Dear Russian Women...

I'm sorry about ignoring your emails, but I can assure you we did not meet either in your country, online, or anywhere else. Surely you have me mistaken for someone else.

Be that as it may, your offer to become my wife is appreciated. I've discussed it with my husband and he thinks it's a grand idea to have a 23 year-old blonde as a second wife. I couldn't agree more. There are plenty of chores left undone around here, so another pair of hands would be appreciated. While you're doing the things I never seem to have time for, I can continue to do the things I want to do. And our husband, fab guy that he is, won't have to worry about the house being clean, dinner being cooked on time, or getting bored with the same woman he's been with for nearly 18 years. The kids will have someone sort of near their own age to hang with, because surely you are way cooler than their 40+ year-old parents.

So yes, please come over and be our wife. The check for expenses is in the mail. It may not be as much as you expected as we may have to check out the offer for E.D. pills. With two wives Hubby will be a busy man.

Can't wait to meet you,
Me

All Grown Up

There are certain milestones in life that you are supposed to accrue to be deemed a grown up. These may include, but are not limited to, attending/graduating from college, getting a *real* job, getting married or being in a long term relationship, having a child, buying a new car, buying a home. The sort of things that make your parents, guardian or parole officer sigh with relief of a job well done. Everyone is different, of course, so your milestones may vary.

Recently, I've added another two items to my personal list: buying a new living room set and installing new carpeting in the vast majority of the house.

You'll notice I have the word "set" in bold. That's because until now, we have purchased furniture one piece at a time and none of it actually went with the rest. Never an entire three-piece set that goes together. That all arrives on the truck at the same time. It's a heady experience, I tell you, to see all that lovely matching upholstery in one room.

And new carpeting? Bliss! So clean, so cushy. New carpet smell is not as pleasant as new car smell, to be sure, but it is just as significant as a sign of adulthood.

Granted, with two kids, two dogs and two cats, the newness of the furniture and carpet will fade quickly, but for now I feel all grown up. Well, mostly.

What makes you feel grown up?

Bad Girl Finals in Beacon Contest

Woo hoo! My SFR Bad Girl has finalled in the First Coast Romance Writers Beacon Contest for unpublished writers. The final standings will be announced in February. Go here for the complete list of finalists: http://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com/contest_un.htm/?page_id=152

Many thanks to the chapter and first round judges. Having been a contest judge, I know it's not an easy task.

Best of luck to all the finalists.

What a great way to start the new year : )

Merry Merry and Happy Happy!

May your holiday be bright and your new year be joyous!

See you in '010! (Yes, that was intentional, a la Stephen Colbert :)

~Cathy

*NEW* SFR Holiday Blitz Winner!!!!

Since the first randomly chosen winner never came forward (unfortunate, but it happens) to claim Ann Somerville's On Wings, Rising, I exercised my right and duties as Queen and chose another. And yes, this one stuck!

The new winner is Cybercliper! Congrats and I hope you enjoy the story.

Thanks again to all who came by. I hope to see you here now and again.

Joyous Holidays and Happy New Year!
~Cathy

New SFR Holiday Blitz Winner TBA

Well, the original winner of Ann Somerville's On Wings, Rising never contacted me, so I'll be choosing another winner later today. This time, I will ensure contact before posting who it is, so it may take a bit. Stay tuned!!!

Thanks again to all who entered. Let's see who the Fates choose this time.......

SFR Holiday Blitz: And the Winner is......

....going to be announced in just a second.**** IMPORTANT NOTE BELOW****

First, I want to thank everyone who popped over and commented here and on other blogs. The response to this contest was amazing! It was great to see so many folks who already love SFR as well as those who are current SF or romance readers eager to try new kinds of stories. Finding new authors you can fall in love with is a great joy. I can guarantee that somewhere in the SFR universe there will be a story for just about every taste. And more than a few of you also mentioned how fun it was to discover new blogs. Gotta love that!

Speaking of, a big hand to the participating bloggers and the authors whose work so many people
are going to get to enjoy.

And finally, HUGE thanks to Heather over at the Galaxy Express for running the show. I think we've convinced her to make this an annual event, and some day I hope my own novel(s) will be among the prizes : ) Thanks, Heather! You rock!

So which of the commenters here won their very own copy of Ann Somerville's On Wings, Rising? That would be Stephen!!!! Congrats, Stephen!!!! Send your contact info--email, snail mail, I'm not sure which will be needed so send both, if you would : ) --to me cathy AT cathypegau DOT com (using the correct email do-hickies, of course). I'll pass the info on to Ann and she'll take it from there.

Thanks again to everyone for participating. Keep SFR and all its great authors in mind when you're looking for something fun to read. And remember to take a chance on a new author once in a while ; )

Happy Holidays! And Happy Reading!!!

12/14 7pm AK time
****ATTENTION!!!!**** Stephen has yet to contact me!!! If you know Stephen, please tell him to pop over here and send me his info. If he does not do so by MIDNIGHT Eastern Time on Tuesday, Dec. 15, I will choose another commentor!