Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 33

Thanks

Thank you to everyone who bought a copy of Wicked Deception and a big hug to the people who took the time to leave a review! I can't tell you how much I appreciate that!

If you haven't picked up a copy yet, there is one more week of fan pricing before the price increases. Grab your copy while it's still $3.99!

I could probably write this about every book, but my characters do what they want to do and leave me scrambling to keep up with them. Kyle and Mari were no exception. Somehow, though, we all reached the end of the book with a happy ending. Whew!

I'm in the planning stage for the next four books. I know the heroes and heroines. I know the bad guy that will arc over the series, but that's about all I have at the moment. If you read Kyle and Mari's book, you know the captain is up next. And I know his heroine is a woman from his past who was his best friend. Until he slept with her and then ghosted her. They have a few issues to deal with before they get a HEA. :-) But anyone who's read the blog for a while knows I torture my characters because they torture me. All the time.

Thanks again, you guys, for reading Wicked Deception!

Bathroom: Final

I don't know what I'm more excited about: Wicked Deception being available or my bathroom being finished.

It took two and a half weeks to get my shower door. They were originally supposed to come on Monday, but didn't show up until Wednesday. And then I couldn't use the shower for 24 hours because I had to wait for the silicone to set.

And then I could finally, finally shower in my own bathroom again and it was glorious!

I went with a frameless shower door. It's my first and it's taking a little getting used to, but it's so pretty and so contemporary looking that I like it. The contractor expanded the shower by a couple of inches, maybe less than that, and it makes it feel huge! Part of that could also be because I was using my dad's bathroom and his shower was smaller than my original shower was.

I'll admit it. I still will stop and stare at it, totally in awe. My original bathroom tile--heck, the entire bathroom--was so brown. I'm not an earth-tone person. I'm sleek and bright and modern and clean lines. We lightened up the paint, which I love. It's got a touch (just a touch) of yellow in it and it feels so happy and airy. And even though the shower is taking up a little more space, the bathroom feels bigger now than it did before.

I've had to make a few adjustments. I have a niche now instead of a corner shelf, and while I like the look better, it's given me less space than I had. I have a squeegee I keep in the shower and it's held up with a suction cup. And won't stick to the tile because there's a texture. I almost hated to put it up on the glass. I did this in my old shower and didn't think twice, but the new one.... It's so pretty.

There are also two plastic suction cup soap trays I had up on the glass. Those I haven't put up and I need them. I found a stainless steel one online with two soap trays connected to each other and I ordered that. One less suction cup on my glass and better looking than the plastic.

So there you go. The last installment of my renovation adventures.

Well, sort of.

The contractor forgot to paint the ceiling in the water closet area. I'm trying to get him to come out and finish it. We've had three no-shows so far. Will there be another bathroom adventure blog post? Stay tuned.

Wicked Deception Is Out!

OMG, you guys! Wicked Deception is out and available to buy right this minute! Wheeee!

This is the fourth book in The Paladin League series, but it can standalone. Kyle is the final musketeer to meet his match and I can tell you that while he enjoyed stirring things up in Griff's book, he doesn't enjoy having his own world knocked askew. And Mari does it to him from the instant he lays eyes on her.

Mari is hiding out, pretending to me a nun. She doesn't want or need the attraction to Kyle. And she can't trust him. As far as she knows, he's a soldier-for-hire and a mercenary's loyalty is always for sale to the highest bidder.

The arms dealer who wants her dead? He can pay Kyle a fortune. Nope, she definitely can't trust him, but she could sure use his help.

For the first two weeks, Wicked Deception will be offered at special fan pricing. After the two weeks, the price will increase, so grab your copy now and see the final musketeer meet his match. :-)

New Zealand and Papua New Guinea

While all these bathroom remodel posts have been going up--for a longer length of time than the remodel itself--I finished a couple more challenges.

The first one was the New Zealand Alps to the Ocean. That was 180 miles (290 KM) and some of the course had Google Street View. I love the races that have the street view because it lets me look around and see where I would be if I were doing this for real.

The missing street views were primarily in the mountains, but they were hit or miss. There were none, then there would be some, and then it was back to none again.

After New Zealand, I did Papua New Guinea and the Kokoda Trail. This had no Google Street Views. The race company tried to compensate by including a few pictures and videos at select locations, but I would have preferred more of them.

I've actually been to Papua New Guinea. Samarai Island. Which I would imagine is vastly different from the Kokoda Trail.

This was a short course--only 56 miles (91 KM). I usually like the mid-length challenges. Nothing too short because those fly by and nothing too long because I discovered they drag. The Kokoda Trail was a little on the short side, but it was Papua New Guinea, so I was all in even without a street view.

Six Days

Wicked Deception will be available to read in only six days!

The time is going so fast right now and I still have so much to do. I've been making lists for the past month, trying to make sure I don't miss anything. We'll see how I do on this book.

Special Forces Sgt. Kyle Winter’s vow to stay far away from the nun he can’t get out of his head is blown to pieces when he’s assigned to work undercover as a mercenary turned handyman at the convent. The arms dealer his team is after is too interested in the abbey and his captain wants to know why. How hard can it be to avoid Sister Sexy anyway?

Marianna Castillo is desperate. So desperate, she’s disguised herself as a nun, and hidden in a convent. She’s been running for more than two years, staying one step ahead of the arms dealer trying to kill her. He can’t allow her to live, not when she knows a secret that can destroy him. And now he’s watching the abbey.

Mari needs help, but the person with the skills to keep her safe can’t be trusted. A mercenary’s loyalty is always for sale to the highest bidder, and the man who wants her dead can pay him a fortune.

But as the arms dealer closes in, she has to make a choice. Keep running or trust Kyle to fight beside her to reclaim her life.

To find out more and to read an excerpt, please visit my website.

 

Bathroom: After

It took nine days of work, but the bathroom is finished. Well, mostly. I don't have the shower door/glass yet and that will take another two weeks and I wanted to share my new bathroom.

Or mostly new. I did keep a few things.

If you want to see the before pictures, check out this blog post. 

 

Bye, bye brown bathroom! I like light, airy colors and my new bathroom is all that.

Bathroom In Progress: Home Stretch

I'm writing this on July 7th. The bathroom renovation is scheduled to be done tomorrow. That will be two weeks worth of work with weekends off and the no-show on the July 4th.

Today, they painted the walls. The ceiling and trim still needs to be painted and there is still a lot of clean up to be done.

There are also some things with issues. Like the toilet was reconnected and now the water doesn't fill the bowl. There are a few sharp edges on the tile/trim that concern me because if someone is going to hurt themselves, it will be me. Also, the door to the water closet will not close. The floor must be higher now than the old floor.

Overall, though, the space is beautiful! The paint color is awesome and I am totally in love with it. My photography skills do not do it justice. Maybe when I do the after pictures, I can try a different time of day, and the lighting will be better. Or I might just be a bad photographer with my iPhone. :-)

Also, the right-hand mirror in my bathroom has been crooked since I bought the house. It made me crazy! I asked a handyman to fix it, but he told me it would take hours and at what he charged per hour, it wasn't worth the money. The guy who fixed it said it took about thirty seconds. Thirty seconds! I've been losing my mind with that crooked mirror and it was a quick, easy fix.

The shower door guy did show up today--while I was at my doctor's appointment. Grr. Luckily, I anticipated that my luck would be bad on this score. What I did was go online and look at shower door handles. I found one I really liked, did a screen capture, and then created a Word document with what I wanted: Clear glass, brushed nickel hinges/handles/whatever, and the picture of the door handles I loved. I printed it out and gave it to my dad last night. Just in case I'm not home, I told him.

And (of course) I wasn't.

My luck wasn't all bad, though. The contractor said the glass guy reported that in three weeks, the cost of the glass will go up 40%. FORTY PERCENT! OMG! That would have made me reconsider using the old glass door.

So one of the things the contractor did was take the shower out a few more inches, so it's slightly bigger now. He also went higher with the tile and lower with the sill. If I'd gone with the old shower door, I wouldn't have gotten that extra space and the wall between the tub and shower would have had to be cut down. I'm glad the price increase is at the end of the month and that I got my order in on time to avoid it.

The other great piece of news is I am now able to park in my garage again. This will make life so much easier, especially in the mornings. I was driving with my wipers on for about twenty minutes even though it wasn't raining because of how much the windshield was sweating after being left outside all night.

Here are the not quite finished, but we're close pictures:

Bathroom In Progress: Part Seven

When I posted Part Six of this renovation story, I didn't think there was any chance they'd be done this week. I was wrong. It looks as if they will be done this week. Today, they grouted.

It makes the bathroom look much more finished. They're not done yet. There's lots and lots and lots of cleanup to do. They also need to paint and put in the kickboards to hide the edges of the tile. This is all on the agenda for tomorrow.

The shower door guy, who was supposed to come out today, didn't show up to measure. He is (allegedly) coming tomorrow morning. This will be the third time he's scheduled. Maybe we'll get lucky? Because the shower can't be used without the glass.

I'm tired. Tired of not having my bathroom. Tired of men walking through my bedroom multiple times a day. Tired of sharing my dad's bathroom. I'm sure he's tired of it, too.

Even if I can't use the shower for a little bit while we wait for the door, at least I'd like to be able to use the other parts of my bathroom. Soon. I hope.

Pictures from today. With grout!

Bathroom In Progress: Part Six

On Day 5 of the renovation, the contractor said he wanted to come and work on July 4th. I was like, the holiday? Really?

He's British, so he doesn't celebrate, he said.

I was going to say no, but then I figured if they work on the holiday, it will be one day closer to done, so I agreed, but asked him to come at noon so I could sleep in a little longer. He agreed.

And noon came and went. No contractor. One o'clock. Two o'clock. No phone call, no text. That's right, after cajoling me to work on the holiday, he was a no-show.

The crew did arrive on Tuesday morning, but they were gone before I got home. I also learned that the guy who is supposed to measure for the shower glass was rescheduled from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning. Despite the fact that I was supposed to make decisions about hinges and handles and such. The contractor told my dad that he knew what I wanted.

I immediately hooked up my laptop and put in to work from home. I'm not living with someone else's decisions on my shower door for years on end. I hate having my schedule disrupted, but the door is important.

Here are pictures of what my bathroom looked like at the end of Day Six:

 

Bathroom In Progress: Part Five

End of week one of renovations. This was the day the bathroom was supposed to be finished, but I knew it was an ambitious schedule and the odds were small that they'd actually be finished in five days.

The contractor wanted to come on July 4th to work. I was going to tell him no because I didn't want to deal with the work and the guys in my house, but then I thought it will be done sooner if I say yes. So we settled on noon so I can at least sleep a little longer on the holiday.

The color of the floor tiles is nice, but I didn't realize how long they were. I have accent tile in my niche, which I really like. And it looks as if the shower floor tile will be on the shower seat. I'm not 100% on this since it might just be lying there while they're working on the shower floor. I think I'm okay if it is going to be on the seat or isn't. I use the seat for my shampoo bottle, not for sitting.

When I was house hunting in 2016/2017, I spotted this one house before the listing went live. It was just like the house I currently had, but it was on a level lot. The hill I had at my previous house is why we were looking for somewhere else. Anyway, the house was priced below market value, but I didn't like it.

My Realtor was like I could buy it, and with the deal I'm getting, use the extra money to make renovations. I gotta tell you guys, after one week of renovation, I'm tired of it. I don't think I would have survived a whole house makeover.

Pictures from Day five: