Patricia Rice's Blog

Vacation Needed from Vacation!

We took a marvelously relaxing cruise of Puget sound, meeting up with Mary Jo Putney and her husband to discuss writerly subjects and just enjoying the scenery and a wine tasting or two. The food was scrumptious, the weather���amazingly���perfect, and the company wasn���t to be sneezed at. I always dream of not having to fix meals or do housekeeping for days on end.��.��.

And then I come home to sour milk, an empty refrigerator, a week���s worth of dirty laundry, and piles of business that piled up while we were gone. And of course, there is still my writing work to be done. Fortunately for me, I love to write and the sun���s been shining and I���m getting a lot of pages scribbled. . . Just don���t remind me of the list of tasks I���m supposed to be doing!

Free Book!

My ebook Texas Lily is available on BookBub for free for a limited time! Subscribe to BookBub for free to access amazing ebook deals from your favorite authors. Snag Texas Lily before the sale is over! The next books in the series have been discounted as well, so go forth and READ!

My Favorite Things

After twelve books in the same setting, my Muse has wanderlust, and I’m wondering where to travel next. I’ve been thinking about My Favorite Things, like houses and mysterious actions and characters who don’t quite fit into normal… and then I started wondering what everyone else enjoys in a good book. What are Your Favorite Things to read about?

Writing News

I am doing my very best to feed you, my beautiful readers, a new book every three-four months, but the number of things on my To Do list keep growing! I think we���ve re-covered and updated the Dark Lords and Dangerous Ladies series, the Rogues and Desperadoes, and the Too Hard to Handle series. To think I used to type these on a typewriter and edit with Xerox copies and red ink!!!! These are still great adventure romances, larger than today���s books so lots of hours of reading, and I hope you���ll go back and take a look at the oldies but goodies because.��.��.

I am seriously insane and we are now attempting to pull together audio books of the oldies. Audio wasn���t around when they were written, and books this size are too expensive to produce these days, but we���re experimenting with Google Play in hopes of giving those readers who like to listen a chance to hear them. After we figure out how all this works, we���ll probably charge the same price as the e-book, but I make no promises until we���re deeper into the production.

But in the meantime, The Madman���s Dangerous Delusion ��Book #4 of the Gravesyde Village Mystery s now on pre-order! Book #5 (untitled) is on its way to an editor, and yes, I have pages on book #6! It���s looking to be a real humdinger of an ending for this series, so there shall be much gnashing of teeth over the next months.��.��.

New Covers!

And because I obviously haven���t anything better to do��� look what I���ve done! What do you think of this ���classic��� cover for my old historical romances? When publishers recently started declaring historical romance dead, I revved up my engines and produced a new look for my favorite older titles to prove them wrong. These books were truly books of my heart. I loved writing and researching them. I love the humor and the characters. And they���ve just been languishing at the bottom of the barrel because they don���t have witches (although I cannot resist a good ghost or second sight when I can wiggle them in!)���just a lot of tantalizing bad boys and good strong women who give as good as they got.

 

Take a gander and see if you might be interested in a little action/adventure!

Merely Magic FREE!

A few weeks ago, I sent a special newsletter alert for those of you who love psychics and mysteries. Now I have a freebie and discounts for those who love historical romance with a touch of fantasy. Starting July 26th��(or whatever clock the retailers run on),��Merely Magic, Book 1 of The Magical Malcolms will be free at all retailers. There should be special prices on more of the series as well!

These historical��romances feature characters from��my popular Malcolms and Ives families.��If you’ve enjoyed other books featuring these family members, then you won’t want to miss this free book or the discounts for subsequent books in the series.

And sign up for my newsletter to receive these alerts in a timely manner.��.��. winter is coming eventually and reading time will be plentiful!

Who Wants to Live Forever

Scientists working with rats have uncovered the chemical compounds that allow rodents to scamper around their posh rat spas for well after their expiration date. If the formula for long life can be found for humans, we might all age past the century mark. Now, think about that.

My first reaction is heck, no, I don���t want to live with dementia and breaking bones until the money runs out. But the article claims this formula allows us not to physically age.��.��. we can keep our brains and

Sappire Night

bones! I���m a little more interested.��.��.

But then things get really complicated. Do we really want to live through more wars and strife? At what point would we be too old to be drafted? Do we start second careers or keep doing the same thing for a hundred years? And housing! There isn���t enough now. If we all live for half a century more.��.��.

Mind boggling. Certainly would solve the declining population problem though, but I think I���ll let my granddaughter build a better world. I have no need to live forever. What about you?

And a reminder, for a few more days only… SAPPHIRE NIGHTS �������� first book in the Crystal Magic series, is FREE, and several of the others are discounted! Follow my newsletter to catch these sales sooner!

Is Writing Work?

One of these days I must learn to promote my books, but my brain simply does not work that way. I want to write. I have characters running around in my head, doing ridiculous things, and they need room to romp. I don���t think I can project my brain images into a TikTok video or an Instagram photo. So instead of promoting my new books, I am scribbling as fast as I can. I have a new toy that allows me to write on a tablet that translates my horrible hen-scratching into text I can transfer into a Word document. The wonders of modern technology! The punctuation and capitalization are a little iffy, but I can soak up the sun in my backyard and just pour words onto the tablet and it���s utter heaven. Sitting in my office in front of a computer creating promo is the opposite.

I am aware I cannot continue to sell books unless I let people know they exist. So if you want me to keep writing: be kind, review a book, recommend one to a friend.��.��. and bless you for reading!

Reminder: The first book of my new Gravesyde Village Mysteries, The Villain’s Fatal Plot, releases 4/15 !

That’s Life

Sorry, this will be brief. I was out picking oranges (I always wanted to do that when I was back in snowy Kentucky!), slid on a round stone, fell on my shoulder (not my wrist this time, because, oranges. . .), and cracked my clavicle. I am supposed to keep my  right arm completely still in hopes the crack will heal. Or there will be surgery. I am trying soooo hard to be good. . . Do you have any idea how difficult one-handed typing is? Or anything else for all that matters! Walk carefully, folks!

And remember the first book in my new Regency romantic mystery series, The Villain’s Fatal Plot, is out in April and available for pre-order!

Wired for Love

Y’all already know how to find love in romance books, so I thought I’d offer a little education with your Valentine’s Day entertainment. . .

According to scientists, love is a biological necessity. Despite the hearts and flowers of Valentine’s Day, love does not originate in the heart but the brain, which releases hormones when we experience attraction or affection.

But note this biological necessity is for affection—which applies to friends and family and pets, not just your latest heartthrob. So send your pet or family members a Valentines’ gift if you don’t have a Significant Other. And if you want to read more than you’ll ever need to know about which hormones apply to what, check out Wired for Love by Stephanie Cacioppo, a world-renowned neuroscientist.