An Alaska Midlife Crisis

Scene: Me sitting at dining room table, cooling down after a brutal *snort* workout on Wii Fit. Phone rings. Check caller ID: Husband at work.

Me: Hi, what's up?

Husband: Well--

Me: Uh oh.

Husband: Have I got a deal for you.

Me: Uh oh.

Husband: It's a way you can keep me in a manner in which I'd like to get used to.

Me: You've found a way to sell thousands of copies of my book?

Husband: No. I want to buy a bobcat with Linee and Jason.

Me: Not the predatory mammal kind, I assume.

Husband: No, the front end loader kind. We can use it for snow removal, and to fix the gully in the driveway, and to recontour the parking area so it doesn't flood every spring, and--

Me: How much?

Husband: Only two, maybe three grand.

Me: (choking on water) Only?

Husband: If it's still available.

Me: I see.

Husband: Can you bring me the checkbook?

Me: (long suffering sigh) Sure. I'll be there in half an hour.

In Alaska, particularly here in the boonies, there is little call for zippy red sports cars, and having an affair would soon become public knowledge in a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. So as far as a midlife crisis goes, this one at least has a practical side.

Any bets on what the next request might be?

Winner of the SFR Holiday Blitz

First of all, I want to thank Heather at The Galaxy Express for putting on another fabulous Blitz. You rock, Heather! Thanks also to all 33 authors who offered up 50 books! How generous was that? And to my fellow bloggers who hosted, it was again great fun to be linked to all of you for such a great event.

And of course, huge thanks to everyone who entered. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and discovered a couple of new blogs to check out. Some of us who are just getting going in this publishing thing (more news on that as it comes in ; ) appreciate it.

So, on to the winner.....

The name/comment randomly chosen to win all three prizes is...Francene!!!!!! Congrats Francene, I'll be sending you an email so I can get contact info from you.

Thanks again, Everyone! And don't forget to check out the other blogs to see the winners there.

Happy New Year, and Happy Reading!


The Galaxy Express

SpacefreightersLounge

SFR Brigade

GeekMom

Lisa Paitz Spindler

Enduring Romance

Smart Girls Love Sci Fi & Paranormal Romance

SciFi Guy

Dirty Sexy Books

Love Romance Passion

Panic in the Lingerie!

vvB32 Reads

Corrina Lawson

Flying Whale Productions

Alien Romances

Enter The SFR Holiday Blitz Here!

Welcome to the SFR Holiday Blitz!

This holiday season, you could win over 50 science fiction romance books! Thirty-three (33!) talented SFR authors have teamed up with 15 bloggers to give you a taste of the adventures the subgenre has to offer. And who doesn't like tasting things during the holidays?

Entering is free and easy: Just leave a comment. Seriously, that's all you have to do. Then visit the other participating blogs, which are listed below for your convenience, and leave comments on each of them. Click and comment. Click and comment.

One winner will be picked at each blog.

The deadline to enter is midnight EST on Sunday, December 26.

On Monday, December 27, I'll randomly pick ONE WINNER,

so be sure to check back!

What's the prize here at the Frozen North, you ask?

1 print copy each of THE STARS DOWN UNDER and THE STARS BLUE YONDER by Sandra McDonald. (Author will ship internationally. Sweet!)
Chief Petty Officer Terry Myell—whose taboo enlistee/officer marriage to Lt. Cmdr. Jodenny Scott has landed him a tedious desk assignment—is kidnapped and forced to join a mission seeking a group of researchers who disappeared while investigating a network of spherical gateways that allow almost instantaneous travel between the stars.

AND

A digital copy of LAST FLIGHT OF THE ARK by D.L. Jackson
Evolution never happened so fast. Twelve hours outside of Terra II, Colonel Kaleb Titan, a molecular geneticist and commander of the Ark, faces a life or death choice that could change the fate of mankind. The Genesis I, aka the Ark, travels with a hold full of wildlife and three crew members. When a wolf bite and genetically-altering gamma radiation transform Kaleb, he notices his senses have been heightened, his libido has gone haywire and he can't keep his hands off his crew. Worse yet, they don't seem inclined to stop him. When their sister ship, the Genesis II arrives early, Kaleb's problems compound. As soon as the command crew of the Genesis II boards, one whiff tells Kaleb they're not from Earth or who they appear to be.

AND

A digital copy of SILVER BOUND by Ella Drake

Sheriff Guy Trident doesn't have much to do with off-worlders; he has his hands full keeping his own planet safe. But he'll do anything, go anywhere to save Jewel Quinn. She broke his heart years ago when she left to marry a Terraloft aristocrat. Now she's run away from her husband, only to fall into the clutches of slavers.

Yes, Virginia, ALL PRIZES will go to ONE WINNER!

When you've entered at this site, go on over to the others for more shots at some of the best SFR out there! Go!! Go!!! GO!!!!

The Galaxy Express

SpacefreightersLounge

SFR Brigade

GeekMom

Lisa Paitz Spindler

Enduring Romance

Smart Girls Love Sci Fi & Paranormal Romance

SciFi Guy

Dirty Sexy Books

Love Romance Passion

Panic in the Lingerie!

vvB32 Reads

Corrina Lawson

Flying Whale Productions

Alien Romances

*****12:05 am EST : COMMENTS ARE CLOSED!!! COME BACK MONDAY THE 27th TO SEE WHO WON!!!*****

What Am I Thinking?

My husband and I have been together too long.

We'll be celebrating our 19th anniversary this February. (Actually, our 4 3/4th anniversary. Work it out ; ) The number of years isn't the issue. It's how we rarely have to say a word yet still know what's going on in each other's heads. We can sit in a room watching TV, or listening to the kids' conversations, and some phrase or topic will come up. We just have to look at each other and we'll both smile knowingly. We can spend hours in a room or in a car together and exchange no more than a dozen words, but not feel awkward or like we need to fill the silence.

But the other day took the proverbial cake.

Hubby was in Anchorage for several days. He had a meeting or two to attend and did some Christmas shopping as well. I'd given him a list of the few items I wanted for the girls and knew he'd add to it as well as pick up stocking stuffers. While he was away, he called to confirm that I hadn't thought up anything to add. Nope, I'm good, I said. See you in a couple of days.

The day before he came home, I was watching our eldest daughter play World of Warcraft and thought back to my high school and college days as a Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game geek. We've told the girls about these old school pencil, paper and dice games, and they were intrigued. In a time when video stimulus is the norm, the actual use of imagination is rare. Both our girls are chock full of imagination, and I thought maybe it would be fun to introduce them to the world of Dungeons and Dragons some day. Something came up, as it usually does, and my mind went on to other things.

Then Hubby returned from the Big City the following day. Guess what he had bought the day before? Yep! A D&D starter set. I was floored. We had not said two words about the game in months and months while in the same room, yet here he was holding up a familiar box and smiling. I sputtered and told him that I had just been thinking about it. He laughed, but I think he was a little freaked out too.

There are great advantages to having a loved one know you so well you don't have to explain yourself or try to suss out what, exactly they are thinking. On the other hand, I wonder what I think he *doesn't* know that he really does....