Color Me Exhausted

This was the last week of school. Not only did I have to administer exams and keep the natives from going crazy; but I had to pack up my entire classroom, go through eleven years worth of files and lesson plans, and clear out a lot of junk. The mental energy you exert will start to unravel anyone’s brain.

And let me tell you, the brain is feeling somewhat scrambled. I’m hoping to blog more regularly, once work is done. And then, I get to go into my full-time summer writing mode. LOVE IT.

But there are some downsides to being an author. When I published my first book, I was over the moon when the DHL postman arrived with a printout of my galleys. I gleefully went over the manuscript with a red pen, searching for any typos and cross-checking the British spelling (it always throws me off). Now when I see the DHL man, I want to let out a primal scream. Because it means that whatever I’m writing or currently plotting has to get shoved onto the backburner while I work on copyedits. I think it’ll get better when I’m off from work (tomorrow! ). Then I can sit down with a pot of coffee (and some walnut brownies) and knock them out.

I’m working on the Viking story again, while balancing the aforementioned copyedits and self-imposed revisions on Wedded to the Enemy. I think I need a clone. But then I stop every once in a while and I think, wow. It amazes me to think that I’m living a dream here. So even though I want to hide from the DHL man when the truck comes around, I’m so very grateful for this chance to tell my stories.

SweetBaby(tm) decided that after almost two weeks of sleeping through the night, I needed reminding of how lucky I am. Last night, for old times sake, he decided to stay up until 10 p.m., shooting my writing schedule to pieces (I had to stay up later to make up for that), and then he woke up at 1:30. Screamed and screamed. I managed to get him back to bed without feeding him, but he was a neurotic little boy, gripping my arm like he’d had a nightmare or something. Not sure what that was about, but hopefully he’ll get his act together tonight. I’m feeling a bit like the DHL truck ran over me, but we’ll work it out.

A Sneak Peek…

I’m guest-blogging over at The Good, The Bad, and the Unread today about the settings I write. There’s a link to an excerpt of Her Warrior King, and Sybil’s link reminded me that I hadn’t updated my website to include the new book.

Are you ready?

Here’s a sneak peek of my new book, Her Warrior Slave. Just click here and you can read an excerpt. This book does have a connection to the MacEgans, but you’ll have to figure out what it is. If you’re a detail-oriented person, you’ll realize that the hero of Her Warrior Slave is actually mentioned in Her Warrior King. Can you guess who Kieran is?

You can pre-order the book now on Amazon. It will be in stores in November.

Hope you enjoy the excerpt!

A Week in Review

In the past week, there was only one bad night. Each night got better and better, and all I can think of is, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?” The baby has consistently gone to sleep at around 8:30 and has slept until 5:00 a.m. I am human again! Thank you, God. This is the first week in six months that I’ve slept more than five hours straight, each night. It has been just wonderful. Two nights of crying was so incredibly worth it.

Looking back, I wouldn’t have tried it if he weren’t at least six months old. When they’re tiny babies, you just don’t know if there’s something truly bothering them. But now that my dear boy is a sturdy baby, it made sense to try it. The last two nights, when I’ve put him down in his crib, there was a bit of fussing while he struggled to get comfortable, but as soon as I left the room, blessed silence. Love it.

My copyedits arrived for Her Warrior Slave, and I’m starting to work on those, along with another project. There is only one week left of teaching, and I’m looking forward to my freedom! Many parents moan about their children being home for the summer, but for me, summertime is my best time for writing. Can’t wait!

Also this week, I’ve been over at an Italian romance forum. Two of my books have been translated into Italian. One is Il Guerriero Irlandese (Her Irish Warrior) and the other is La Vendetta Del Guerriero (The Warrior’s Touch). The readers have graciously hosted me, and I’ve been using Google’s translation feature to read their questions, although I’m answering them in English. Feel free to stop by, especially if you know Italian! I’m giving away a reader’s choice book of the Italian translations, or an English copy of Her Warrior King, since that one isn’t out yet.

I have been enjoying the summer releases, also. Right now I’m reading Lover Enshrined by JR Ward, The Hollow by Nora Roberts, One Real Man by Jan Kenny, and The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn. So many books, so little time!

What summer books are you enjoying right now?

Babies Have Their Own Agenda

So, Sunday night also went well. The crying decreased and aside from one wake-up when I verbally soothed him, the baby slept until about 6:00 a.m. again. Yay for Ferber and crying it out.

Monday, on the other hand, was another story.

You see, my devious, defiant little son decided to try another tack. He didn’t eat supper. No rice cereal, no baby food, nothing. Just nursing, here and there. So of course, I knew that there was no way on earth he would sleep through the night. And sure enough, he woke up at 10:30. And would NOT go back to sleep. Literally, each time I laid him down in the crib, he woke up and HOWLED. By 12:30, I was ready to throw in the towel. I laid down beside him in the guest bed and let him snuggle. I put him back in the crib at 4:00 a.m. Nope, not proud of that. But I needed to get sleep somehow.

Tonight, he’s following the same pattern. Didn’t eat much of anything at dinner, and he has a slight cough. I have a bad feeling about this already. I tried putting him to bed three other times tonight, and each time he screamed. I’ve let him cry for at least 20 minutes each time, and he’s just not going to sleep. He actually grabbed my arm with both hands when I set him down in the crib and hugged it.

Baby: I have your arm. You can’t leave me. Ha. Just try to escape now.

Me: Go to sleep. Quit trying to play this game. You’re going to lose.

Baby: That may be. But you’ll lose far more sleep in the short term. Bwahahahaha….I can cry for 45 minutes straight. Think you’ll sleep through that?

Me: Ear plugs are looking good at the moment…

Baby: Maybe I’ll just grow some teeth….

Ferber Method - Night #2

Saturday night was definitely different than Friday. I fed him some rice cereal at 8:00 p.m. and then nursed him until he fell asleep at nine. At 12:00 a.m., he woke up crying and my husband went in after a few minutes to soothe him.

Husband: He smells awful. I don’t know if it’s gas or a diaper, but you might want to go look in on him.
(translation: Oh, please don’t make me change a godawful diaper at this hour. Must. Sleep. Now.)

Me: (sighing, go in to check on the baby. Change his diaper, which turns out to be wet. I patted his back, whispered words of reassurement, and put him back in the crib. Screaming commences.) It’s okay. You’re just wet and gassy. Go to sleep and you’ll be fine.

Baby: I’m really tired and gassy and all I want is for my mommy to hooooooold me….waaaaahhh…

Me: I love you. Good night.

The baby screamed for about thirty minutes or so. And then….silence. Golden silence.

At 5:30 the next morning, I went in to see if he was still alive. After all, he hadn’t woken up since 12:30. Was he okay? Sure enough, he was sleeping soundly. And he stayed that way until 6:00 a.m.

Oh my goodness. It worked.