I’ve finally gotten around to updating some of the extra features for my books. For a long time, I’ve been meaning to make pages of all the photographs that inspired me in the MacEgan Brothers series. But between expecting the new baby and finishing the new book (and yes! I’ve sent it off, so I can relax a bit now), I hadn’t had time.
If you click on the For Readers page, you’ll see the new features I’ve added. The first three links are all to the photographs I took while in Ireland. I have a photograph of the Lia Fail stone in Her Irish Warrior, a picture of Ennisleigh (or at least, one I’ve imagined in my mind), a picture of Laochre Fortress, etc. Hope you enjoy them!
I loooove snow. And it’s sad because I now live in a region where snow is really scarce. As a teacher, snow gives me free days off–what’s not to like? For those of you who live in snowy areas, I’m sure you get tired of it, though. Send some more my way! This is a picture of my kids a few days ago when we actually got our first snowfall of the year. They had a blast.
And here is my baby boy with his dad, enjoying his first snow. Doesn’t he look thrilled?
I’ve decided that newborn babies are a bit like goats. They make little bleating noises when they’re hungry or sleepy or poopy, and they’re stubborn, too. My darling boy knows he has his mother wrapped around his finger, and all he has to do is whimper and I’ll cuddle him up against my chest. There’s something about a warm, sleeping baby that can knock me out quicker than Ambien.
And tomorrow, I have to give him to someone else. All day, while I go back to work.
With my first child, I was itching to go back to work. I felt like teaching defined me, and I was losing myself being trapped at home, subject to the whims of a baby.
With my second child, I planned it so my maternity leave ran into summer break, and I didn’t have to go back until September. When she started daycare, it didn’t bother me as much because I knew she was in good hands.
With this baby, I’m a sentimental wreck. He’s my last child, and I’m treasuring every single moment. He’s growing up so fast, right before my eyes. Even the thought of handing him over tomorrow makes me want to clutch him tighter. He’s mine, and nobody else will love him quite as much. Yesterday I went through his clothing, setting aside all the 0-3 month sizes because they don’t fit anymore. I’ll be donating them to charity or to a friend expecting a baby boy, and it was harder than I thought. Many of the outfits have special memories.
Oh, there will be new ones. But baby memories are so precious and so sweet. I have to remember that when it’s 2:30 a.m. and I’m bleary-eyed from less than three hours of sleep. I’ll blink, and he’ll be in kindergarten.
P.S.–thanks to the Mills and Boon editors for the shirt. It’s one of his favorites.
I apologize for going MIA for a bit. I swear, the revisions on this book are like mud-wrestling. I keep slapping down a chapter, only to have it rear up again. It’s getting ugly, but I WILL get the best of it.
Last Sunday I did an interview with Risky Regencies about Her Warrior King. You’re more than welcome to read it and learn a few things about the history of that book. In addition, when I sent out my newsletter last weekend, I included a link to a deleted scene. I’m now going to post it for everyone else (I’ll get the link on the books page in a little while). Click here to read the prologue that never made it into the final version. My editor felt that the opening of the book was much stronger with the wedding scene. Hope you enjoy it!
Another bit of fun news is that Her Irish Warrior was nominated for Best Medieval and Best Series book on All About Romance. The Warrior’s Touch also made it onto the Best Medieval category. If any of you want to go vote for your favorite books (and if you liked either of my medievals and want to help me stay alive in the category–you’ll notice that as time goes on, books and authors get crossed off if they don’t have enough votes), just click here. But you do have to nominate authors or books in six categories in order for your vote to count. Thanks!
In other good news, the baby slept for SIX HOURS straight last night. Now if I had only gone to bed at 8:30, in order to take full advantage of it…
There are a lot of online voting contests going on right now. One is at All About Romance Novels, and another one starts January 15th at Cataromance. I enjoy seeing some of the nominees, because often I’ll get some good book recommendations or hear about authors I haven’t tried. For instance, this year I read One Real Cowboy by Jan Kenny. It was a fabulous western historical with a great hero. I’m looking forward to her new book that’s coming out (and Jan was nominated for best debut author at All About Romance). You can see the interim results here, and nominations are still going on.
One Harlequin Historical novel that was nominated is Beau Crusoe by Carla Kelly. I truly enjoyed this book because not only is it a Regency take-off on Robinson Crusoe, it’s downright funny. Loved it.
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips was also a book nominated that I enjoyed this year. But then again, all of her books are so funny, I can’t think of many that I haven’t liked.
The one nice thing about maternity leave and nursing is that I have been able to read more than usual. While I can’t really write/type one-handed, I can hang onto a paperback. It’s been nice to revisit some of my old favorites like Penelope Williamson’s The Outsider, and I’m also starting up on some new books. Yesterday I picked up my friend Anna Campbell’s new book, Untouched. Can’t wait to get started on that. Then, too, my Domer buddy Joy Nash has a new book out called Deep Magic. I read The Grail King which was wonderful. If you like druids, shapeshifters, and stories similar to The Mists of Avalone, you would enjoy her books.
My baby son has begun smiling and cooing. I love babies and their attempts at conversation. They make the funniest sounds, as though they truly are speaking. He is also learning how to bat at hanging toys. The poor boy’s hair is falling out, though. Most babies who are born with hair will lose it, and it comes in again sometimes with a different color and texture. My daughter was born with a bit of dark hair around her nape but was otherwise bald, and sure enough all of that hair disappeared. My poor baby has little bald spots, though, from where his hair has begun falling out. The dude looks like he needs Baby Rogaine.
I’ve been remiss about sending out my January newsletter, so I hope to get to that this week. I’m thinking of doing some behind-the-scenes details, and I have a prologue scene from Her Warrior King that was deleted. So if you’d like to read it and haven’t signed up already, just enter your e-mail address on the side bar. For those of you who are already signed up, are there any questions you had about my books? I was thinking of addressing the fostering issue, since many readers were wondering why children were fostered to other parents in Ireland. Can you think of anything else you were wondering about? Thanks in advance!
I’ve polished 131 out of 373 pages, and am trying to read as fast as I can. The ending of this book still isn’t what I want it to be. Already I’ve deleted in the neighborhood of 40 pages and written 25. This, after I *thought* I was done. That’s the problem with books. You finish them, go back and re-read, and sometimes you scratch your head and wonder, “What in the world was I thinking?? That’s not the ending! This stinks!” Other times, you re-read a section and think, “Oh, God, that’s good!”
Um, this book would fall into the former category. I had my engineering husband read it, and he’s caught all of my time/distance problems so far. Now it’s up to me to do the final fix on the ending. I feel like Rocky Balboa, getting ready to do that long run. I know I can do it, and I know it’ll be great when I get there…but boy, the trip sure is daunting. Here’s hoping that by the time I get to the end, I’ll have figured out what I did wrong.
You know, it never gets any easier. In fact, each book is getting harder because I want it to be better than the last one. But it will be sent off soon…my deadline is at the end of this month! And here I thought I’d be finished at the end of October.
My husband and I were hanging out last night (while I was editing), and we were playing “Name that Tune.” He’s an 80’s music buff, and he was trying to get me to figure out the song based on a few chords. Just for fun, want to try it? See if you can guess these 3, based on a few lyrics. You can check your answers by clicking on the link. (Be forewarned, you’ll have songs stuck in your head all day.) Then, if you want, post your own opening lyrics challenge in the comments section. Try to guess the song of the person who posted before you! Let’s see what other fun 80’s songs we can come up with.
Helping Your Baby Sleep Through the Night–Tips from the Trenches
After having three kids, I’m starting to discover some universal “tricks” for getting a baby to sleep better. It’s hard to believe Baby is 6 weeks old now. And last night he slept 5 hours!
I started thinking back about all the things I’ve learned, and I thought–why not? I’ll share a few of them and you all can add whatever tricks you learned. Somewhere out there is a new mom who is going out of her mind and maybe these might help.
Tip #1: Swaddle your baby
Newborns have a Moreau Reflex that makes their arms flail wildly at any given moment. I was very naive with my firstborn and put him in a crib from day one. Of course, the poor kid would wake up, those arms would windmill, and he’d start bawling because he was lost in that huge crib. I realized that the reason why nurses swaddle the infants in the hospital is that it helps keep the kids from waking themselves up from the startle reflex. It’s also what they’re used to, and babies love being wrapped up like little burritos. My problem was, I couldn’t seem to coordinate the blanket and all of my children were little Houdinis who could work their way out of it. This year, I found one of these swaddle blankets. Can I just say that this is the neatest invention ever? Velcro swaddlers! Love it. After I wrapped my baby up in it, complete with a hat to keep him warm, he slept 3 hours at a time in the beginning, and now he’s up to 4-5 hours at a time.
Tip #2: Buy gas drops (e.g. Mylicon or any form of Simethicone) in large quantities. Use them as a preventive measure.
My kids have all been very gassy, on the verge of colicky. At night, it only took one gas pain to send them screaming, and then of course they woke up and wanted to nurse themselves back to sleep. My early mistake was in treating the gas pains after they occurred. Since I know my kids have chronic gas issues, I started giving them gas drops BEFORE a feeding. That way they could work out their gas issues first and then sleep comfortably. I also give them gas drops at the 3 a.m. feeding, right in the middle of the nursing session.
Tip #3: Finish the Feeding
Whether you’re nursing or using formula, usually you’ll end up at some point with a baby who won’t finish eating. My son will doze off in the middle of a nursing session and it takes an act of God to wake him up. With my firstborn, I was stupid and let him sleep. Without a full feeding, he’d wake up an hour later and want to eat again. I was up all night, running back and forth from the nursery, and was ready to tear my hair out. Now, if my baby falls asleep, I’m pretty merciless. If he doesn’t wake up, I take him to the changing table and change his diaper. Nothing like an icy cold baby wipe across the bottom to wake up a baby. Hey, I may be cold-hearted, but it never fails to wake them up. Then I can finish the feeding and they sleep longer.
Tip #4: Get the Burp out at All Costs
My children are difficult to burp. Those nice soft little pats just won’t do it. I remember with my first son, I would gently pat his little back, and when he didn’t burp, I figured he didn’t have to. Yes, I was as dumb as a rock. Of course, he would spit up all over his clothing/crib/me and then want to be fed all over again. I’ve learned that you have to Whack the Baby. None of these gentle love taps. No, you have to give a nice firm whack from the base of the spine, all the way up. Then a good vigorous rub, from spine to nape. Whack and massage, that’s the way to go. If the shoulder position doesn’t work, you can try sitting them up on your lap, or putting them belly down across your knees. Your last resort if the burp won’t come out is to lay them flat on their backs for at least 45 seconds or longer (changing the diaper is a good way to get the burp out). When you lift them up, whack them again, and 99% of the time, you’ll get the burp out. Be prepared for a fairly huge belch, and often multiple burps. Make sure you have a good burp cloth over your shoulder, because sometimes the burps have some spit-up with them.
Anyway, for me, these were the tricks that helped me get a better night’s sleep. Hope they’ll help someone else, too.
What about you? Were there secret tricks you learned to help your kids sleep better? Tell me, because I’d like to try them too!
Several authors have been looking back at past New Year’s Days, and I thought it would be fun to see how life has changed in the past few years.
In January 2007, I announced the sales of The Warrior’s Touch and Her Warrior King. Both books have since hit the shelves. Her Warrior King was extremely difficult for me to write since it was my first book written on deadline and I think it stretched me a lot. I truly felt like those words were bled onto the page.
In January 2006, I was still toilet-training my daughter and working on finishing Wedded to the Enemy. I really do want to sell that book this year. It’s a very cool story and I want it to go into print. Still, I imagine when it does (positive thinking), I’ll want to do revisions to bring it up to my current writing style.
In January 2005, I still had my livejournal blog and was getting ready to send in the full manuscript that would become Her Irish Warrior. It amazes me to think how much life has changed since then!
Where will I be in January 2009? Hopefully with two more books written and more sold. Hopefully with all of my pregnancy weight gone. We’ll see what happens. Of course, I need to lay off the Christmas candy for that weight to go away. I am so bad about that. Especially when a scene isn’t working right, chocolate just makes you feel better. Now if I could just substitute sit-ups or exercise instead of chocolate as my therapy, that weight would be gone in no time.
I loooove snow. And it’s sad because I now live in a region where snow is really scarce. As a teacher, snow gives me free days off–what’s not to like? For those of you who live in snowy areas, I’m sure you get tired of it, though. Send some more my way! This is a picture of my kids a few days ago when we actually got our first snowfall of the year. They had a blast.
And here is my baby boy with his dad, enjoying his first snow. Doesn’t he look thrilled?
I’ve decided that newborn babies are a bit like goats. They make little bleating noises when they’re hungry or sleepy or poopy, and they’re stubborn, too. My darling boy knows he has his mother wrapped around his finger, and all he has to do is whimper and I’ll cuddle him up against my chest. There’s something about a warm, sleeping baby that can knock me out quicker than Ambien.
If any of you want to go vote for your favorite books (and if you liked either of my medievals and want to help me stay alive in the category–you’ll notice that as time goes on, books and authors get crossed off if they don’t have enough votes), just click 
Now if I had only gone to bed at 8:30, in order to take full advantage of it… 
Let’s see what other fun 80’s songs we can come up with.
After having three kids, I’m starting to discover some universal “tricks” for getting a baby to sleep better. It’s hard to believe Baby is 6 weeks old now. And last night he slept 5 hours! 
Now if I could just substitute sit-ups or exercise instead of chocolate as my therapy, that weight would be gone in no time.
