Terri Osburn's Blog, page 6

Music Monday – Hope

I always go into a new year with enthusiasm, excited about starting anew, and believing that there is good ahead. But it seems lately that several people I know aren’t starting off this new year with good stuff. At least not in the moment.

As a fixer, it’s hard for me to sit back and watch these sorts of things without being able to do something about them. I need to take the hurt away, or solve the problem. To make the person smile and make it all better.

But, of course, that’s just not always possible. I picked this song because the title says a lot.

Hope by Emeli Sandé.

My Word For 2014 – ENJOY!

When I was a kid, life wasn’t always great. So to muddle through, I learned to live for tomorrow. I’d convince myself I had to keep going because there was something better coming. I was happy to work for whatever that was, and it helped me not to give up on myself or on life.

The problem with this is that after a lifetime of thinking this way, you forget how to live in the moment. Or maybe I never learned how to live in the moment. Now that my present situation is pretty good, I want to enjoy it. To live in it and not be constantly searching ahead for the next good thing.

In an effort to learn how to live in the moment, I’ve chosen a theme word for 2014. Enjoy. That’s what I want to do. Enjoy my rehabbed house, my fabulous teenager, and even my loony pets. I want to enjoy every new review, new scene idea, and even the days when the words aren’t coming easy because I want to remember that I’m getting to do something amazing for a living.

And it’s still amazing, even when it isn’t easy.

My process right now is to take a second each day to be present. To look around and really see what I’ve accomplished and the gifts I’ve been given. I’m sure there will be days when I forget and fall into old habits. I already catch myself thinking about six months from now and how things might be. Can’t be perfect from the start, but I’m trying.

How about you? Ever heard of this picking a theme? I like it much better than making resolutions (which I haven’t done in years) or even setting goals. Goals are out there somewhere. Insisting we achieve something makes our happiness conditional. I don’t want conditional. I want to be happy regardless of hitting some lofty goal.

If you’re interested, what would your word be? Or you can pick a phrase. What mindset do you want to take into 2014? 

FREE STORY – THE CHRISTMAS SURPRISE

A little Christmas gift from me to you. May you receive your heart’s desire this holiday season.

The sound of jingle bells filled the bar seconds before a booming voice drowned them out. “What’s a man have to do to get some coffee around here?”

Derek filled a mug as he answered. “It’s Christmas, old man, the bar is closed.”

“Door was open,” Jack Ferguson said, climbing onto a creaking bar stool. “Don’t you have someplace else to be?” he asked.

The man knew good and well Derek had no family, which if he guessed right, was the reason for this unexpected visit. “I appreciate the thought, Jack, but I’m good. Go back home to Maggie.”

“And get a smack upside the head for not bringing you with me? Nope. Pack it up and lets go.”

“But I’m—”

“You’d rather wait until Maggie shows up and drags you out by your ear, that’s fine with me.” Jack sipped the hot brew while Derek contemplated his odds. The woman would do it. Maggie Ferguson owned the moniker pint-sized power house for a reason.

“Let me get my coat,” Derek said, snagging his keys as he passed the register. “I’ll grab a bottle of her favorite Merlot.”

“Wise man.” Jack took another sip of his coffee then pushed off the stool. “You butter her up and I’ll reap the reward.”

Derek followed his friend to the door thinking, as he had before, that Jack was a lucky man. Maggie may be tough as nails, but she was also one of the sweetest women he knew, and she adored Jack.

A very lucky man.

Ten minutes later, Derek parked his Blazer behind Jack’s truck in the narrow drive. After growing up in Texas, the Colorado snow held a fascination for him. Derek wondered if he’d ever get used to how the powder glistened in the moonlight, but hoped not.

He flashed back to his first snowfall. Kate making angels in the snow, then the two of them working together on that snowman. The best part had come after, when she’d brought him hot chocolate and joined him under the blanket beside the fire. 

Derek shook off the memory. Kate was gone and thinking about her wasn’t going to bring her back.

“It’s about time you two got here,” Maggie said as the men stomped off in the mud room. When Derek held up the wine bottle, Maggie’s eyes lit up. “A boy after my own heart.”

“How else am I going to steal you away from Jack?”

“Darling, you couldn’t keep up with me.” Maggie gave Jack a swat on the bottom. “Isn’t that right, Sugarplum?”

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” Jack said, with a wink in Derek’s direction.

Derek hung up his coat then stopped short when he spotted the woman standing in the kitchen. The woman he’d been trying to forget for six months.

“Hi, Derek.”

Seconds clicked by as he fought the fog clouding his brain. Maggie clipped him on the back of the head, scolding, “Say ‘Hello, Kate’.”

“Uh yeah, hello, Kate.”

Questions rolled one after the other making it difficult to think or even breathe.

When did she get back? How long was she staying? Did she know he still loved her?

“You look good,” Kate said.

“You too.” She looked even better than he remembered. “So you’re back?”

Kate’s eyes dropped. “LA wasn’t for me. I belong here.”

With me.

Palms suddenly sweaty, Derek rubbed his hands on the front of his jeans, then slid them into his pockets.

“When did you get in?” he asked. The distance was killing him, but he couldn’t chance getting close enough to reach her.

“My plane landed late last night. Maggie was sweet enough to come pick me up.” Brown eyes the color of whiskey danced across his face then darted away. “With mom and dad in Florida, I wasn’t sure who else to call.”

His brain told him not to say the words, but they came out anyway. “You could have called me.”

Her eyes shot back to his. Derek’s offer was clearly not what she expected. How could she not know?

He took one step. “Nothing has changed for me.”

The hint of a smile teased her soft pink lips. “Nothing has changed for me either. I was so stupid. I never should have gone.”

Derek didn’t remember crossing the room, but he found Kate in his arms and the world felt right again. “Don’t ever leave me again, okay?” he said, unashamed of the pleading in his voice.

Kate shook her head. “Never. It nearly killed me the last time.” Eyes dancing, she asked, “So this is a good surprise?”

Derek grinned. “Best Christmas surprise ever.”

They stood for what seemed an eternity, smiling like fools, until Maggie’s voice echoed from the next room. “Kiss her already.”

Derek pulled Kate closer. “Yes, ma’am.”

First Week At The New Job

This is going to be one of those “What I’ve learned so far” posts. The first week into working from home and I’ve learned some hard lessons already.

1.) Working from home is just like working anywhere else. You start your day with a plan, then you get an email or phone call and that plan goes out the window. At the end of the day, you’ve no idea what you accomplished, you just know there’s a lot more to be done.

2.) I am both a demanding boss and a lazy employee. All my life I’ve battled my procrastinator tendencies. I’ve managed them better in the last several years, as being a single parent with a full-time job and a part-time college curriculum (as I experienced from 2006 to 2009) will force you to get your butt in gear and get crap done. However, this week, all those tendencies are back with a vengeance. At the same time, the boss is making me feel horrible for not hitting all my goals.

It’s a vicious cycle.

3.) This is a basic life lesson that the ladies will understand. I’ve always had incredibly oily skin so avoided moisturizers at all costs. Turns out, my skin was an oil slick because it wanted moisture. Who’d a thunk? I slathered on some moisturizer this week to test this theory and the results were astounding. No more oil slick. Only took 42 years to figure that one out. 

I’m not even going to mention my screwy sleeping patterns. So, after all this, I’ve decided if I get some things done between now and Christmas day, then fine. If I don’t, that’s fine too. I say I’ve decided but the boss isn’t quite on board with this yet. I will be leaving the house soon (to tackle the post office – pray for me) and may bribe her with a Frosty.

Celebrate With A Book

In three short days I will be taking part in what has become an annual event in the Richmond area. Celebrate With A Book brings local authors together to meet readers and share our stories. The book fair will be held at Regency Square Mall on Parham Road in Richmond. (Find us on the 1st floor in front of Macy’s.) 

I am so excited about this. I’ve done very few signings so far, so it’s going to be fun to chat with readers, and to hang out with the other authors. In attendance will be April Michelle Davis, Baine Kelly, Barry Jordan, Jr., C.J. Ellisson, Carin Jayne Casey, Denise Golinowski,Greg Smith from Agile Writers, Leah St. James, Maria Chevelle, Melissa Schroeder, Nicole M Brown, and Tina Glasneck.

There will be books for sale, which are perfect for those last minute Christmas presents. I believe there are goodie bags as well. If you live in or around the Richmond, Virginia area, I hope you’ll consider coming out to see us.

There’s no better way to spread the holiday cheer than to spend the Saturday before Christmas at the mall getting your romance novel fix. 

Music Monday – Tis The Season

Today is my first real day as a self-employed person. As I write this Sunday night, I’m not sure how it’s going to go, but I do know I’ve spent the weekend fending off a weird silent panic. I know I’ll be fine, but you’d think taking complete control of your time would feel liberating. Instead, it feels like a giant pressure squeezing my temples. 

But don’t worry about me. This is actually normal for my whackadoo brain. I’ll get a few days behind me, set some kind of schedule and create a routine. Then it’ll be all good. I’m just not the best at transitions.

But let’s be honest here, my new life is far from the big deal right now. We’re less than ten days from the big holiday and I want to know if you’re done shopping. I finished up Saturday night and spent the weekend wrapping, but still have much more to get wrapped. (I’m terrible at it so most everything goes in bags, which I have to tape shut or my cats attempt to get in them.)

Are you done? Just starting? Going big this year (I might have gone overboard) or keeping it simple? And as a gift from me, here’s a new favorite Christmas song for your enjoyment. A song from me (and Jason Lancaster) to you.

Music Monday – I’m Moving On

I’m kicking off the last week at my day job, and my emotions are all over the place. I’m happy I’ll have more time to write and focus on the books, but I’m also scared to death. I’ve been with this company for seven and a half years, which is longer than I’ve ever stayed in the same job in my life. (I’m a bit of a nomad.) These people aren’t just co-workers, but friends. Not seeing them every weekday is going to be weird. 

But, I make a conscious effort in my life to remain positive at all times, and this is definitely the time to turn that up a notch. Though this week is going to be bittersweet, I need to do this. I need to put all of my focus and energy into this writing career and do it right. I can’t do that if I have two full time jobs. 

I’ve had the privileged once before in my life to spend my days doing something I truly loved. And after six and a half years as a disc jockey on country radio, I rode off into the sunset playing this song. Seems fitting to play it for yet another big change in my life. 

I’m Moving On…

 

HOME TO STAY Cover Reveal!

Here it is. The beautiful cover for HOME TO STAY, book 3 in the Anchor Island Series. Coming to a virtual shelf near you April 15, 2014.

 

 

What do we think??

Music Monday With News

I’ve done two major road trips in the last five days so as I type this Sunday night, I’m a little out of it. I also don’t want to get back in my car for weeks, but that cannot be avoided. Unfortunately.

And with the insanity of the last week, I also never got around to creating a newsletter, which should have gone out today. So let me see what would have been in the newsletter.

I hope everyone had a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving. Mine was low key, but as mentioned, filled with road trips. I hope you all got to stay in one place.

I recently announced that there will be a fourth book in the Anchor Island Series. The as yet untitled book will feature Sam Edwards, a character you’ll meet in book 3 HOME TO STAY. Sam is a successful hotelier on the island. After inheriting some hotels from his uncle, most thought he’d sell the properties, but he surprised everyone by moving to Anchor and rebuilding the main property. Now he’s ready to focus on the smaller hotel, and unknowingly hired a woman from his past to help in the endeavor.

Sam is the buttoned-up, mysterious type. Callie is going to help him undo some of those buttons. I hope you’ll enjoy reading their journey to that hard-fought happily ever after next fall.

As Sam and Callie’s story rounds out the series, that means a whole new series kicks off in 2015. We move from the Outer Banks to a small country town up the interstate from Nashville, TN. Ardent Springs is your standard small southern town, with lots of fun and interesting characters to explore. Lorelei and Spencer will get things kicked off in early 2015, and I’ll share more about their story later next year.

Oh, the cover for HOME TO STAY, book 3 in the Anchor series, should be ready to share soon. It’s so pretty, and fits the book beautifully. Keep an eye on my Facebook page for the big reveal soon.

The last element of the newsletter would be the monthly newsletter subscriber winner. Since I still plan to put out a newsletter in the next week or so, I think I’ll save that for later. But someone has won a signed copy of UP TO THE CHALLENGE along with a $50 Amazon gift card. Since it’s Christmas time, I figured this was a good time to up the prize a bit.

Now, as it is Music Monday, this  blog should include some tunes. I’m going with a song that inspired the final scene in UP TO THE CHALLENGE. If you’ve read the book, you should “see” some of that last scene in the story of this song.

I give you Trying Not To Love You by Nickelback. The title is pretty much what Sid and Lucas were doing through the whole book. I don’t think it’s any big spoiler to say they both failed miserably. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Whether you’re celebrating or not, it’s never a bad thing to take a moment and give thanks. Thank you to my friends, family, and readers. Even if you just stop by here and haven’t read my work. I still appreciate you. 

May your turkey be moist, your loved ones safe, and your holiday filled with love and joy. I have more than ever to be thankful for this year. Here’s to a wonderful holiday season, and more blessings in the year ahead.