2025 Watch Word: CHANGE

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Hello to a new year!

Let’s face it – the ability to accept and adapt to change is paramount to human survival. Our lives are continually changing, beginning with the first day and every day thereafter as we evolve. We change homes, schools, jobs, partners. Our bodies, our opinions, our likes and dislikes. All change.

But now, bigger changes loom, and we must choose whether to balk or go with the flow. A new administration; a new climate; new workplace philosophies. Computers that both help and haunt us. Self-driving, gasoline-free cars! Some changes are fun, like these A.I. generated pictures.


The older I get, the more acutely aware I am of change. Because, after all, I’ve been through so many! When you notice that your remaining days are far less than the ones you’ve lived, you begin to care about how you spend them. Which changes are worth my concern? My precious time? Care about your grandkids! Future generations, people cry! Well, of course I care. But at some point, one must hand over the worries to them. It will be their world. I’ve worried enough.


Change. So personal changes include the decision to back off on writing. Please note, I was fully aware when I published my last 4 books that I would not have time to market them. I’m still very content, proud even, to have ushered them from the hard disk to the bookshelf. But book marketing and promotion is a full-time job, and I already have 2 full-time jobs. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Simple things delight me. The fact that I had 19 oranges on my tree this year, sweet, seedless, juicy. My roses bloom all year. My 11 year old car runs and looks like new. I have great health insurance. I love my house, my yard, my bed.

I am so thankful for my life. I have incredible friends, wonderful opportunities to serve the local nonprofit community, and two very sweet grandchildren I have the honor of helping to raise. The business I started in 1991 is still supporting me and my great clients. I have three adult children who treat me with more love and respect than I probably deserve. And a devoted and still charming husband whom I love with all my heart. My loving sister(s), brother(s), nieces and nephews – how fortunate am I? Oh, and my crazy-sweet canine furbaby, Emelia “Melie”, always Velcro’d to my side.

This site will be changing, too, later this year. I can’t wait unveil my plans for bringing you more valuable and fun content. The book stuff will still be there, still a part of who I am. Stay tuned!

Seasons and Greetings

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Happy Holidays!

With Thanksgiving still digesting, we are packing away the cornucopias and unpacking the snowmen and reindeer. And just as the calendar changes, so do the seasons. Our weather vacillates between warm, Santa Ana winds and crispy cool mornings of late November. Southern California has never been able to make up its mind.

To bring everyone up to date, the last of the three REDMOND FAMILY SECRETS books dropped in late October! This means that all three novels are now available at Amazon for your reading pleasure. For you Kindle readers, note that Book One: THE SECRETS WITHIN US will be discounted to $0.99 for the month of December! I hope you enjoy these sibling sob stories (😊) and please, remember to go to my Amazon page and leave a review! It’s very important to me.

So, what’s up next? I haven’t been able to write so much as a sentence, my practical side demanding the release of the REDMOND kids first. Well, now that they’ve been kicked from the nest, it’s time for me to start writing again. I have an outline for a fourth STARCROSSED romance; but the third installment didn’t sell well, TBH, so I’m waffling on writing Devon’s Story. People have asked me to write a fifth BEACON POINT romance, so I’ll think on that!

Or… maybe something brand new. Ima hankering to write something different. I’ll let you know what ideas pop out of my bean as soon as I see them! Until then, have a most wonderful holiday season, and please keep reading!

Summer of Secrets!

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Is it just me, or is time rocketing by? Like many, I’ve noticed that the older I get, the faster my life seems to go by. Trying to learn how to slow it all down!

I’m reading more. Several months back, I joined my first book club, and it’s been an awesome experience. It was difficult at first, to commit to finishing A WHOLE BOOK in a month! But the more I read, the more I read! I’m reading faster and enjoying more. This month, I read our selection right away and managed to read two more books (not counting one of my own, read for editing purposes.)

So I’m in a book club. I’m also in a writer’s group. Add to those, a “moms” group that originated 18 years ago and still meets for breakfast every few months, and my nonprofit world of incredible colleagues. I’m so blessed to have all these friends, like-minded in many ways, keeping me active and always learning. Always growing.

Somehow, I finally managed to get my next book ready for publication. So, to celebrate Summer 2023, THE SECRETS WITHIN US releases on June 21st! The QR code below will get you to my Amazon page, where you’ll find blurbs and purchase links for both Kindle and paperback! Please drop me a note and let me know how you like it. Hoping it gets a thumbs up, as there are two more right behind it, dropping mid-and-end-of-summer. Ciao!

2023

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WELCOME TO 2023!

I think it would be safe to say that our lives – collectively and individually – have been forever altered by the events affecting our world over the last 3 years. Politics, economics and, dare I say? Covid-19. My family and I were finally afflicted over the holidays, causing a week-long delay in Christmas and Hannukah celebrations across the board. Like you, I’m sure, I’m SO done with it.

THE GOOD NEWS (and lots of it!)

I hope those close to me don’t get tired of my saying, “but the good news is, …” which is usually on my tongue. It’s not always easy to find that silver lining, however hard I try. I’ve noticed a few recent periods of faltering, where I’ve not been able to see the upside of things, and that scares me. At this stage of my life, I don’t want to waste one precious moment in negativity.

THAT BEING SAID

I’ve decided to finally release my REDMOND FAMILY SECRETS trilogy! I don’t know exactly what caused the delay, the books have been ready for over a year – edited, cover art, etc. I think I just fell off the literary wagon for a bit, dealing with those aspects in paragraph one. But Jake, Holly and Jeremy are owed their days in the sun! So stay tuned for release dates and cover surprises!

First up is THE SECRETS WITHIN US – Release date earmarked for April 2023! With Jacob and Penny on the cover, Monica Dubinsky of All Kinds of Covers has nailed the story perfectly!

Making it a priority to get the Redmond books published, I’ll be taking a short hiatus from writing. But when I resume, I’m looking at a decision between the next STARCROSSED installment, or a return to the BEACON POINT ROMANCES. I’ll just have to wait and see what the “feels” say!

IN THE MEANTIME: A NEW ANTHOLOGY

Attention spans being what they are today – in a world where commercial breaks are untenable, and news articles better be under a 30-second read – the short story is making a comeback! Good timing for romance readers seeking a quick, one-sitting tale that doesn’t require a lot of deep analysis or pages of backstory. Coming soon:  TWELVE TIMES LOVE, a sweet, romantic anthology comprised of a story-a-month! This new offering by debut author Tina Lynne leaves you feeling the HEA of a dozen couples looking for – and finding – love. Will be available for Kindle readers and apps, and full-length paperback.  

So that’s it for today. I leave you with a thought from Naomi Holdt, Psychologist, Speaker and Mentor:

“There is so much in this broken world that we have no control over. Here’s what you need to remember: Every day you make a choice. You can toss additional daggers into the swamp of negativity. Or you can choose to be a part of the healing.” 

(With my beautiful daughter, Mikayla.)

Turning Up the Heat!

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Summertime, and the livin’ is… hot. Hot, hot, hot! You may or may not know I live in Sunny Southern California, where the combination of 95° + weather and extreme drought conditions are making it hard to keep things green. But there are some good things about summer. Here are some:

A beautiful Red-tailed hawk scoping the arroyo behind my house for water.

Four of eight turkey vultures sunning their wings on my back fence.

Lazy Melie enjoying an afternoon outside (before the grass died.)

California Poppies soaking up the sun – in Port Townsend, WA

Grands cooling off for summer fun!

Also in the arroyo behind my house… don’t light a match around here!

More of Port Townsend, Washington, where I spent a glorious 6 days. Went there to cool off, but they had unseasonably warm weather!

[Commercial Break!]

Icebox Lemon Pie and Cold Fresh Fruit

A wee visitor to my Kalanchoe – one plant I’ve managed to keep green!

And me, hamming it up on Snapchat! Hope you’re having a good – coolish – summer. Not hot enough? Maybe opt for a steamy summer read! 🙂

Advertising

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I’ve probably mentioned before (clearing throat) how I’m not a stellar marketer. I mean, what author is? Remember, I’m still a “USA TOMORROW BEST SELLING AUTHOR” with a very limited reach and budget. But even my hubby reminds me that I must market. Otherwise, all is for naught. I ran a experimental Facebook campaign when GYPSY released, and for every day that campaign ran, I sold at least one book. The day after it ended, the sales stopped. Cold. And one book a day doesn’t really cut it, anyway. So, I need to expand my reach and beef up my enticement. Lucky for me, I have a wee bit of experience with Photoshop, and I’m able to through together a few elements to create an ad. Here’s the concept:

Along with the ad, I’m thinking of making Book #1 a 99¢ deal. I’m also working on putting the books into a box set, which isn’t as easy as it sounds. I’m learning, nonetheless.

Oh, and the QR code works, by the way!

Goodbye For Now

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Together again.

I hate to be maudlin, I really do. Especially when there’s already so much bad news around. But I can’t let the day pass without acknowledging this beautiful girl who got to cross the Rainbow Bridge today.

Dolce, an American-bred German Shepherd, was born in November, 2007. To say she was a “Good Girl” would be such a gross understatement. This dog epitomized what it meant to be Man’s (or Woman’s) Best Friend.

We fostered this sweet pup for nearly four of her fourteen years for a dear family friend, who visited her almost every weekend during that time. Dolce was obedient, playful, and really, really smart. She had a beautiful smile and readily gave kisses. Loved her walks. Obsessed over our cat, Moesha, but never made an aggressive move on her. Oh, and she did get skunked a couple of times. Shown below with our late Golden, Dolce and Sandie played well together. How blessed we were to have them both.

Dolce was an original “Velcro” dog. She didn’t like to be alone, and preferred her people to be with her when she went outside. Inside, she spent many hours lying under my desk while I worked. Unless, of course, Moesha appeared in the room. (See photo, right).

Dolce & Sandie: Master Beggers.

At some point, Emelia joined us. When Dolce’s mom would bring her for visits, the two would scamper around the yard and play-bite each others’ ears. (Sandie, of course, would just shake her shaggy head and walk away.) This was about the extent of their friendship, as Melie is also a Velcro dog and unfortunately, they both couldn’t stick to me at the same time. At best, they simply co-existed. But I had enough love for them all.

Sandie crossed the Bridge in 2016. Her loss was, and still is, felt deeply. This left Dolce with only our crazy Shibrador to play with. 🙂

Me n’ “Doke”, back in 2010-ish
Us again, 2020

She had many names. “Fireplace Face,” “Firehose Nose,” and “The Snout” among them. We once got a piece of mail from the vet addressed to “DOKE” – we figured out that someone had interpreted a hand-written ‘l’ and ‘c’ together to make a “K”. It stuck, and we started calling her “Doke.”

For those who’ve asked, our girl developed DM (degenerative myelopathy), which was kept under control for a long while. And I know you’ll agree that 14+ years is a good run for a big dog like Dolce. German Shepherds reach their seniority once they turn 7 years of age, and most live around a decade. Average lifespan is said to be 9 – 13 years. But these are just numbers. That Dolce lived as long as she did is a testament to her loving mom and caregiver, Cass. It takes tremendous commitment and dedication to raise a dog to full maturity, and even more to know when it’s time to “call it,” as she said to me. Our broken hearts will never fully mend. But it’s comforting to imagine that Dolce is running happy and free with Sandie, because we know that all dogs go to heaven. Amen, right?

RIP sweet Dolce, November 4, 2007 — February 18, 2022

Just Spinning My Plates!

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Have you heard the expression, “having too many plates in the air?” Better yet, have you seen a spinning plate performance on television? I have. It gave me childhood anxiety, watching the juggler rushing from stick to stick to give each spinning plate a little acceleration before they could topple to the ground and break (for weren’t they certainly china plates?)

You can relate the plates to whatever you want. Some liken them to plot points. For me, I see the plates as different aspects of my life that are simultaneously asking for my attention. Writing books, editing books, releasing books and marketing books. Then there’s my other life: homeschooling, my bookkeeping business, my furbaby scheduled for surgery next week.

But let’s talk about something more fun. While gearing up for the release of THE GYPSY IN ME, I’ve been re-acquainting myself (and everyone else) with the first book in the series. Here’s a fun little Amazon tool. Click on the “Read a Sample” link next to the cover! Don’t worry, it won’t ask you for your wallet or your first born… 🙂

Read a Sample!

Let me know if it works in the comments! Cheers!

StarCrossed Hearts

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StarCrossed Hearts: 2022

CAN YOU imagine my excitement? Trepidation?


First, a little history. I’ve always been somewhat of a wordsmith and wrote short stories from around the time I was twelve. I took a Creative Writing course with Mrs. Murray at James Madison Junior High. She inspired me to continue writing. My first credits were a poem for PEACE Magazine and a short memoir for THEMA Literary Journal. I was over the moon.

In 1991, I saw Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and loved it. A former drama student, I envisioned what it would be like to be cast into such a romantic, adventurous film. I started a draft of what I thought would be a short story about a starlet getting her big break.

Years later, while waiting in an airport for a flight, I picked up a copy of Nicholas Sparks’ MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE. I’d been reading historical bodice-rippers and decided I’d try a contemporary romance. I read it in a day. I liked the story but was disappointed in the writing. Repetitive word choices, poor sentence structure, a few mis-edits. Like many other authors, I immediately decided I could do much better and dug out my pirate movie manuscript.

I wrote STARCROSSED HEARTS in nineteen-ninety-something. It was a laborious, aimless, soap opera that wouldn’t end. I just kept writing and coming up with more and more scenes but no climax. No end in sight. It was close to a half-million words. I found a small press that liked the book, but explained I’d have to cut it down to a reasonable length and shape the story. The editor, the late Lorraine Stephens, fell in love with my characters and helped me immensely. I split the book into two novels and reworked the plot with extensive edits. STARCROSSED HEARTS was published in September 2001. About a week before the Twin Towers fell.

I knew less than nothing about marketing, but it would have had to have been a massive blockbuster to get the attention of anyone that fall/winter. I didn’t care, I was published! In 2003, A HERO’S PROMISE (the second half of that original manuscript) was released. The publisher eventually folded, and I took back my rights. I re-published the books in 2012 under my Beacon Street Books imprint. I had half a manuscript written for a third installment, but it hid in the cobwebbed shadows of my computer.

After many years and six subsequent published novels, I returned to that unfinished book during the pandemic and got newly motivated. I finished THE GYPSY IN ME in late 2020. More deliberation resulted in the decision to reedit, update and acquire new cover art for the first two books. I found a fabulous editor (J.R. Turner) and two wonderful cover artists (Linda Boulanger and Monica Dubinsky). I invested in a new book formatting software and have spent the last few months pulling it all together. Here, I must add that without the encouragement, help (and nagging) of my sister Tina, none of this would have happened. 🙂

So… can you imagine my excitement? I am awaiting my proof copies of these books and cannot wait to pull the trigger on PUBLISH in the coming weeks. I have stressed about marketing (I’m not much better at it now than I was 20 years ago) and decided I’m not going to worry. Not in it for the money, clearly. I’m in it because Dane, Jessica and Mac have stories to be told. I hope you’ll enjoy them.
(And don’t you just love those hot covers?!?!)

Stay tuned for an excerpt! Release date soon….

Harvest Update & Cover Reveal!

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October, 2021

Took my Grands to a local pumpkin patch this week. What fun! They got a dose of farm life, petting horses and goats and marveling at the size of real chickens! They got to sit on tractors and play cornhole before picking out their pumpkins.

We stopped at Rita’s Italian Ice & Custard for a frozen treat on the way home. My car is a little (a lot) dirty but their smiles were worth it. As the frog says, “time’s fun when you’re having flies!” Well, I haven’t actually been eating flies, but times are good. I’ve never been in the position of having too many books to get published! Not a bad problem to have, right?

There is a downside, however. As an indie publisher, I have a lot of work to do to get these books into your physical or virtual hands. That means I have little – well, let’s be honest – no time to write anything new. The stories are there, circling around my head like jets waiting to land at LAX. Hopefully, the runways will clear soon.

Beautiful new covers!

So, the production schedule, for those of you waiting with bated breath, has THE GYPSY IN ME out before Christmas. Along with it, the first two books in the STARCROSSED trilogy will re-release with brand new covers. Many thanks to LINDA BOULANGER of TELL-TALE COVERS and MONICA DUBINSKY of ALL KINDS OF COVERS for these beauties! The threesome will be available as a box set for you soap-opera-novel lovers, date TBD.

Coming in 2022 will be the REDMOND FAMILY SECRETS trilogy! We are deep into the edits on these books about three adult siblings seeking the identities of their birth parents. Love always enters the picture, muddying their paths to resolution with the past. Stay tuned.

Going into first round of edits is THE DOG FIXER NEXT DOOR, a light-hearted romance between a lonely veterinarian and an out-of-work single mom. And yes, they are small town, next-door-neighbors.

As for the circling jets… AMOROSO PASS has an outline and will eventually become Book 4 of the BEACON POINT ROMANCES. A tiny, Northern California lighthouse inspires this tale of a Nashville-bound singer and a tired-of-Hollywood record producer. And if DOG FIXER goes well, we have a CAKE MIXER in the holding pattern as well.

That’s my update!

I hope you are enjoying our transition into fall after a very dry and hot summer here in the Pacific Southwest. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving and all the December holidays with a deep gratitude this year! Remember to always look for the good around you. You’d be surprised how much there still is if you open yourself to it.

Best,

Pam