M.J. Fredrick's Blog, page 56

Guarded Hearts is out NOW!

Whee! It was touch and go there with Amazon, but Guarded Hearts is now available everywhere!

Amazon        Barnes and Noble    All Romance eBooks     Lyrical

What does she fear more, surrendering her privacy or her heart?

Texas Congresswoman McKenna Jones's life is in danger when her father's old enemy surfaces. She's the target of revenge and narrowly escapes a kidnapping attempt. She's advised to go into hiding until the threat has passed, but her fight to get an important bill passed forces her to stay right where she is. When Ethan Riggins is assigned to protect her it may be a sacrifice on her privacy, but it's no real hardship since he's sinfully sexy and easy to work with.

For Ethan Riggins, it's a struggle to keep his distance from the congresswoman. McKenna is his assignment, and his friend's daughter. She also happens to be smart, driven and beautiful. Being around her makes him want to loosen the reins on his emotions, which he's kept in check for far to long.

When the threat escalates, Ethan and McKenna have to take charge of the investigation so they can discover if a happily-ever-after is in store for them.

Goals for the Week Guarded Hearts is Released!!

Yesterday, Mom, Baby Brother, BB's significant other and SO's mom went to a tamale festival in town. They had all kinds of tamales (a big tradition in San Antonio), including dessert tamales. We gorged ourselves, and walked around the craft fair and watched a dance demonstration and a cooking demonstration. My feet still hurt! I came home and played with my new Wii for a bit. I bought bowling, Winter Games and Just Dance. I wouldn't try Just Dance with the husband and boy in the house, though. Tomorrow, after school, though…

Today it's cold and rainy, so after breakfast and a quick trip to the grocery store, it's movies and napping and revising!

1)      Blog at Just Romantic Suspense and Nine Naughty Novelists

2)      Do my first Coffee Time Romance chat. So nervous!

3)      Update website and newsletter as soon as Guarded Hearts is listed on Amazon. I'm getting a little anxious because it's still not there.

4)      Work on revisions on Bluestone 1. No, I haven't finished the revisions on Bluestone 2. But I also don't have anything else coming out until I get this done, so…

5)      Testing 3 days at school.  Yes, again. Of the 70 school days on my 4 month calendar, only 58 are instructional. That's a LOT of testing. We just tested 4 days before Thanksgiving break. That means the kids had 7 instructional days, then another round of tests. One kid said, "That's why I hate school." Well, yeah.

6)      School Christmas party. I'm not as excited this year because it's at a restaurant and we won't have as much space to be dancing, etc. But it's close to home

7)      Christmas shopping.

8)      Keep up house/ cook.  Fred was off last week so I didn't cook at all. Looking at this week's schedule–between faculty meetings, release day, the Christmas party and Fred's band practices, I may not be cooking this week either.

I'm going to have to find a good way to balance my time this week, because I also promised BB I'd take him shopping for his Christmas present this week. He needs new clothes and I have a coupon for his favorite store. We'll go one night when Fred has band practice and get dinner, too.

 

Goals for the Week After Thanksgiving

Why is it I spell Thanksgiving wrong EVERY time? Always the s before the k…

Back to work this week, but I'm all rested and ready. And hey, only 3 weeks until my next, longer break! This week I'm doing Hanukkah activities with my kids, reading them a story, teaching them a song and showing them how to play dreydl. For the little kids, I'm showing them the Rugrats Hanukkah.

This week, the dh is on vacation, so I don't have to worry about cooking.

So…

1)      Write. Finish short story, then get back to work on Bluestone revisions.

2)      Work on newsletter and website for next week's release of Guarded Hearts.

3)      Work on a newsletter for Eye on Romance. It's 200 words, a holiday message, and I have NO idea what that means. Anyone?

4)      Faculty meeting.

5)      Work on Christmas presents. I know what I want but just not where to find it. And I have NO idea what to get my dad. Again, anyone? My list is shorter this year: the boy, mom, stepdad, dad, brother1, brother2, SIL, Cindix2 because it's her bday, too. Same with cousin Caroline. Oh, hey….

6)      Big grocery trip.

7)      The Tamalada, a big tamale cook-off event down at the Pearl.

8)      Sew! Remember those curtains? Yeah, haven't done those yet.

9)      Keep up house.

10) Also, it's supposed to freeze tonight, so I need to protect my new plants! Okay, not the mums but the cactus and other stuff. It NEVER freezes this early.

So not too bad.

Black Friday Deals

One of my favorite things to do on thanksgiving is to check out the Black Friday ads. Now, it's been many years since I was motivated enough to go shopping for those deals (Black Friday seems to be the ONE day when I sleep in!) but it's always fun to look. I was talking to my brother's SO and saying it's not that I WANT the stuff, it's that I didn't know I wanted the stuff.

Fortunately, there is online shopping. Best Buy had a Wii yesterday for $99. I bought it (I've been wanting one ever since we started playing it in PE on Fridays) and three games (buy two, get one free). Then I looked at the Penney's ad. Free shipping for over $25, hm? I bought the boy two shirts and the husband 2 sweaters for just over $50.

Bealls had some cute Christmas shirts. I got one for $15 with shipping, but it's originally $35!

This morning I got the boy The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray (he has a PS3 and a thing for Batman.) I also had been wanting to get him Joseph Gordon-Levitt's book. Now, I wanted free shipping, and you can get that if you spend $25. So I bought a copy of Something to Talk About! Hey, I plan to enter some contests and need copies.

I'll be checking those Amazon Black Friday deals all day as I decorate for Christmas.

My publishers also have GOOD Black Friday deals. Lyrical has their entire catalog half-price. Guarded Hearts is listed for pre-0rder, but I'm not sure if it's included.

The Wild Rose Press is having 30% off its entire catalog, and I have a bunch of books over there.

Oh, and you could check out my Etsy shop! Trish says I should be promoting this more

What deals did you find this year?

Thanksgiving Blessings

I wish every one of you a wonderful, peaceful (or family-crazy, whichever you prefer) holiday!

On Facebook, some of my friends have been posting one thing a day that they're thankful for. I think that's really nice, but I couldn't remember to keep up. So here are my things. Let's see if I can get 24.

1) That my family has stuck together. It's been a rough year for my parents, but with the help of my wonderful husband, all of us have hung in, and become even closer, I think.

2) That I have a good job, at a good school. It was disappointing that we didn't make Recognized status last year (by TWO KIDS), and the atmosphere has changed a bit, but it's a good place to work, with good people.

3) That my son is in town for another 8 months. He applied for editor of his college paper, so he'll stay here another semester before heading out into the world.

4) That my husband has friends. I complain sometimes about him being in two bands, but I think having those guys to hang around with helped him get through his mom's passing.

5) That I've had a Really Good Year. Five sales, six books released, three books and two novellas written. A really good year.

6) For my bffs who are always there to listen.

7) That my parents–35 years after their divorce–can spend time together in peace. You don't know how trippy it is to see your mom and dad hug, when there was so much hostility for so long.

My new roof and the new paint job on my house. It almost feels like a brand new place.

9) That my muse has returned. She took a break this fall, but I tracked her down this week and we're rolling now

10) For the generosity of people who review my books, spread the word, and share information about the industry.

11) That my mom is cooking Thanksgiving dinner and all I have to worry about are the green beans, cranberry sauce (homemade!) and a dessert.

12) For free shipping. I was able to buy four presents this AM, and a Wii, and paid no shipping! After UPS wanted to charge me $70–I'll take free shipping where I can get it.

13) For people who have to work today. I think that totally SUCKS. We do our best not to patronize places that make people work on Thanksgiving. I understand some restaurants, but the places that are open for holiday shopping, and the grocery stores–nope. People can plan ahead or wait or do without. Sorry if that sounds preachy, but I worked retail and dh worked restaurants when we were first married and it sucked to work on holidays.

14) For my editors and publishers who work so hard with me!

15) For authors. Do you know how many books I own? It's approaching 1000, y'all. Maybe 900.

16) For excellent TV. Also for hiatus so I can catch up on excellent TV. And TiVo so I can record excellent TV.

17) For Netflix. I know people have been complaining about them, but seriously, for $16  a month, I can watch a movie any time I want, and have new releases delivered to my door. Worth it!

18) For living in Texas. We've had a hell of a year with the drought and the fires but I don't have to worry about shoveling snow or wearing a coat every time I go outside. Heck, I'm probably going to wear sandals today.

19) My new sewing machine. Maybe I shouldn't be so thankful for it, because I did get a little crazy, but boy, did I have fun! Still need to make my skirt for the Christmas party. It will be epic.

20) That in three weeks, I'll get another vacation!

21) Good health, and good insurance! My two dentist visits cost less than $50! And I saved over $600 on my new glasses.

22) That the Veteran's Day program is over. I stressed about that since the beginning of the school year

23) For Twitter. I love Twitter like damn. That is all.

24) Ideas! I have so many!

Wow, 24 was pretty easy. What are you thankful for?

The Good and the Bad, and the Bad and the Good

What a day I had yesterday.

THE GOOD:

Someone wants to buy one of my e-reader covers from my Etsy store.

THE BAD:

She wants to know if it fits a Kindle Fire. I had to go to Best Buy to see. The man who walked into the store RIGHT in front of me decided to Occupy Kindle Fire for the next fifteen minutes. But finally I discovered it does fit.

THE GOOD:

The McCoy bean pot my stepmom fell in love with was still at the craft store when I went back.

THE BAD:

I took it to UPS to get them to pack and ship. $70!!!! They wanted $70!!!! I should've bought the damned thing on eBay and had them ship it for me. Yeah, I'll be hitting Walgreens for supplies and using the good ol' USPS.

THE GOOD:

I got a check for my UK sales.

THE BAD:

It was a check, not direct deposit. I had to take it to my new bank (the account I had to open the last time I got a check in British pounds) and they have to send it to collections, plus they charge a big fee to do this. Like, half the check. I haven't gotten the money from the LAST check, which I deposited 5 weeks ago. And yes, I changed to direct deposit–five weeks ago.

THE BAD:

I went to McD's after UPS because I love the strawberry lemonade. The lemonade machine was down! WAH!

THE GOOD:

I got a free Coke glass.

THE BAD:

I've been obsessed with getting new black shoes. I have adorable Mary Janes that I bought at Target 3 or 4 years ago and they're starting to stretch out. I've ordered at LEAST four pair and returned them because they didn't fit.

THE GOOD:

When I was looking for a box to ship the bean pot in, what did I find on the top shelf of my closet (in plain view, if I'm not ignoring them)? TWO BRAND NEW PAIR OF SHOES. STILL IN THE BOXES. I completely overlooked them. The black pair are Mary Janes, and the brown are oxford-style pumps.

What's it like not to be crazy?

Shopping!!!!

My son called yesterday my Groundhog Day. Last Monday my dad and stepmom were here, and I took them to Guenther House for breakfast. Then we went to HEB, brought my dad home, then my stepmom and I went to Homestead Handcrafts.

Yesterday my mom and I went to Guenther House for breakfast (her favorite restaurant), then we went shopping a few places, then Homestead Handcrafts. I hadn't been to either place in months, so it was a little weird.

I very rarely go shopping. I mean, I go to JoAnn's, and sometimes I'll stop someplace on the way home, just to run in and pick something up, but I don't browse. I don't usually take the time. So I was super-excited about going shopping yesterday.

After breakfast, our first stop was Hobby Lobby. All their Christmas decorations were on sale 50% off. I went a little crazy at first, but did put some stuff back. I got a couple of ornaments and a beautiful carved reindeer, all for $14.

Then we went to Pier One. Again, I was going crazy and talked myself down, and just bought a sorely-needed sugar bowl.

Then Bath and Body. I had 2 coupons and was able to use both. I got 6 small candles and a shower gel for $20.

THEN Homestead Handcrafts. My stepmom had seen a McCoy's bean pot and then left it there, so I went to get it. It was one of the first booths, so my arms were TIRED by the time we checked out. I also got 2 more ornaments, two small Christmas decorations and a can for my pens at school. The bean pot was over half of my bill. I spent $45.

Today…I have to run to Best Buy to see if the e-reader covers in my Etsy store fit the Kindle Fire, then I'm going BACK to Bath and Body (another coupon–spend $10, get something free), then to UPS to mail the bean pot (that's going to be pricey, I tell you what,) then I'll get some lunch and come home and sew.

I love vacation!

Goals for the Week of Thanksgiving Break

Hallelujah. Ha. Le. Lu. Jah. It has been a LONG stretch. Would be lovely if it wasn't hotter this week than it is during Spring Break, but I'll deal.

1)      Write like the wind. I did 10 pages yesterday, and would like 8 a day the rest of the week.

2)      Do an hour of promo a day

3)      Spend a day with Mom

4)      Keep house clean, spend time in the bedrooms, which were neglected in the preparation for the company

5)      Sew—still need to do those curtains, and my Christmas party skirt.

6)      Thanksgiving!

7)      Decorate for Christmas (MAY-be get a new tree)

8)      Mayyyybe try to figure out Create Space for Midnight Sun.

9)      Look for a cover image for a short story.

10)   READ!

See, doesn't that sound LOVELY?

My Favorite Inventions (in no particular order)

My step-mom is in love with my iPhone. Dad has one, the same as my son, but my husband and I have the new generation. I can talk-text, talk email (not as easy), talk Tweet. It's faster than my laptop. Oh, yeah, and I can make calls. If I want. Which I rarely do.

So I started thinking about other inventions I can't live without.

1) Pay-at-the-pump. When my son was little, I had to unbuckle him from his car seat, carry him into the store, balance him on the counter while I wrote a check…a huge PITA. Now, zip-zip, I'm done.

2) TIVO. I remember being in middle school and a movie I wanted to see came on in the middle of the night. I set up a TAPE RECORDER in front of the TV, woke myself up after an hour to TURN THE TAPE OVER…OMG. Then came the VCR which was huge but still limited. Now with TiVo, I can record two things at once!

3) iTunes. I don't buy new music often, but when I do, boom, it's right there. Then I can maneuver the songs into any order I want and slap them on my phone, then plug it into my car.

4) The Internet! This morning, I've emailed my bff, ordered stuff from the library, bought stuff from Bath and Body Works, checked movie times, checke my sales ranks and watched a storm march toward us on radar. All while munching on breakfast!

5) Dishwashers. I've had company for 3 days and forgot to buy paper plates. I'm not going to take that for granted!

6) My Nook and iPhone. All the books and music I need, instantly, in the palm of my hand.

7) Getting to wear jeans on testing days–which will be all week. I usually like to dress up but this week….no, thanks.

What are your favorite inventions?

Goals the Week Before Thanksgiving Break

Okay, so I've taken 4 days off (one sick, one dentist appt, half a day with a sick kid and half a day to clean house for my dad's visit, and a day to spend with my dad) but this vacation next week is WELL NEEDED. Who would have thought being a music teacher would be so stressful? I know part of it is getting USED to teaching music, and another part is constant interruptions (like 2 days of no class because of the Vet Day program, and four days of no class because of testing) but I'm whipped.

So.

This week.

1)      Hang with Dad and stepmom until they leave.

2)      Test. I may be music teacher, but they pull me to test kids that can be disruptive and/or distracted easily during testing. This time I get the disruptive kids. Joy. Also, no planning period until Friday. On the plus side, jeans all week.

3)      Write. Would love love love to finish Bluestone 2 revisions by Thanksgiving.

4)      Sew curtains for one of the teachers—my first time to do lined curtains. Gulp.

5)      Hit the post office and mail off some autographed books.

6)      Keep up house. It's sparkling right now. Would be nice to keep it up so I don't have to do much over Thanksgiving week.

7)  Go see Immortals

Go to arts and crafts show with Mom and BB

9)  Register for Epicon. Anyone else going?

So, maybe a little busier than I thought