2011: The Year of Amazing Highs...and Devastating Lows…

It has been a roller coaster ride of a year and while therewere some amazing highs—there were some devastating lows—so all in all, I'm notsorry to see 2011 end. 
2011 was a year of change—both good and bad, but I'm choosingto focus on the good. It was an amazing year of "firsts" for me, for which I amso grateful.
There are so many people who were a part of making these"firsts" happen for me. I know I am leaving a few of you out, but only because mybrain's still recovering from a double deadline last week. Anyway, here are just a few of the wonderful people in my lifethat I'd like to thank:
Thank You: to the amazing Sourcebooks team:Publisher, Dominique Raccah; Editor, Deb Werksman; Editorial Assistant, SusieBenton; Administrative Assistant, Cat Clyne; and Publicist Danielle Jackson. 






I'm delighted that DYLAN is releasing January 2nd and will be giving away signed copies of him during my Virtual Blog Tour. There will be plenty of chances to win, check out the dates:




  Date Blog 1/2/12 Mia Marlowe's blog http://www.miamarlowe.com/blog /  1/3/12 Casablanca Author's blog http://www.casablancaauthors.blogspot.com 1/5/12 SOS Aloha http://www.sosaloha.blogspot.com/ 1/6/12 Romantic Crush Junkies http://www.romanticcrushjunkies.com 1/10/12 Laura's Reviews http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/ 1/11/12 Thoughts in Progress http://masoncanyon.blogspot.com/ 1/11/12 The Romance Studio http://www.theromancestudio.blogspot.com 1/15/12 Fresh Fiction http://www.freshfiction.com/ 1/16/12 Night Owl Reviews http://nightowlromanceblog.blogspot.com/ 1/18/12 Coffee Time Romance http://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeTh... 1/20/12 Sia McKye's Thoughts Over Coffee http://siamckye.blogspot.com/ 1/20/12 Emily @ AAD12 Blog (Authors After Dark Blog) 1/24/12 My Book Addiction and More http://mybookaddictionandmore.wordpress.com/ 1/25/12 Love Romance Passion http://www.loveromancepassion.com/
 TYLER, the first book in my hot cowboy series for Sourcebookswas not only my tenth published novel, but my first mass market paperback—oneof the goals I set for myself when I started writing over a decade ago. 


 TYLERwould not have been published without the insight and encouragement of myfabulous editor, Deb Werksman.




Thank You: to my fabulous agent, Eric Ruben. Withhis guidance, professionalism, and expertise, I have sold another three bookdeal to Sourcebooks. This time, it will be a trilogy set in Purity, Ohio—SmallTown USA. The first book, A WEDDING IN PURITY, will release in November 2012.
Thank You: to Anne Elizabeth for being mysounding board for so much more than plotlines and character development!


Thank You: to mypublicist, Judy Spagnola for her friendship, encouragement, and expertise.

   Thank You: to Lori Foster and Lora Leigh forincluding me in the group of authors participating in their Reader Events.These ladies are not only very talented prolific authors, they are amazinglywarm-hearted women. I was delighted to have been a part of their events.   










  ThankYou: to JoCarolJones for always thinking of me – you and Johnny and wonderful people! Dave andI can't wait to see you in Chicago!
 













Thank You: to Kim Rocha and the Book ObsessedChicks Book Club for embracing me and inviting me to attend one of theirmeetings—I had the BEST time and loved getting to know all of you.
Thank You: to Natalie and Kim for reading myrough drafts at the last minute and giving me feedback in time to make changesand meet my deadlines!

 Thank You: to Tara Nina for kicking my butt backto Jazzercise and so much more!




 
ThankYou: to myfamily…for believing in me and giving me the time and space I needed while I workedtoward meeting my December deadlines. 
 
Where would I be without all of you? Myguys: Hubby Dave and son's Phil and Josh, our daughter Jessi, son-in-law Tom,and gorgeous grandbaby Jack.     
We had to say goodbye to our faithful friend Ginger after 12years, but were able to rescue another dog in need of a good home—Josie wasborn in a shelter and spent the first ten months of her life in a cage. 



After a week of loving attention—and a lot of coaxing—she'scoming out of her shell. She's so sweet with me, but showing signs ofaggression with the men in our house. We are trying to work through thissituation, but each day she grows more comfortable in her home and lesstrusting of my guys. 
I've put out a call to help to a local trainer; the shelterwhere we rescued Josie, and posted the question on Facebook, hopefully someonewill be able to help. I don't want to have to surrender her, but cannot allowthis problem to escalate our precious grandbaby visits often and Jack is only 11 weeks old.
It's obvious now that when the shelter volunteer said weneeded to let the men take a more active role in Josie's transition, there wasjust a tidbit of information that they neglected to tell us…specifically herfear of men…but then again, they didn't tell us about her skin condition orworms until after we'd adopted her.
I'm hoping that Josie will turn around and learn to trust myguys…they are so loveable and miss Ginger so much.  
Even though 2012 is off to a rocky start on our homefront...I am hopeful that things will improve.
So for the coming year, my wish for you is that you open your arms and your heart embracinglife to its fullest—the rewards are priceless.

Slainte' C.H. Admirand