Windy Wednesday

Young Cute Man Taking Shower In BathroomHappy Hump Day everyone. As the title suggests, we had ourselves a very breezy day here in the city. But that’s not all I have to share – it was generally a very weird day. It likely has everything to do with the sleep that I didn’t get last night, but I had the damnedest time trying to remember what day it was. On top of that the weirdo count went through the roof at work. No, not just talking about my co-workers – we don’t count them since they are there every day – I mean the other weirdos. The ones that wander in off the street, or call with no clear reason as to why they are calling. It’s like they want to “chat” or some silly thing. I don’t have time for “chatting” during the day. I barely have time for what I have to get done during the day.

But it is over, thank goodness. Now I can spend my evening relaxing, watching some TV, and working on my second round of edits for Dangerous Reactions, C&M Security 6. I actually have the majority done but my editor found a couple other issues that I need to clean up. Nothing major thankfully, but they are making me think. Not a good plan for tonight so I may need to wait until the brain is functioning better. I’d really hate to write myself into an even worse corner my editor has to get me out of, lol!

What else is there to talk about? Oh, yes! Coming May 21, 2015 (that’s a Thursday if you were wondering) Evernight Publishing is having a Facebook Event – Summer’s Kick-Off Event to be exact. If you’re interested in joining feel free. There will be lots of authors, lots of prizes, and who knows what mayhem might ensue. You can join by clicking here – this will take you to the Facebook Event page, and click the “join” button.

Well that’s it for now. I may, or may not have more news later – but for now I must remain quiet. I know, I’m evil even mentioning it, but that is life. Until later everyone ~ Moira

Hello again Friday

WeekendHow is it that the week takes so long to be over, and yet a weekend goes by in the blink of an eye? Really doesn’t seem fair that the worst portion is so dragged out. But another one has finally bit the dust, and the weekend is before us once more. Not entirely sure what I will get up to, but there will be writing.

My current WIP is going well. I’m at the point of starting to wind it down but still need to have something crop up to push into, and follow through to the next planned book. While I have these loosely planned out I’m also letting the characters pull the story where it needs to go since they’d only steamroller me if I didn’t. They can be quite pushy when they want to be.

Other news is that I’m waiting on second round of edits for C&M Security 6, Dangerous Reactions. Quite excited to get this book out and into the hands of my readers. As it’s the last one in the series, at least for the moment, I know they’ve been waiting a while for it to arrive. It’s also a huge closure book for one particular plot line that’s been running through a couple of the books to this point. It’s other task is to answer more questions about the series by giving a look back before C&M was set up, and uncovering the mystery that is Robyn Matthews – the “M” in C&M Security. Hopefully it’s a hit with everyone that’s read the series up to this point. Fingers crossed!

What else is there to share? Oh, yes. I have another story coming out in an anthology. It will be my first paranormal story, and was a blast to write. Date of release isn’t yet decided as they are still accepting submissions to it so you’ll have to wait on news about that until toward the end of May. Best guess is an August release based on how the last one worked once the date of cut off came around. But it is a rough guess only.

Well I think that might be it. I am off to finish laundry, and then get some rest. Tomorrow will be a day full of writing. Have a fantastic weekend ~ Moira

Getting into the groove…

Variety of cups of coffee with smoke on wooden backgroundThank goodness it’s Saturday! Woohoo! I have coffee in hand, my WIP is loading up, and the muse is doing her stretches in preparation for the day. I figured I’d start with a little writing before I got into the more stressful task of doing my taxes. I know that’s one hell of an efficient way to kill the muses groove. So that will be later. Besides I probably should be fully awake before attempting it.

Next year I’m saying to hell with it and getting an accountant. Unless of course it’s to the eleventh hour, and I forgot about looking for one prior to deadline. Which is entirely possible. Despite what most people believe I do on occasion forget things, I am not infallible. It’s why I have lists that have lists.

Anyway, before I get into my writing for the day I thought I’d also announce on here that I have another story that has been accepted for an Anthology. I’m very happy, and thrilled. It will also be my very first published Paranormal story. It’s called Drakon’s Prize, and I must admit I’m extremely pleased with how it turned out. I rather like my bad ass Dragon Alpha character. Hopefully so too will everyone else – hint, hint. Look for a page to come in the next couple of months on my site as we get some more information about it from Evernight Publishing.

In other news I also have the first round of edits for Dangerous Reactions, C&M Security book 6. I haven’t gone through all the notes yet, but it doesn’t look too bad. I also have myself a new editor. I hope someone warned her about my comma addiction so she wasn’t shocked. Though I will freely admit I did go through this one before submitting it to really look at my comma problem and eliminate them where I could. I never get them all of course, this is why I have an editor after all, because what I think needs a comma doesn’t always actually need one apparently. I can only hope they get paid well for putting up with my issues. LOL!

All right, I do believe that is it for today. Looks like I need a refill already, this may be a two pot day after all so I am off to get more coffee, and then get down to business. Hope you all have a terrific weekend, and don’t forget to check back tomorrow for another #SexySnippet Sunday. ~ Moira

Having a great weekend

Have a good weekend. EPS 10 of a blurred nature background.Hope you’re having a great weekend! I definitely am so far. Just got back from having a late lunch with a bunch of friends. It was filled with laughter, lots of joking, a bunch of teasing, and a horde of innuendos being tossed around. On the up side, I think we’ve found our bi-annual meeting spot of choice. Mainly because we weren’t getting shushed by the staff every time we dared to laugh, or got a little loud. It was a blast and a half to see them all again, and play catch up as well.

In other news, first rounds of edits for my story in the Uniform Fetish Anthology have been completed, and submitted back to my publisher for the second look. They were extremely minimal, and I only had a couple of things I actually needed to fix. Beyond that it was adding in a little more detail on a key point of the story per my editors suggestion. Didn’t take all that long once I figured out where the hell to put it in. Only problem with a short story of this nature, you don’t always have a lot of room for additions. I was relatively smart and kept myself a bit of room when I submitted it originally. Now though with the addition, I’m sitting a little more snugly in the word limit so hopefully there isn’t too much more required on round two otherwise I may need to consider a bit of fat trimming.

Great news to also share is that book 5 of the C&M Security series, Dangerous Pasts, will be out this Wednesday. That’s January 28, 2015 for clarification. I’m waiting on the cover to look over, and approve anxiously, and hopefully I’ll be able to post that up soon as well. For anyone that’s interested I’m also running a contest on my Facebook Group site for 1 of 2 free copies of the book. If you’re interested you can join the group HERE or just enter on the post if you are already a part of the group – I’m only accepting entries on FB. It’s super simple, and a little bit of fun all rolled into one.

Other than that I’m planning to get some writing done this weekend. I’m hoping it will be on book 6 of the C&M series but only if the characters feel like talking. They’ve been quiet of late so I’m rather fearful they have something planned I may not like. I never know with this group what might suddenly pop out of my brain to throw a wild twist into my stories. Things I then need to figure how to get them back out of to get the HEA ending required.

I know for sure I’ll be working a bit on my paranormal story, I’ve had little twinges of ideas of where to take them next. Likely I’ll probably do a bit more on my other still unknown what the hell genre it falls into story. Seriously, I have zero clue where these characters are leading me, but it should be interesting to say the least. They seem to enjoy butting heads, and basically doing everything in their power to annoy the other. Makes it a never ending roller coaster for me as the one writing it, I never seem to know what they next plan to do to the other character.

Well, that’s all the updates I have currently. So I am off to work on whatever WIP comes to me first as needing some more written in. Have a great weekend ~ Moira

Thank goodness it’s Saturday

wake upHappy weekend to everyone! Hope you are all enjoying it as much as I am. The last week was brutal attempting to get back into the swing of things after a much needed break over Christmas. Still not fully back into it all yet but I’m getting there slowly. The worst of it all was that first Monday morning alarm that went off. I am such a natural night owl that having to pry myself from the warm depths of my bed is a chore and a half. But I managed it, and then had to repeat it four more times until today. I admit, I did sleep in a little more than I normally would but it’s the weekend – WHO CARES?! LOL!

MFAntho-001-07012015-evernightpublishing-JayAheer2015-3DrenderBut there was one particularly amazing shining spot in my week I must share. Got home on Thursday to find a great little surprise in my inbox. The covers, and some other visual goodies for the Uniform Anthology that I’m honored to be a part of. They are so damn pretty, so a huge thank you to the artist Jay Aheer for these. They are truly stunning. It took me a while to finally pry my eyeballs off the bloody things, and then only because I realized I was drooling and had the nearly uncontrollable urge to lick my screen.

It’s pretty amazing to see it all begin to come together. It won’t be out for a while yet, projected release is in February but a date hasn’t yet been finalized. Depends on our poor editor for the books, and how quickly we all get through whatever changes are required of us I think. But as soon as I know more I’ll definitely be sharing the news.

On other fronts the final edits for C&M Security 5, Dangerous Pasts, along with the teaser/dedication have been submitted back to my publisher for the last look through on their end. Should hopefully be seeing a cover draft in the next few days. Can’t wait to share that with everyone. In the meantime though I need to get to work on book 6 of the series. I have a lot of ground still to cover before the big finale of that one that will tie up the last little threads left dangling in a couple of the other books.

After that who knows what I’ll be working on. I know what I should be working on, the two WIP’s I have in my docs, or even the new “something” that’s tickling my brain. But for now it’s all about focusing on the one to get it done and submitted. Easier said then done with a case of attention jumping going on right now. My brain is all over the map, twitchy, and may or may not have something to do with all the coffee I’ve pumped into my system. Oh well, eventually I’ll come down from whatever’s got me and my thoughts all over the map. In the meantime maybe I’ll just randomly open up a WIP and see what pops out. Until later ~ Moira

Officially on vacation!

Out of officeAt least from the day job. I plan on taking a couple of “me” days off from writing as well, but I have edits to get done and sent back prior to the New Year, so there will only be a little rest for the weary. The rest of my vacation time will likely be spent pounding on the keyboard to get more of my stories done up. Thankfully though I can do that from the comfort of my home, in my jammies since I have ZERO interest in getting dressed when it’s uncalled for, and with an unlimited supply of coffee at my fingertips. Ahhhhh, bliss :)

In other news (like you care) I did complete all my shopping with the exception of one item that I’ve spent three months attempting to find all to no avail. Mainly because I’m pretty sure it doesn’t exist except in a delusional mind. I’m just not sure if it’s the one who asked me to find it, or the original person who wanted said item. It’s a continual coin toss on that one. I shall spend most of tomorrow on the phone to determine if said item might, however remotely, exist in reality. Should it then I will venture forth into the insanity to procure it with no thought to my own well-being, or sanity. Both of which are sorely in question after spending four hours in a mall, yes…A MALL!, the Sunday before Christmas. I know – I have no clue what I was thinking doing that either.

On the editing front for C&M Security 5, Dangerous Pasts, I’ve had zero motivation since Saturday to do the blasted things. Can’t get into the right mindset for it. Part of that may have been the fact I knew I’d be going *shudder* to the mall for an extended period of time. My mind may have been preparing for the onslaught of insanity, noise, and idiocy that is to be found there. Whatever the reason I haven’t got a lot completed yet. I’ll likely open them up once more tomorrow while enjoying the fact I’m home, in my jammies, while my coworkers are making their way into the office. Might be what I need to get some more done on them. Or at least figure out where the bloody hell I left off.

Usually I’m good about that kind of thing. I leave myself a little note so I can go right to that spot, or at the very least bookmark my last point so I don’t have to slog through. This time though I must have thought I’d remember. Well, hate to disillusion those that know me, I don’t have that great of a memory because I’ve got no clue. *rolls eyes*

Well, that’s it from me for tonight. I have food on the way – as there’s none in the house currently. So enjoy your evening, and I hope you’ve gotten everything you needed to get done, done. ~ Moira

Holiday chaos

christmas treeEvery damn year I swear I’ll do all my shopping early. Every damn year I’m down to the line to get it done in time. This year is absolutely no different sadly. Maybe next year I’ll actually start early. HA! Yeah, I don’t believe it either. But it’s a truly nice thought.

I went out on the hunt for a few items today, and must brave the masses again tomorrow for even more things. It wasn’t too bad today, did what I needed to do, and even found a few extra bits to add to the gift bags for the family. Tomorrow will be a slightly grander experiment in patience. I hate crowds. I despise people who can’t seem to walk a straight line from point A to point B. And I truly hate the fact that when someone stops to talk to another person they must stand out in the flow of bodies so that everyone needs to squish around them. Really? How is that necessary?

But I know exactly what I’m going for. I will get there at an appropriately early hour so I can complete my shopping prior to the mad crush of people who leave their brains at home, yet bring the attitude. Yes, it should be a rip roaring fun day in the mall. Ugh!

In much happier news I have the edits for book 5 of the C&M Security series. Took a quick look through some of it, and there’s definitely more than a few things I need to tend to. Some are very quick fixes, others are much more complicated but I should be able to get through them before I depart for the familial gathering. At least that’s my hope. Given when it was sent to me I’ll be out of town when it needs to be sent back – not exactly the best of timing I fear on my publisher’s part, but these things happen so I will roll with it, and figure it out.

Book 6 of the series is progressing, though the characters appear to have run off for a time. My trip to the shops may have had something to do with that. Christmas madness isn’t conducive to a creative mind. A homicidal one perhaps, but definitely not anything of a creative nature LOL! I haven’t had any new inspiration on my paranormal story, or the other one that’s in bits and pieces in a Word doc. I’m hopeful that once the crazy time has passed my characters will come out of hiding again and I can get back to writing.

Well, that’s all I have to say today. So I hope you enjoy your evening, and the balance of your weekend. ~ Moira

Happy Sunday ya’ll

Wake up coffee cupThe sun is shining on a very chilly temperature here in my city. But with coffee in hand, wrapped in a nice toasty warm sweater, and the heater up a little higher than normal I’m quite comfortable. Enough so that I can get to work on my WIP’s. At least while the characters are chatting with me anyway.

I never know how long they’ll be willing to converse with me so I can write out their story. Today though they seem relatively chatty, so I’m going to take advantage. Get what I can down on the page before they decide to meander off once more as they have been wont to do of late. Little buggers are driving me batty.

Edits are all in for book for of the C&M Security series so now I’m waiting on my cover art, and a date of release. A little impatiently I must admit since it was originally projected to come out in November. Obviously this didn’t happen as we’re now sitting on the last day of the month, but that’s fine. It took a little bit of time to get it just right, and personally I’d rather have the book “right” then rushed. Though I will admit that I really, really want to see what the cover will be for this one. Evernight’s cover designer is pretty flipping phenomenal so it’s always a fantastic surprise to find a cover mock-up sitting in your in-box waiting for you. I’m very sure this one will be no different.

Only downside to another month going down is that we’re now that much closer to Christmas. I am so not ready for the holiday. I really have to figure out a way to get all my shopping done early or I’m going to totally be screwed. Especially since I always go up to see the family for the holiday. But even that’s a little screwy this year because of a trip that is mucking up when we’ll be celebrating. Oh well, we’re all adults around here. At least until you have to wait to open your presents and then it’s like we all revert to little kids, lol!

Last bit of info to pass along as well. There is only a few more days to vote in the Evernight Publishing 2nd Annual Readers Choice Awards. The polls close on December 5, 2014 – this coming Friday. To vote all you need to do is click the image below, and it will take you directly to the voting site.

Remember, I have 2 books in 2 different categories to vote on. One is in Humor – Forever Kind of Love; and the other is in Suspense – Dangerous Lines, C&M Security 3.

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That’s all I have for today, really gotta get to work on these WIP’s. Have a great day everyone ~ Moira

Murky Monday

Somebody sure done gone, and pissed off Mother Nature. Or she’s got a big ol’ bee in her bonnet. Cause here we are, in SEPTEMBER no less, and it’s freakin’ snowing! Not only that, but there’s a “Snowfall Warning” in place. Not even shitting you. Case in point, the image below is from my walk home & a couple of the trees that line the Downtown Core. That white stuff on the tree, ground, benches, and floating past in the image – that’s snow folks. SNOW!

Calgary,-AB-08.09.2014

As an extra bonus, because apparently someone has sinned against Mother Nature, we’re expecting even more all the way into Wednesday. Three days of this sticky, wet, white crap. Ugh! Nasty! On the plus side – literally – we’re supposed to shoot back up into the 20’s by next Monday (that’s the mid 60’s for you Fahrenheit folks) – a nice steady climb out of the trenches in a manner of speaking.

Thankfully I had no plans other than to sit and write tonight, maybe watch a couple shows on TV. This convinced me I chose wisely. And I do need to take one last lookie-loo at my Dangerous Lines book. My publisher sent it to me since I had a couple of odd changes on the last round of edits. Mainly things I needed to change to keep in alignment with the next book in the series and what all will be happening in there. One more read through and I should have it back to them tonight at some point.

Well, that’s it. So from the suddenly chilly, and very white city of Calgary, I bid you a good night. ~ Moira *brrrr*

PS – That little place, the Luxor, in the image – great little Egyptian place. Pretty great food, amazing sweets and goodies.

Edits are completed

C&M Security book 3, Dangerous Lines, has been officially through round 2 of the editing process and is now back in the hands of my publisher. This also means that the excerpt is now up on the Dangerous Lines page for you to read.

It was a pretty quick run through, thanks to my amazing editor, Laurie Temple. The woman is great and I can’t ever thank her enough. I think she loves these characters nearly as much as I do. A good thing, and very helpful to the editing process. That and the fact she’s been my editor since day one – I got super lucky in having her assigned my books to be completely honest.

Now I can focus on writing book 5 of the series, something I’ve been a little lax on of late. Too much crap at the day job to get my mind relaxed enough to write. A sad, sad state of affairs really. But I have the rest of the weekend now, to write and plot my face off. Something I definitely need to do with these characters. It’s a different flow to book 5 than the previous ones, so I have to remain quite focused on the “end game” as they say. Since I started at the ending, I can’t have anything go awry during the “catch up” phase of the book/story line. Otherwise I’ll have to rewrite a bunch of things, all of which I really don’t want to do. So, focus is the name of the game.

SunnyPoppies

Oh, shiny! Ha! Just kidding. I think I’ll throw on a movie, settle into the zone, and get a few thousand words out on it by the time Monday rolls around. Although, the fact the weather is fantastic is definitely making it hard to stick to my guns on that one. It’s so sunny, and nice out there. Argh! What’s a writer to do? Focus. Gotta focus.

Well, I’m off to focus on the sunny weather…uh, my story and plot line. Have a great weekend ~ Moira