What we experienced in the last minutes of his life is something that I hope we will never have to go through again. Tears rolled down his face at the end. All we have now is an empty bed and his memories.” Missionary I know talking about the death of a six-year-old child from starvation

I wrote about this today and it’s pretty damn depressing, but at least I can try to make a difference. I have a photo of this kid on my desk to remind me what’s really important in life to me. When a child perishes every 5 seconds in the world from hunger, it puts everything into perspective for me.

In other news, I’m turning to the dark side; my writing. I have serious deadlines to meet and I’m a serious deadline person. So I’m not blogging for a while, except for my monthly post on Unusual Historicals. I will be posting an excerpt of my December Nocturne on my website as soon as I get through these deadlines.

On a lighter note, a reader emailed me yesterday that she found The Falcon & the Dove for $3 at half.com. Yay! So if you’re searching for that book, don’t give up. The book is due to go back to print, but I haven’t a date yet. I love used bookstores. And I don’t care if that’s politically incorrect for an author, I just love ‘em. When a reader who wants to read a book can finally find it and not have to pay a ridiculous price, I say here’s to the UBS!

What’s important to me:

The work I do in the Third World.
My writing.
Reading.
DH
And rum runners.

‘Nuff said.

Honduras

Honduras this week... we drove into Santa Rosa to look at a very nice housing project. The community has formed teams to build the houses and one person from each family must contribute. I met a woman who was laying cement on a wall of her home. She told me that the house is a dream come true. She was terrified that the Chagas insect would bite her or her family because she lived in a very poor mud and stick home where the insect likes to live.

Chagas is a horrible disease... this insect passes these deadly parasites on in their feces and bites a person on the face when they are sleeping. The victim gets infected when they scratch the bite. Treatment is only effective in the initial stages. Eventually the victim dies of cardiac failure.

We also saw a dead baby.

At another mud and stick home, a grandmother was holding a wake for her infant granddaughter, who had died the previous day. Only 26 weeks old. The mother had a c-section but the baby was too underdeveloped. The baby was in this tiny tiny white coffin, with plastic flowers surrounding her. the grandmother had a candle burning on the table for the baby because they are too poor to afford oil for the lamps.

The contrast was so striking...the pristine tiny white satin-lined coffin on this plastic table, the crude mud brick walls of the home and the dirt floor and the grandmother's sad sad face...
I think the hardest part of this trip was the visit to the HIV orphanage. All the children are HIV positive. They have a strong family bond among each other because almost all of them lost their parents to HIV. They are on drug therapy, thank God, but still.... Carlos told us on one visit, when a child was asked what he wanted, he replied, "I want to live longer."

Damn, what the hell do you say to a child who tells you that?

Going home today and I am so exhausted I can barely drag myself to pack. I wrote about 4 pages this week and they suck. I don't know how the hell I will finish this book. I'm working two jobs this year, at the day job and writing these books and this month with a trip to Haiti and now this Honduras trip.... I'm burnt out.

I feel like I almost don't even care anymore... and maybe it isn't worth writing romance. Even the day job... do I really make a difference? Does anyone really care? I work and work and work and I need a break, but I can't take one because I have two books due and I have a day job.

Some days I just wonder if it's really worth it, when I collapse into bed and all I can see are those kids in the HIV orphanage with their sad sad faces who just want to live.

I need a hero!

I’m in mourning today. All of America should be. Kurt Vonnegut died, at the age of 84. Vonnegut was brilliant. Sharp, biting, his satirical novels and short stories carved him a place in American pop culture, a culture he mocked. Slaughterhouse-Five is his best known work, but I remember him most for having the guts to go his own way, not give a damn what anyone else thought and shock people, not to be popular, but to make them sit up and pay attention to what’s going on in the world. To think for themselves for a change.

An iconoclast who was a POW during WWII, (you know, the big one?), he was against censorship, was for saving the planet (he once suggested writing on the wall of the Grand Canyon, "we probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap," as a message to aliens who might landed there) and soul-growing society through diffuse art to block the increasing numbing of America through TV.

We need more folk heroes like Vonnegut. Folk heroes who stand for intelligent debate, shock us with their brilliant wit and crude humor and make us think for a change. Instead, we have shock jocks whose main goal is to increase their ratings and in the process, say cruel and racist things. I seriously doubt Vonnegut would have called the Rutgers female basketball players, “nappy-headed hos.”

The whole Imus debacle makes me wonder about the so-called dumbing down of America. A few months ago, Dh and I rented Idiocracy. The flick (Ethan Cohen co-wrote it with Mike Judge) was hilarious, and disturbing. It’s about the true dumbing down of America. In the movie, (spoiler alert!!) people in present-day America are intelligent and evolved. In the future, they’re dumber than shit. Honestly. That’s the only way to describe it. The mega corporation Brawndo manufactures a sports drink that people use for everything, from flushing their toilets to irrigating their crops, which is causing a food shortage and they don’t know WHY the crops won’t grow. The Brawndo advertising slogan is recited like we used to mumble Sunday School cathechism.

The movie left me disturbed because although it’s satire, you can see flecks of it here and there in today’s society. When American Idol is the number one show, and newspapers are struggling to breathe (look at the Tribune take-over, I have friends who work for Tribune papers) and people are more concerned with what happens to Anna Nicole’s rotting corpse than anything else, will Idocracy become our future? Are we becoming more passive as a nation, nodding like those head bobble dolls at everything thrown at us?

I sometimes wonder if it’s because we’re trying to do too much, cram too much, work too much, play too much and at the end of the day, we’re so freaking tired that shows like American Idol are all we can stand. I work at an emotionally draining day job. I also write romance novels at night. There's bills to pay, family health problems, birthdays, dogs to care for, you name it and I have two more books due this year. And sometimes I’m so exhausted all I want is mindless entertainment.I too, am in danger of becoming a bobble doll.

It’s times like that when I need a good kick in the brain and remind myself make the effort to reach for something better. It’s times like that when I find myself weeping for the demise of brilliance like Vonnegut. We need more folk heroes like him.

The Sword & the Sheath By Bonnie Vanak BookPeek

My new book video! The Sword & The Sheath is in stores now!!!

I must be crazy...

How am I going to write three books this year, work nearly FT, travel for the day job and have a life?

I forgot how exhausting field work is. Even a trip like this to Jamaica, where I'm not in the car for 4 hours straight, is wearing me out. I got back to the hotel today and headed for the shower to wash away the dirt and grime and dust and all I can hear in my head is the chant, "Three books to write!" Like some kind of tormenting gremlin invading my mind.

I actually did a little writing on the Nocturne book in the field while we were waiting on a local pastor to arrive and take us to a woman's burnt out house. He was 15 minutes late and I wrote while we were waiting. That's all, folks. I've been too exhausted to do much more than go out to dinner with everyone at night and discuss the day and then come back and fall into bed.

Three books to write and this job. How can I do it?? and my March book out soon. I can't even think about that book now... if DH were here, he'd be reminding me, "Remember when you were happy to have ONE book published?"

Ok, I get the message, dear, yes I love you honey, lol. I AM grateful for all these books to write. I just wish I could clone myself so I had more time to sleep and write. I go from being Bonnie the writer in the field writing about poverty to Bonnie the author writing about werewolves fighting off shapeshifters attacking them. It's very strange...

Speaking of people who are grateful, met this woman today whose house burnt down and her philosophy is "God will provide." She lost everything. Her elderly mother also lost all the cash the son had saved up to get his mother an operation. This house is nothing more than an old chicken coop. A good kick will send it toppling. It's infested with rats. But she has nowhere else to live, so there she lives with her little kids. She works hard but it's not enough to build a new house. Yet she kept telling me, "God will show me the way."

The faith of people who live like this always amazes and humbles me...

Jamaica poverty

Quick post... heading out in a minute to the country.

Went out into the country yesterday to do housing stories. Got a couple of good cases. On the way stopped at a couple of schools. We're involved in a cool project that's a matching fund project to put flush toilets into basic and primary schools in Jamaica. Most still have pit latrines. I wonder what kids in the US would think of using a stinky pit latrine.

Photo is one of Jamaica schoolkids on recess playing games.

A werewolf Alpha

Bonnie hands the microphone over to her evil twin, Blair, so Blair can tell everyone about the great review CAPTIVE MATE received from Just Erotic Romance Reviews. FIVE stars! Thanks Claire Skye for the review!

"As the pack’s Alpha female, Alyssa has a lot of responsibility weighing on her shoulders. Most importantly, she must mate with the Alpha male and produce an heir. The child will usher in a new generation of Alpha warriors who will guard and fight for the pack. But Alyssa wants nothing to do with the Alpha. After ten of the strongest males fight over the privilege of bedding her, it’s Marcus who comes out on top. He’s her bodyguard and the only werewolf she can’t resist. But Alyssa has a secret, and she knows that her secret could contaminate the bloodline and bring ruin to her pack. So she vows to do everything in her power to keep that from happening, even if it means denying Marcus what he wants the most: her. But when Marcus comes home after six years of fighting in the Vampire Wars, he’s determined to claim his mate. And once an Alpha were sets his mind to something, he won’t be denied.

Ms. Valentine’s werewolves are unlike any mythical characters I’ve encountered in a book. They’re strong and sure of themselves, arrogant and supremely skilled in lovemaking and more violent pursuits. But it’s their unique sense of humor and charm that really sets them apart from the rest. Ms. Valentine manages to bring the world in which her werewolves exist to life through vivid detail and precise dialogue that always rings true. And the sex scenes? Oh… my. The sexual heat between Alyssa and Marcus sizzles from the very first page. Their first encounter is scorching, and things only get hotter from there. The more Alyssa tries to resist, the more Marcus turns into a true Alpha hero, one who knows exactly what to do to satisfy his mate. And if that wasn’t enough, an intense werewolf bonding orgy really sets this marvelously smart, sexy novel apart from others of its kind. With Captive Mate, Ms. Valentine has quickly propelled herself to the top of my “must buy” list." CLAIRE SKYE, JERR

You can find CAPTIVE MATE here.

Alphas everywhere

A delightful 74 degrees out and I'm writing the Nocturne book in the Florida room. Rainey wanted to keep me company so I threw this old comforter on the tile for her. Cold weather the other day made her frisky.

She started humping Tiger. Poor Tiger looked at me as if to say, "WTF?"

She's definitely the Alpha.

Writing Nicolas and Maggie's story is fun. Nicolas is definitely an Alpha even though his official position is a Beta. I'm heading into the home stretch with this story. Very hopeful I can get most of it written before I leave for Jamaica Monday. We're heading into rat-infested slums where there have been outbreaks of malaria and leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is caused by rat urine. Already some in Jamaica have died from it. There was flooding in the area where we'll be headed, which causes the outbreaks.

Speaking of rodents, last night I was leaving the pharmacy and as I passed a trash can outside, tossed in my receipt. As I threw the paper in, a rat jumped out.

A Rat. Jumped Out.

I didn't even flinch. I just shruggd and laughed at my reaction. I guess after the hellishness of last week, even jumping rats are nada in comparison...

Writing progress!

Feeling very good today. This weekend I've made real writing progress on the Nocturne book. Worked out a key scene, thanks to my friend, author Norah Wilson, that had to do with transmission of the strange disease that confounds Maggie. I layered the plot with more emotional conflict and I have that wonderful, excited feeling about this book.

It's really coming together and if I can get the rough first draft done by next week, before I leave on my work trip to Jamaica, I'll be happy.

I read an interview a while ago with Karen Marie Moning in which she said she uses emotion to drive the plot forward. I made a note of that and try to employ her tactic while writing. Action-packed plots are great, but layer them with emotion and rich character development and you've got a story that gives you that wonderful feeling inside that says, "Hey, it's jelling!"

Yay.

Grooming issues

Nearly one week since we adopted Rainey. This is Rainey in the old bed she had at the Shih Tzu rescue center. She likes sleeping here, but will switch to the carpet or the dog pillow. She's really adjusted to our home and likes walks with Tiger (who escaped his collar this morning, giving me a near heart attack as traffic streams past), food, glorious FOOD (I should rename her Oliver Twist) and lying at my feet. She loves attention. She gets along fine with Tiger, who actually is eating more this week and doesn't seem as depressed as he was.

So getting another dog so soon after Tia's death has been good for him. Not great for the rug! But so far, crossing my fingers, no more accidents on the rug.

She hates having her paws touched. She snapped and tried to bite DH when he examined her paws because she was licking them. Between that and the bald spot on her head where a bow probably was, DH and I came to the conclusion she had a very bad groomer who hurt her in the past. Fortunately, we have a very good groomer.

Today I'm making progress on the Nocturne book. Tearing up parts and rewriting, but it's shaping up nicely. I'm really feeling for Nicolas. I gave him more angst and much more internal conflict and it's working out nicely. Love torturing my heroes. He's very noble and courageous and inside, very lonely. Maggie is turning out to have a gentle strength. It's fun watching the characters evolve.

Mean people

I forgot to add... Rainey has a bald spot atop her head. A small one, but it's very marked. Dr. G examined it and said it looks like in the past someone tied a bow too tightly to her head when she was groomed, and all the fur was yanked out.

I bet she was one of those long haired Shih Tzu's who had her fur tied in a bow, and when her owner fell ill, the fur got terribly matted and Rainey's bow came off, along with her fur. Or maybe someone was just cruel and did her fur too tight in those silly bows. How terribly painful for the poor baby! I do know they had to shave her when she first came to Shih Tzu Rescue because she was such a matted mess.

I don't understand people...how they could be so cruel to animals.

Even if it wasn't done deliberately... I like Shih Tzu's because they are loving dogs. Not to dress them up for the Dog Show. Sheesh. The first time our groomer did that, and she's a great groomer!!! I looked at our dogs and sighed and took the bows off.

She's a fast learner. She's stubborn, but knows "inside" and "outside" already... when we go to let her outside. She follows Tiger. I think she's having trouble seeing as she walks/bumps into the sliding glass doors. She's patient when Frank does her ears, as he did again tonight but still hates having her face touched. I think she had huge grooming issues with a bad groomer.

But today when I came home she bounded toward me, tail wagging furiously. Maybe because she sees me as the Lunch Wagon. I don't know. I don't care.

I'm just glad we're able to give her a good home, with lots of TLC that every dog deserves.

A better day, a healthy dog!

Yesterday was a little better.

Today is even better. FIL is home from the hospital with strict orders NOT to exercise and I took Rainey to the vet. The Shih Tzu rescue people said she didn't need to go right away, but I wanted to play it safe.

Our vet, whom I last saw when we had to put down Tia, is the greatest, nicest vet. He didn't even charge us for this visit. He said she's in good health, and advised to take her to the pet eye doctor. Her tear production is low and her eyes are cloudy. We have to keep her on the U/D food and NOT feed her anything else because of the she's had urolithiasis in the past. (kidney stones). This can be fatal in a pet if not treated. He told me to start putting Vit. B?, have to check what he wrote, in her food, which helps.

He wished he had her records, but other than the kidney stone risk and the eyes, she's fine. Frisky. She barked at the vet's and was NOT a happy dog.

So I bought dry canine U/D and I"m feeding her kibbles of it as treats. She loves it. Just have to watch it so that Tiger and Rainey are fed separately.

Anyway, have to run back to work... tomorrow I'm working from home. I am hoping to get some writing done on the Nocturne book tonight. I am wayyyyyyyyyy far behind on my goal.

This is a photo I took of Rainey, who has claimed nearly every chair in the house. She's eyeing this one as a possible resting place.

A mind of their own

I'm trying to think of them as challenges. Today was not a good day.

All these adjustments at work, the day job, and then a huge problem that was solved, but one that sent my blood pressure soaring with frustration... having to do with $$$ and work hours. Then I get a call on voice mail that FIL is in the hospital. One week after his angiogram, he's bleeding.

Ok. Dh is informed, he calls over there... and then a family friend calls me and tells me the bleeding is really bad.

I'm thinking, "gusher." ICU.

I'm chewing my nails, I have a sinus migraine. Finally DH is at hospital, it's not a big problem, they did a procedure, stopped the bleeding and FIL is in the hospital overnight, hopefully. He did too much. Of course. He thinks he can do everything and then he ends up in the hospital because he's supposed to TAKE IT EASY and instead he's doing what he wants.

He's got a mind of his own.

Ok.

Come home. Rainey and Tiger come up to greet me (DH is still at hospital). They go outside, all is well, DH comes home, I'm making dinner. I feed her because she's really acting very very hungry. Then she's sniffing around like she has to go outside and fearing she'll whiz on the carpet, I let her outside.

She goes outside to the hibiscus bush, snatches a dead blossom off the patio and begins eating it.

I panic.

I pry open her jaws, grab her and she snarls and yips and tries to bite me.

I scream, "FRANK!~"

Run after her, panicking.

why am I panicking?

This from an article about pet poisons: "After ingesting hibiscus, a dog willvomit persistently, may vomit blood and have bloody diarrhea. "The loss of body fluid maybe severe enough to be lethal in some cases."

OH God.

Frank comes out and pries her jaws open, while she's snapping and yipping and trying to bite him, and he gets out the blossom. He shows me what to do in case I'm alone when that happens. Luckily she didn't eat any...

But my nerves are so shot, with this day, I go inside, and I start to cry. I was so scared. I had a feeling hibicus was dangerous, and I was right.

I think we need to cut down that tree. I love that tree because it survived the hurricane, and all the damage to the house, and it was like a symbol of strength.

I was so damn scared. she could have eaten it and died. Then I started thinking about Tia.

I miss Tia.

I miss her so much and I'm still grieving her.

Not that I don't love Rainey... it's just that I miss my Tia. We'll all adjust and I'm just too stressed out today.

It will get better. But wow... I sure hope tomorrow is a better day. I have a very stubborn FIL with a mind of his own in the people hospital, and a stubborn rescue Shih Tzu with a mind of her own who just barely avoided going into a pet hospital.

I need a drink now...

More Rainey photos

She likes the chairs in our house. She's claimed about three so far. This is her favorite, I think. She's beginning to settle in. Slept through the night Sunday and last night as well. Only a couple of accidents yesterday and it was my fault as I didn't make her go outside but thought, "Let me wait until I take a shower."

HA!

Shih Tzu she is, she sneaks off while I'm showering and does it on the carpet. So this morning as DH is getting ready for work at 5:30, I take her outside. She's looking at me in sleepy protest, but I was firm. Then she came back and found the dog pillow and she's sleeping again now. We walked both dogs last night and I think we wore them out.

The advantage of adopting an older dog is they are already trained, and they like to rest, which means you can rest. I think there's just an adjustment period on everyone's part.

She's a real sweetheart, very laid back, and was lying down at my feet last night when I was on the couch. She doesn't get scared at loud noises, even when my clock radio is blaring out rap music to wake me up. Tiger is still scared of her, but I think that will ease up as well. She likes bones, and loves to eat. Last night we had dinner and she was begging, but each time she tried to jump up, I firmly told her, NO, and she sat back down.

She's inquisitive and loves her comfort. Barks when she wants more food, and her favorite place is the kitchen. LOL!

Yesterday was the first day of work in the new building, and I had a new dog. Came home for lunch, spent my lunch hour taking care of her and Tiger, and then had to rush back. The drive is a little longer, which makes a big difference on your lunch hour. But yay! I'm working from home Fridays now, so that will really help.

The new building is gorgeous, but our area for the writers gets the sun all day long and it's so glaring we can't see our screens. I may resort to sunglasses today.