Crackpot Theory: Romance and Remote Car Locks

When TV Stevie and I first started dating neither of us owned cars with remote door locks. If such a thing were even around, they were reserved only for the high-end vehicles. We are not luxury vehicle kind of people. We’re more like, “does it get us where we need to go in a safe manner?” folks.

TV would unlock the passenger door and open it for me, then close it. I would slide over and unlock the driver’s door.  This became our ritual. Even after we were married and had babies, then small children, if it was just the two of us, we observed our habit.

Until he bought a car with remote door locks. Yes, he still held the door open for me, but there was no longer a need for me to unlock his side.  And eventually, even the opening of my door went away. It was unlocked.

Sometimes I miss those little gestures of courtship.

Ten Things You May Not Know About Me

  1. I don’t drink soft drinks (soda pop). I once tried to force myself to like them when I was young, ignorant, and trying to fit into a new job, but no go.
  2. I have green eyes. According to my nephew, this (along with my blood type) makes me prime alien abduction material. Cue The Byrds.
  3. I’ve never been to Disney World or Disneyland.
  4. I don’t watch television. Once in a while, I’ll binge watch DVDs of TV series with my husband, but I don’t sit down to watch anything just for something to do. And I never have.
  5. One of my favorite classical music pieces is Schwanda the Bagpiper: Polka & Fugue.
  6. I used to have a horse. And a pony.
  7. I gave up drinking coffee about 8 years ago.
  8. I tell people I’m allergic to eggs because they gross me out to the point of gagging if I even smell them.
  9. I subscribe to the Aquatic Theory of Evolution.
  10. I  have never had strep throat, and I’ve had the flu only twice.

National Get Over It Day with Author Ryan Jo Summers

  When you are handed a shocking diagnosis, with horrible and scary images and then left with more questions than answers, it’s a lot to be expected “to just get over”. The future is suddenly uncertain while worry and fear become your new best friends. Dealing with a chronic medical condition is not something one “just gets over”. It’s impossible to when all they can do is look forward to an unknown future.
                But what if you also suddenly fell in love? How does that piece fit into the puzzle your life has become? Now you are asking for someone new to join in this uncertain future with you. Isn’t that asking a lot? Family, sure, we expect to mold around our new life, but a romantic partner?
                My character, Kasey Griffin, in Glimpse Eternity is coping with Multiple Sclerosis. She’s doing so-so with it overall. Then hunky musician Ben Salem rolls into town and their chemistry is perfect. And undeniable.  Kasey has seen how her father loved her mother before the MS took her and wonders how Ben will react for the long haul.
                While Kasey can’t ‘get over’ her MS, she can work past her fears of its uncertainties if she wants to have a future with Ben.  The question is: will she? Or will she allow them to drive Ben away?

Glimpse Eternity is a sweet contemporary romance novella:

Kasey Griffin is determined to prove a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis isn’t going to ruin her life or define her expectations. She is dedicated to her pregnant sister, her pets and operating her bookstore, ‘The Next Chapter’. She has everything she needs to have a full and satisfying life–the daily challenges of her condition notwithstanding.
         Then hunky musician Ben Salem rolls into town. Ben’s subtle charm quickly reminds Kasey she is more than a woman with a disease, she is also a woman with a heart. And Ben wants it.
         Will Ben still desire her once he learns the terrible details of her condition?
Glimpse Eternity is available at Amazon and Smashwords.
Ryan Jo Summers is a North Carolina writer who likes to pen romances with a twist. Love stories blended as inspirational, with paranormal, suspense or time travel–or several at once. She also writes non-fiction for regional periodicals. Her dad is a songwriter and his aunt wrote poetry, so Ryan came by the writing gene honestly.
Her hobbies include poetry, bird watching, houseplants and gardening, gathering with friends, hiking in the forest, painting canvas and ceramics, and working wiggly word find puzzles, mah johngg or chess.  She lives in a 1920 cottage with a menagerie of pets. She often daydreams of the shore and frequently uses water as settings in her stories.
Follow Ryan Jo on her website, her blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Romance Reviews.

Time Lines

One drawback of being an organic writer (a/k/a “pantser”) is the timeline of a story.

I’ve been deep into revisions of my third werewolf novel, Omega Moon Rising. In one spot, my editor asked me, “Has it really only been a week?” My initial response was, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Then I realized she had a point. I know the story didn’t happen over an extended period of time, but there had to have been more than a week between the events to which she referred.

::sigh::

So I opened up an Excel spread sheet and created a calendar of sorts, using the phases of the moon. Moon phases are extremely important to werewolves. What if I had messed all of that up, too? Fortunately, I had not. But I did discover some really long chapters. I needed to tweak a word here and there to clarify the amount of time that had passed. Whew!

“I Finished The Book” Give-Away

I finished the next book in my Toke Lobo & the Pack werewolf series this week, and in celebration, I’m giving away 5 free downloads of my friend Emma Cane‘s book, Sleigh Bells in Valentine Valley.

You may be wondering why I’m giving away someone else’s book. The Toke Lobo & the Pack band makes a cameo appearance in this book. You can read the story of how that came about here. (Just the story of how it came about. The “Book That Band” contest is long over.)

All the details for the new giveway are on my Facebook Author page, but I’ll repeat them here for you:

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: I’m giving away 5 free downloads of Emma Cane’s SLEIGH BELLS IN VALENTINE VALLEY. My werewolf country music band, Toke Lobo & Pack, make a cameo appearance in the book. I will snail-mail the winners a postcard that has the directions for the download on it. This is *not* limited to USA readers! The free download offer is good through Oct 31, 2015. Facebook is not responsible in any way for this giveaway. Answer the question to qualify for a random drawing. I will post the winner’s names, who must send me their snail mail information via private message (or email).

GIVEAWAY QUESTION: Answer this question to qualify to win a free download of Emma Cane’s SLEIGH BELLS IN VALENTINE VALLEY.
Which ONE of the following items would you find in a werewolf mating starter kit?
A) CONDOM
B) VIAGRA
C) BLUEBERRY TEA BAGS
D) CHOCOLATE CANDY KISSES

All you need to do is go to my Facebook Author page and answer the question to be entered in the drawing. Five chances to win a free ebook!

DISCLAIMERS: Neither Facebook nor WordPress are involved in this giveaway in any way, shape, form, or manner.