Kaylea Cross's Blog, page 16

We're Having Twins!

No, not me, silly. The eagles.

I keep forgetting to tell you all, but David Hancock (of the Hancock Wildlife Project) has put up permanent cameras in the eagle nest on my father's property here in White Rock. While we were in Hawaii (the day after the tsunami, actually), the female eagle laid an egg. Two days later, she laid another. This is unusual, especially since she had twins last year. Pickin's must be good out there for her to be able to lay two eggs again!

The eggs will hatch 35 days after being laid, so here's the link if you're interested in watching the live camera feed. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Play button for either the wide angle or close up feeds. I prefer the close up, so I can watch the wind ruffling their feathers and see the eggs when they shift in the nest. This pair of mates has been together for a while, and you may recall the posts about the baby twins last year. Very entertaining to watch them trying to figure out how to fly :)

It's really cool to watch mom and dad taking turns sitting on the eggs, but around April 19th or 20th, we should have some new chicks to meet. How amazing is that? The cameras are crystal clear, and also have night vision so you can watch the eagles after dark. I hope you'll check it out and let me know what you think.

Kaylea Cross week !

I'm finally home, safe and sound after all the excitement of my trip, and I'm glad to be able to put my feet up for a while. That was a wild vacation, for sure. A tsunami, a 4.6 earthquake on the big island, then exposure to some low level radiation all the way from Japan in California the day we left. Yup, home's looking pretty good right now.

In writing news, I got word last week that Carina Press has acquired my latest naughty novella I sent them, tentatively titled Touch Me. Very excited! I love being accepted :) Have to say, writing these spicy novellas has been really fun, but after finishing this next project for TWRP, I've got to get back to my Bagram Special Ops trilogy and finish Crash and Burn. I've left my poor hero in the midst of a night-time HALO jump deep behind enemy lines, and that's just not right.

Starting today, the fabulous bloggers over at Guilty Indulgence Bookclub are featuring me on their blog for the entire week! I'm very flattered by that. I'd love some company over there, so feel free to drop by and visit with me. They're going to feature the books in my romantic suspense series and I'll talk more about why I love to use special ops soldiers as my heroes. But really, what's not to love?

Also, I'm being featured at author CR Moss's blog as well, and I'm giving away a copy of Cover of Darkness there.

Last but not least, both Cover of Darkness and No Turning Back have been nominated for best romantic suspense of 2010 by The Romance Reviews. If you'd like to vote for either of them, please follow this link.

Hope to "see" some of you at these sites this week!

Kaylea :)

Hawaii Tsunami

Unless you've been living under a rock, by now you know about the horrible quake and tsunamis that shattered Japan last night. For my family and I visiting the big island of Hawaii (including my dad, sister, step mom, step siblings and their families), last night was certainly more exciting than I'm comfortable with.

We'd spent the day in Kona, eating lunch at Bubba Gump's and shopping for some souvenirs. When we arrived back at the hotel we had a late dinner out at the fancy surfside restaurant here, bathed by a warm Trade wind while tiki torches flickered amongst the hibiscus flowers. Just another gorgeous evening in paradise. Or so we thought.

Someone took our reserved table, so we didn't get seated until 9, very late for the little ones we had with us (my two weasels, and two two-year-olds). About ten minutes before our mains arrived, Dave Ritchie, founder and former CEO of Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers, came over to tell us there'd been a massive quake in Japan, and powerful tsunamis were on their way toward us.

My face blanched. I literally felt the blood drain from it. All I could think about was the Boxing Day tsunamis in Thailand/Indonesia a few years back. With an 8.9 quake sending waves at us and nothing but open ocean standing in their way... Yup, I was already making evacuation plans in my head.

Big weasel didn't understand the magnitude of the threat (he's 7), but since he was running a fever with a sore throat, hubby took him up to the room early. I stayed with little weasel (not quite 5) and wolfed down what should have been a decadent dinner of beef tenderloin and lobster tail. Afterward I took him straight up to the room, going past the front desk on my way. People were milling about already, and their concern was palpable. One lady was in tears.

I went straight up to the room, turned on the news, saw the pictures of the tsunami in Japan, and started packing. No evacuation orders had been issued yet, but I'm not the type to take any chances, especially with my little guys. Then the tsunami alarm sirens went off at 10, and that sealed the deal. Hubby and I packed up pillows, blankets, clothes, ID, food and water. And some TP. If I'm going to have to do my business and wipe my bits and pieces out in the great outdoors, I'd just as soon have TP to wipe with.

A couple minutes later the phone rang. My dad, saying the rest of our group (13 in total) was planning to head for higher ground, and that I should pack emergency supplies. I almost snorted. Did he not realize who he was talking to? He's only known me for 36 years.

By this time the weasels were scared to death. I had two sets of huge blue eyes fixed on me as I packed. When they saw me shoving things into a bag, they quickly dumped their stuffed toys into their backpacks and stood by the door with anxious expressions. While hubby left to start packing the car, I tried to calm them down, explaining the waves wouldn't hit for at least another four hours, maybe more. We had lots of time, and it was important to be calm in the meantime. We had a plan to get everyone to safety, and we were acting on it. Was I scared, though? Hell yeah. None of us knew what to expect or how bad it was going to be. If it was going to be a repeat of the Thailand/Indonesia tsunamis...

And then little weasel broke my heart. Standing by the door with his running shoes on and his little backpack strapped to his shoulders, he looked up at me with brimming eyes and said, "Can we just go, now? I don't want to swim--I don't know how to swim!" Big weasel joined in, begging me to just go, go now and get in the car and get away from this place. Talk about a punch to the gut. I thank God we had enough warning to get packed and make it to somewhere safe. People in Japan weren't as lucky.

A mandatory evacuation order was given soon after that, but we were already packing up the cars. Our rental, and an SUV for the rest of our group. The hotel guests were stressed; you could feel the tension as people prepped to leave. The adrenaline was pumping pretty hard, and we still had four hours until the first wave was expected to hit. We were parked at the curb waiting for my step siblings to get their babies into the SUV with all their gear, and a bus driver stopped near us. He opened his door and brusquely said, "You guys better move that thing, or I'm taking it out." Nice. Like we weren't stressed enough.

The minute we left the hotel and started for higher ground, I felt better. The weasels were absolutely silent in the backseat as we headed down they highway and then inland, up the mountain. We stopped at 1,000 feet, since my sister, step sister and her hubby had been scuba diving earlier in the evening and couldn't ascend past that altitude. I tell you what, I felt ever so much safer up the hill parked next to that horse pasture at the side of the road than I did back at the hotel.

We spent a very cramped night in the car, and only the weasels slept a little. I made good use of my TP stock, which took me back to my days as a Girl Guide. Peeing outside turned out to be the weasels' favorite part of the whole experience :)

None of us knew how bad the damage was down along the coastline, but as we listened to the news reports over the radio, it varied from area to area. Bubba Gump's, where we'd eaten lunch the day before, was heavily damaged by the waves, along with some of Kona. We got conflicting reports about the damage levels to our hotel, but weren't allowed to go back because waves were still coming in and the state officials hadn't issued the "all clear" yet. The SUV's battery had died overnight, so hubby took us into town to get some jumper cables, and after the others were good to go, we found a Subway for breakfast. Information was sketchy; someone reported damage to our hotel and that we wouldn't be allowed back for hours yet. Police were turning people back from the area.

Eventually the tsunami warning was lifted and we went back to the hotel, not knowing what we'd find. Turned out there was no damage to the buildings, but the man-made beach was damaged and they'd lost some furniture to the tsunami. The images of the devastation in Japan are heartbreaking, and I'm so thankful we were all safe up on that hillside. Turned out we would have been safe at the hotel, but even in hindsight I'm glad we evacuated. My heart goes out to the people of Japan affected by this disaster, and all their loved ones.

So we're all safe and sound, and there might even be a future book in this somewhere down the road. My family kept teasing me about that, and asking if I'll ever travel again after this. Wouldn't you know something like this would happen while I'm here? But you know, suddenly the thought of getting on a plane doesn't seem so bad anymore.

On My Way

In another couple days I'm off to paradise, so wish me luck on the flights. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of being afraid of flying. I've missed out on so many travel opportunities already and I've got to get over it somehow. I thought it would get easier once I "got back into it", but that unfortunately hasn't been the case yet. Still, one can hope, right?

I'm taking my laptop, though I don't know how much actual work I'm going to get done, and my Kindle is loaded full of steamy books to keep me occupied. By the way, did you know it's The Romance Reviews grand opening celebration right now? Check out the highlighted link to enter contests, win prizes and find out about all kinds of books you never new existed. They've already got something like 9,000 Facebook followers.

Did I mention I'm working on another naughty novella for The Wild Rose Press? This one features one of the other brothers in our Dumen Ranch series. I'm really enjoying the shorter lengths right now, and it's been just what my muse was craving. Maybe Hawaii will inspire me even more!

The Editing Cave

[image error] Hi all. I woke up this morning thinking I've got exactly one week left to live, as I'm getting on another damn plane next weekend with my family. I'm not very happy about this, but what can you do? I don't want my kids to miss out on awesome opportunities just because their parents are wing nuts and terrified of setting foot on an aircraft.

Luckily, I've had lots of things keeping me busy with my writing. I've been deep in my editing cave for the past week, revising and editing my upcoming Carina release, Deadly Descent, and my upcoming first erotic romance release from The Wild Rose Press, Deacon's Touch. The contract for my next erotic novella (coming this winter from Carina), No Holds Barred, arrived this week and is winging its way back to the Harlequin offices as I type this.

On top of my edits, I also wrote and submitted another naughty novella this past week, and have been asked by my TWRP editor to write another. In all, I've edited over 150k words since last weekend. I'm pretty proud of myself :) So, basically my desk is clear for the next couple weeks. I hope to plot out and maybe begin the requested novella this week, but I'll try to work on my next military romantic suspense novel for Carina during the flights. Lord knows I won't be sleeping, so I might as well make use of the time and get something accomplished, right?

I'll definitely keep you posted on release dates or any more contracts that come my way. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Kaylea :)

Guest Blogging With Katie Reus

I'm anticipating line edits for Deadly Descent in the next week or two, and in the meantime I'm working on another short hot story for Carina. That's a lot of fun, but today the awesome Katie Reus is hosting me on her blog, as part of her 30 Days of Danger and Secrets party. I'm talking about Special Operations and why I love writing about them, specifically why I use those elite soldiers as my heroes. Kind of self explanatory, I think, but I know there are people out there who don't share my love of the subject. (Blasphemy! Who are they? I want names and e-mail addresses!)

Today I'm featuring Cover of Darkness, but the winner can choose any book from my backlist. Stop by and leave a comment to enter!

Aloha Bound

[image error]I'm going to Hawaii in a couple weeks, but part of me is already there because Kim Adams of SOS Aloha has hosted Luke and I over on her awesome blog. She interviewed him for this piece, which I thought was kind of neat, and we get to hear about his Valentine's Day plans with Emily.

If you'd like to pop by and leave a comment, you'll be entered into the contest for a copy of Absolution. And Kim's not only an Air Force veteran; she's made of pure awesomeness. When I told her I was coming to Hawaii (she lives there) she didn't just say "Yay, good for you!" and leave it at that. Nuh-uh. She e-mailed to say she's going to have a tour guide of the big island, written by a local, waiting for me at the front desk when I arrive. And she might even look into flights so we can meet up while I'm there! Talk about above and beyond the call of duty.

I swear, people in the romance community--writers, editors, agents, bloggers and reviewers--are among the most generous people on earth. I love networking like this, because it means meeting more people like Kim.

Mahalo, Kim!
Kaylea :)

Plugging Away

Got some more good news to share this past week, and thank goodness for that because the week before that wasn't great. My Carina editor sent back the first round of edits for Deadly Descent, and my laptop died the very next day. Seriously! You have no idea how frustrating that was, but at least I'd thought to save a backup version on a flash drive. It took the better part of a week to get a new laptop up and running with what they could salvage from my old hard drive. I wound up losing all my e-mails and I didn't get any work done at all for those four days. But since then, things have perked up for me.

A couple days after I sent back my first round of edits, Angela James of Carina Press contacted me (by e-mail this time, though I still have her voice message saved on my machine from November, and I don't care if that's pathetic) to say she'd read and loved the short erotic romance I'd subbed to them. After she passed it onto another editor who loved it too, they offered me a contract! It's tentatively called No Holds Barred, but it might be changed somewhere down the line and I'll keep you posted. I had so much fun writing it and finished it within a week. It's short and hot and will probably release sometime in late summer or early fall. My erotic romance editor over there seems like a lot of fun with a great sense of humor, so I'm looking forward to working with her.

The picture above is blurry, but it's the new journal I bought myself on Etsy, my new favorite place to shop because everything there is made by artisans. Like it? It's handmade, and ultra French-girly, which is right up my alley, with a big satin ribbon rose and vintage pearls in the center. So pretty! Oh, the things I've bought there... The accounting department is less than thrilled :)

I always treat myself to a new journal before I begin plotting a new project, and this one is sure to keep my muse inspired. I'm currently plotting out a new hot short story and then I'm going to dive into Deadly Descent's sequel, tentatively called Crash and Burn.

Also, next week I'm blogging with Kim at SOS Aloha on the 15th, and the awesome Katie Reus on the 17th. Oh, and I guess I didn't tell you, but I'm biting the bullet and flying to Hawaii with my family for a couple weeks in early March, so I'll be sure to ask you all for more arm flapping.

Dangerous Secrets

It's the official release day for Katie Reus, and her new book Dangerous Secrets, from Carina Press. Katie also writes erotic romance under Savannah Stuart, so this is the first romantic suspense release under her other pen name in a long while and she's very excited about it!

As usual, the cover gods love her and have awarded her another gorgeous one. If you look at her backlist, you'll know what I mean.

Here's the blurb:
Isabelle Ballantine has been fighting for independence since she was old enough to walk. Now that she's finally out from under her father's shadow, she won't let anyone stand in her way. It's tough living on her own, working in a bar and keeping her true identity a secret, but things start to look up when a sexy new stranger walks into her life. After working side by side for weeks, Izzy can't figure out why he won't make a move...
To cinch the deal of a lifetime, Adam Marcellus agrees to help Izzy's eccentric father convince his daughter to move home. He'd assumed Izzy would be another spoiled rich princess, but he's surprised to discover his feelings for her are stronger than anything he's ever experienced. When a deranged stalker targets her, Adam finds himself fighting not only an unknown threat—but an unexpected attraction to the one woman he can't have...

You'll love Katie's writing style, and she's got another upcoming romantic suspense release with Carina in late summer. To purchase Dangerous Secrets, click here.

Katie Reus's Days of Danger & Secrets

It's February 1st! Know what that means? It's a full month of prizes and giveaways over at author Katie Reus's blog. Today she kicks off the celebration with guest author Cynthia Eden, who's giving away a copy of her newest release, Deadly Heat. Stop by today and all month long to meet this talented list of authors and win some prizes.

Also, be sure to check out Katie's new romantic suspense, Dangerous Secrets, coming out from Carina Press on Feb 7th. I'm very excited about this book and there's another one coming out from her later this summer that will knock your socks clean off.

I'm going to be guest blogging with Katie on Feb. 17th, so be sure to come by and say hello for a chance to win one of my books too :)

Happy reading!
Kaylea :)