Roni Adams

2012-01-10T12:09:00.000-05:00

Here's to 2012.

Every year I make resolutions; some I keep, some not so much. It generally helps me to list out somewhere public what I plan to accomplish. Maybe this is just my own way of being accountable to someone and maybe its simply a way of me getting it "down on paper" but either way here is my list for 2012.

Absolutely have to join the rest of the world and try to get healthier. This includes losing at least one size (what's that maybe 15 pounds?). I need to seriously lose at least 40 pounds, but we'll start with one size this year. I joined Weight Watchers and I plan to seriously look into a treadmill. I have to do this for my health. It has to be done this year, no excuses, no more putting it off. I will be 48 in May - I want to be fit and healthy at 50.

Blogging. I'm going to update this at least once a month - hopefully more. Same with my website - keep it current.

Twitter. I want to learn Twitter this year. I need to learn how to Tweet. Going to spend some time doing this this year.

Writing. Ok every author knows that writing more is a resolution. I vow to get at least one full length story finished and released (Book 5 of the Double B series) before year end and I would like to release 2 short stories - "A Hero for Tonight": as well as a summer story.

How about you? What's your resolutions this year? Anyone want to publicly acknowledge them?

Roni

2011-10-25T15:48:00.000-04:00

Those are my little buddies - Jack and Jenny. I was in Texas earlier this month on my favorite ranch - the Silver Spur Guest Ranch in Bandera. What a great time we had relaxing and riding and just hanging out. There's nothing better than riding horses in the Hill Country to refresh my soul. It was in the high 80's and since back here in New York winter is closing in quick - I enjoyed every second of being in capris and flipflops for a few more days.

One thing I truly love about the Silver Spur is that the cell service is spotty in fact I can't get a signal at all unless I'm up by the main entrance on the road a good 1/4 mile from the main lodge. Its nice sometimes to shut out the world. I warned the ranch manager that I just may show up some day hiding from my real life. Seriously, though everyone should have a place where they can escape and completely relax. I hope you have somewhere like the Silver Spur in your world.

But if you don't, I hear rumors that The Wild Rose Press is having its annual retreat there next October. Maybe I'll see you there.

Roni

2011-10-03T07:08:00.000-04:00

As the sun sets over this summer, I can't help but think all in all it was a pretty good one. Although it started off rainy and cold once Memorial Day hit - everything was blue skies and sunshine. My family had an awesome time at our place on the lake, tubing, water skiing, jet skiing, just an all around fantastic time.

October in Upstate NY means a couple things to me; cooler nights, gorgeous colors, and apples. We are blessed to live surrounded by apple orchards and I have always spent this time of year making huge batches of applesauce and freezing it to enjoy all year. Last night was the first of the apple desserts - apple crisp with vanilla icecream - yum yum.

Tomorrow I'm off to the home in my heart - San Antonio, Texas. Spending a few days riding on our favorite ranch - the Silver Spur Guest Ranch in Bandera, Texas (shameless plug!) - before spending a couple days in San Antonio with friends and the SARA chapter of RWA.

I wish I could say I'm hard at work on another story but the writing bug seems to have disappeared. I'm hoping to find my muse again while I'm relaxing under the stars of Texas.

Have a great fall!

2011-07-28T14:22:00.000-04:00

Summertime on the lake! Can't beat it. Have to admit our latest toy in our house has been a blast. Its a gorgeous summer here in Upstate NY and all of us, my husband and my sons and I are all enjoying every minute of it.That's my son's girlfriend riding with me - we're trying to keep her mind off the fact that our Marine has been gone for two weeks now - but no worries - this is a short deployment he'll be home early August.

Had a great review on my latest short story - The Chauffeur Wore An Evening Gown and I'm hard at work at another one that I hope to get out in early 2012.

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=175_133&products_id=4532

Between our place on Lake Ontario and my gardens at home, inspiration is everywhere. I sincerely hope you are finding something to write about in every day life. For me, somehow I think my next heroine is going to own a jetski!

Happy summer - Roni

2011-06-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/cowboys-duet-by-roni-adams.html

A new review is out for The Cowboy Duet and is wonderful! Nothing feeds a writer's soul than a good review.
I hope you enjoy it and take some time to read the fourth in the Double B series available now in eBook and print. Enjoy!

2011-06-18T07:04:00.000-04:00

Take a chance on me and win a Kindle at the same time. Visit www.digibookscafe.com for all the details.

My latest release - The Chauffeur Wore an Evening Gown is available for sale as well as the four Double B series books - To Tame A Cowgirl, The Cowboy Comes Home, Trouble in Texas and the latest - The Cowboy's Duet. All hot summer reads available now from DigiBooksCafe.

2011-06-09T08:10:00.000-04:00

Summer has finally arrived! The temperatures soared this week in Upstate NY and my family is finally settling in at our place on Lake Ontario. Although this photo is from last summer, it won't be long before my husband and sons will have our ski boat out and running for another season of tubing, waterskiing, and just riding up and down the lake.

Scott and I met 28 years ago next month (July, 83) pretty much on the water - so our mutual love for the water and boats has been in place since we met. We've passed that onto our sons and our entire family has already made some amazing memories.

As a writer, I find inspiration comes much easier in the summer. Waking up on the lake, sitting on our deck having coffee and hearing the waves crash the beach feeds my writer's soul. I work hard all winter, actually spring, fall and winter but in the summer I give myself permission to slow down and savor the short season and just indulge myself in what I truly love - being with my husband and kids, being on the lake, and soaking up some sun. I hope you too can find some time to slow down this summer and do what you love best.

Happy writing.

2011-06-01T09:56:00.002-04:00

Website down. If anyone goes to my website (http://www.roniadams.com/) right now you'll note its a mess. Sorry about that! I switched providers and thought everything would transfer - my mistake. lol.

If any of you are looking for the answer to the hint from the contest - its "Beauty and the Geek".

I will have the website fixed tonight, sorry!

2011-05-18T10:58:00.000-04:00

I was invited to kick off "The Millionare's Club" series in the Champagne Rose Line for www.thewildrosepress.com and I couldn't think of a more fun story than this one. When Erin has to pitch hit for her brother and climb behind the wheel of JR Stone's limo to drive him and his date to the Governor's Ball, she has no clue how crazy her night will get.

Josh Stone isn't annoyed at being dumped by his girlfriend just at her timing. When he finds himself on the way to the biggest night of his life without a date he somehow convinces his chauffeur to slip into an evening gown and onto his arm.

They fooled everyone into thinking they were an item, but once they kiss there's no joking about the chemistry that zings between them. Can a blue collar girl really appeal to this multimillionaire or is Josh playing her for the fool?

This hot sassy read is just under 30,000 words so its a fun quick read for your summer line-up. I hope you enjoy it. Releasing June 22, 2011.

2011-04-07T15:06:00.003-04:00

Finally - seems a long time for this one for some reason but The Cowboy's Duet has been released in print at www.thewildrosepress.com and will be out electronically on May 13.

I let a good friend read it as soon as I got my final galleys and she loved it. Always makes my confidence soar when someone who I know will be honest with me sends me good remarks. Here's her wonderful email note to me:

"I just finished the Cowboy Duet. As usual you have outdone yourself. I loved it. Beth and Tyler’s is still my favorite, but maybe I am just partial to them. But this one was just as good. I love the chemistry between Susan and Teddy. You can feel the attraction come right off the pages as you read. Never a dull moment either. You keep everything moving and keep your readers captivated and wanting more. I love the soft side of Teddy that you brought out in the book. Not at all what I had expected from him. I wish I was a Sampson girl living on the Ranch along with the Westons."

I can't wait for all of you to read it as well. Happy spring.

Buy link: http://thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191&products_id=4502&zenid=5f2045d69ce2a29cc930f813d0f93a4c

2011-02-27T07:28:00.002-05:00

Here's an excerpt from "The Cowboy Duet" coming out in March, 2011 from www.thewildrosepress.com

Susan stared at Teddy. His fear was really ridiculous. How many deaths happened each year in elevators? Any? She certainly never heard of any. Watching his discomfort grow as the minutes ticked on, she began to feel bad. She’d done it again; gotten him into another mess with her dumb ideas. Knowing the reputation of this old elevator, she shouldn’t have taken a chance. But now, how to get out of it? Or at least get through it until the security guard woke up from his nap and realized the elevator was stuck.

Should she start singing? Chewing her bottom lip, she immediately dismissed that idea; it wasn’t enough. Times like this called for drastic measures.

Her gaze raked him from his boots to his dark brown hair. He was still the sexiest man she’d ever known. Just staring at those muscular thighs through the denim was enough to make her pulse race.

A weird idea began to gel in her brain and her tummy fluttered with the thought. No, she couldn’t do that—could she? Would he even let her?

His evident agitation pushed her to realize she had no choice. She got him into this so she had to do whatever it took to help him get through, even if her own pride suffered. Besides, it wasn’t as if distracting him in the way she was thinking was going to be a hardship.

Before she could talk herself out it, she tipped her head and looked at him. Making her voice husky and low she asked, “You know what I’ve always wondered.”

Teddy didn’t pay any attention or even indicate he’d heard her.

Susan swallowed hard and pushed forward. “I’ve often wondered if all those stories I’ve heard about you are true.”

He turned his head and pinned her with a glare that made all her confidence completely disappear. “What stories?”

Drawing on every bit of her acting abilities yet again, she thrust herself into the role. “The stories that say you’re the best kisser in all of Texas, maybe even the entire Southwest.”

He grunted. “I can’t help it if women kiss and tell.”

She could only hope the tilt of his lips was a slight grin. “I don’t really believe it to be honest.”

He shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that I doubt it?”

“Not especially. Your opinion stopped mattering to me a long time ago.”

Ouch. That stung. She swallowed back the lump that rose in her throat at his harsh words. “You’re never going to forgive me for that are you?”

“Nope.” He went back to staring at the numbers.

“You know, I’ve kissed a lot of leading men on Broadway and in Hollywood. I’m a pretty good judge of a man’s kissing abilities.”

Tipping his head to the side, he regarded her. “Are you trying to make me prove I can kiss better than some pretty-boy actor?”

“I’m just saying that I can tell a good kisser from a bad one. I could give you my honest opinion.”

“You want to be kissed that bad do you?”

2011-01-03T12:00:00.002-05:00

Are the holidays finally over? I feel like we've been on a whirlwind since Thanksgiving. One fun event is my latest short story came out and even more exciting is the reviews. Glowing! Absolutely phenomenal. There's nothing like a bunch of good reviews to stroke the ego of every author. No matter how many times we might say "reviews don't matter" believe me, deep down inside, they sure do.

Check out the latest one from Seriously Reviewed:

http://seriouslyreviewed.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-past-by-roni-adams.html

or this one from the romance reviews:

http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=1070

I know the holidays are over, but I hope you'll find some time to curl up with this story that takes place between December 26 and ends on New Year's eve.

Next up I'm working hard on my edits to The Cowboy Duet and hoping to have it out sometime this spring.

I wish all of you the happiest of new years!

2010-11-10T15:01:00.002-05:00

I know they make your heart flutter don't they? But watch yourselves one of those very handsome Marines is my middle son, Brennan. Thankfully, this was taken over a year ago in Baghdad and he and his buddies are home safe and sound today.

Today is the Marine Corps Birthday and tomorow, of course, if Veterans Day which made me sit down and remind everyone of these amazing men and women who are overseas risking their lives for our freedom.

This year we have four of our sons' friends, boys who are all under 25 and yet fighting hard in horrible conditions. Max - due home any day now, thank God, from a stint in Afghanistan. Luke our next door neighbor who we've known since he was born is Brennan's best friend and we're praying with his parents every day that he is kept safe. Mike - best friend of my older son Ian - he is in Afghanistan with Luke. In addition, we have a very very dear friend Jim who was injured last week in Afghanistan and is currently recovering in a hospital in Germany.

As a romance writer - my goal at the end of every story is to have a happy ever after. We're praying hard that we all get all our servicemen and women home safe and sound for that happy ever after ending.

Hug a Veteran today and tell him or her thank you. They deserve our gratitude every day but especially today..

2010-10-20T19:23:00.003-04:00

Saw the movie RED last weekend. Besides the fact that it is the first movie I've seen in a movie theatre since "Walk the Line" - the Johnny Cash movie - this was a blast. The Wild Rose Press had been asked to supply the books for the set and it was fun trying to find the books on the big screen.

Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and all the characters did a wonderful job of keeping the audience laughing with great dialogue and amazing acting. It was fun and held your attention from the first scene to the last.

I decided that while I will always love reading for entertainment - I've missed watching movies. I have to say I'm not a movie goer or even a big movie renter. Mostly because I live in a house of all men (3 sons and a husband). Their idea of a good movie has to involve action, action and oh did I say action. After awhile I've learned to stop fighting it and I gave up trying to sneak in a good "chick flick" if anyone was home. But watching RED reminded me that I do like the occasional action flick. I used to love the The Lethal Weapon series or the Back to the Future series (of course that has to do with Michael J. Fox as much as anything else) for example. A movie has to entertain me without too much thought involved. That's my biggest requirement for a movie - no thinking. I want to be entertained without having to think too hard.

I think that's one of the reasons I've always enjoyed romance novels. Its not that they are necessarily mindless although thinking too hard when I'm reading for fun is not what I want to do either, but rather- its the warm feeling you get when reading them that makes me happy. Just like watching a really awesome movie - you just feel good when its over and ready to watch another one.

RED is one of those movies. I give it two thumbs up and strongly advise you to go see it. While you're there - watch in one of the opening scenes with Bruce Willis - he has three TWRP books on the table by his phone.

2010-08-18T14:44:00.003-04:00

This month was particuarly bittersweet in our household - we moved our firstborn - Ian to his first apartment. He and his girlfriend, Jessica, have moved about 4 hours away so Ian can attend law school. What mother couldn't be proud of that? But at the same time comes the heartache and pain as the first of the proverbial strings are cut. He's on his own now - in his own place, his own city and his own life. No more glares at me for waking up him too early with my vacuuming (noon I swear!), no more leaving extra coffee on when I'm done so he can have a cup, no more "Mom why are there no cookies left?", none of the stuff I've grown so used to over the past 22 years.

We have 2 more sons left at home and while it feels like I still have a while before the nest is empty, I know from experience the time will simply pass in a heartbeat.

To all us Moms out there going through this phase of life - there's no way to say it except it truly stinks. To the Moms of sons and daughters shipping overseas and deploying - our prayers are with you. Our Marine is home this year safe and sound under our roof - but we have 3 dear friends who shipped over to Afghanistan with the Marines this week and our thoughts are with them and their Moms as they begin the horrible journey we took last year.

Someone wise once said - little kids, little problems; big kids, big problems. Oh how I long for the time to go back to when we could protect them from everything and tuck them in at night knowing they were safe.

We've done what we were supposed to do. We've raised our son to be a strong, independent, successful man. So why does it hurt so much to watch him leave?

2010-06-20T07:41:00.002-04:00

"Daddy's little girl", "Daddy's Princess". The lucky women of the world share those titles with my sister and me. I know there are some who had difficult or nonexistent relationships with their own father but one of my biggest blessings in life was my Dad. He married later in life and was 42 by the time he had two baby daughters. To say he loved us is the understatement of the world. He adored us in a way no man, our husband's most certainly, never will. He was the Dad who could tear a car engine apart and rebuild it then go in and bake a cake for dessert that night. He could sew, repair delicate antique clocks and he baked and decorated our wedding cakes. He was the real Jack of all Trades in a way few men today, in my experience, could ever hope to be.

My father is still with us, thank God. Although sometimes more in body then in mind. He has been attacked and robbed of his life by that horrible disease called Alzheimers. It struck him or began to really strike him about four summers ago and last summer he became a permanent resident of a nursing home. I know that term gives your gut a wrenching but it is a wonderful facility with fantastic caring people. The only blessing of this disease is he really doesn't know where he is. He thinks he works there or he's visiting someone or any other mind games his brain plays on him. The one thing he does know though is who we are. His family. His wife who he still worships, his two daughters that he adores, the two son-in-laws who he still teases, and his five grandsons. He might not always remember the grandsons names but he always lights up when they come to visit.

We buried my childhood friend's Dad two days ago. This will be her first of a lifetime of Father's Days with no father. My heart breaks for her and her siblings and as I sat in church this week crying with them I knew that we too are on borrowed time. Every father's day with my father could be our last. I try hard to think of the positives - he's 85 now, he's had a good strong life and is in a very happy place. His quality of life is as good as it can be considering the circumstances but still the little girl in me longs for the old days. The days when he made lemonade out of lemons and rainbows out of rain for us. I try hard to honor him by living my life the way he did - to always find the positive, to always treat strangers as friends I've not yet met and to remember that no matter how bad things are others have it worse.

Thanks to my father, Bill Mosher, I am a better person today then I ever thought I could be. He showed by example the way life should be lived. I hate dementia, alzheimers, whatever term you want to hang on it, but I try to find the positive in this. He's still here with us. He still says "I love you very much" whenever we say goodnight and his old blue eyes twinkle and shine when he talks. I'm grateful that we have this time together still.

Happy father's day - if your Dad is still alive, call him, go see him. Hug him. Know that the time is going by and we never know if there will be another June to share with him.

2010-06-06T08:01:00.002-04:00

Writers block. Or maybe a real term is excuses. That's what I've had for several months now. I have one excuse after another for not writing. Yes I'm busy, but aren't we all? No matter what your life and the demands others make on you, only you are the true determination of whether you find time to write. For years when folks would ask me how I got so much writing done with 3 sons, a full time job, volunteer commitments, and other responsibilities I would smugly say - "I prioritize", or "I make time for writing". That was all well and good until I couldn't anymore.

Suddenly life changed and more responsibilities were piled on and suddenly even I couldn't squeak out any time to write. Or so it seemed.

Because even that is a lie. I find time to never miss an episode of Glee, or American Idol, or any other number of TV shows I enjoy. Granted while I watch TV I generally multitask whether its folding laundry, making a grocery list, reading a magazine or whatever but now that summer is here and all those shows are on hiatus - there's a few blocks of time each week that I won't be using. I fully intend to use at least some of it to work on edits.

Sleeping or rather not sleeping. If even only 2 mornings a week I set the alarm for a half hour earlier - I could get in another hour of writing a week. My lunch time. I used to write on my lunch hour but my day job is so busy that sometimes I don't take a lunch hour. That needs to change. Again even if only 2 days a week I shut down the day job and write during my lunch hour that would be another 2 hours of writing.

There's always time for writing. Sometimes we simply have to want it bad enough to find it. I hope you find yours.

2010-05-07T10:46:00.002-04:00

Finally, a review on Trouble in Texas. I'm always nervous when I get a link to a review and wonder what folks really think when they read my books. I was once again very pleasantly surprised. Here's the link if you want to read it but the highlight of the review was as follows:

Review: Oh Boy!!! A walk on the wild side fits this story to a "T"!!!

Once I got started I couldn't stop. Ms Adams has penned a funny, sexy, engaging tale with characters I found very hard to resist.

http://seriouslyreviewed.blogspot.com/2010/04/trouble-in-texas-by-roni-adams.html

I opened this review on my birthday - couldn't have gotten a better gift.

2010-03-24T11:28:00.001-04:00

The first TWRP Writers' retreat is only about a month away. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am. Not only is it a great opportunity to spend time with other writers and brainstorm and talk "shop" and learn all kinds of new things but I will be spending another birthday in my beloved Texas. I figured out the other day that I've managed to get to Texas every year for the past 4 years running. Not bad. This visit will take us to Austin which is one city I've yet to cross of my list of Texas trips. I'm looking forward to it. But even more, I'm looking forward to some writing time on the ranch surrounded by cowboys, longhorn steer and horses. Nothing a Yellow Rose writer enjoys more.

2010-02-03T13:03:00.003-05:00

That says it all but even better - The Wild Rose Press took the same award for 2008. Only Taylor Swift is flying higher than we are today. What an awesome publisher to have my name attached to. If you have never been to The Wild Rose Press site I strongly suggest you check it out. As a writer if you've never submitted to TWRP - I would encourage you to do so. Its a warm and welcoming place to be. Thank you TWRP for giving my books a home and for caring so much about your authors. This is a well deserved award.

2010-01-30T07:55:00.002-05:00

In the craziness of the holidays, I never had a chance to post about our latest addition to the family. Meet Nico. He's a one year old Siberian Husky who we adopted from a rescue center for huskies back in early November. My husband's dream has always been to have a siberian husky. He has loved the breed most of his life and we now are the proud parents of one very lovable and very energetic boy. Between my son Brennan's return from Iraq and Nico arriving our house has been transformed from pretty quiet into high energy, fun chaos and we couldn't be happier. The only two complaining still are the cats!

Nico came to us via California and had never experienced cold and snow. Now in January when its 4 degrees here in Upstate New York he thinks he is in paradise. It is very difficult to get him to come inside.

When we lost our beautiful Tasha last winter, our hearts were broken and while you can never replace a loved one - Nico has certainly filled our hearts and home with some fun joy again. All of you who have lost pets this year, trust me when I say time will make it better and one day another four legged friend will find his or her way into your home and hearts.

Happy end of January.

2010-01-13T08:47:00.002-05:00

Finally! Trouble in Texas is finally coming out. My publisher tells me that the official release date is February 5 but readers can purchase pre-sale copies probably as early as next week! Yay! I am so excited for all of you to enjoy my third installment on the Double B. Friends who've read it already tell me its the hottest one yet, but then with a heroine like Charli there was simply no other way to write it.

I'd love your feedback if you get the chance to read Trouble. I"m hard at work on the fourth in the series - "The Cowboy's Duet". Readers of this series probably have figured out its the tale of our singing cowboy Teddy and his heroine. If all goes as planned it should be out sometime this fall.

So far its a long cold winter - plenty of time for snuggling in at home and writing and reading. Hope you are able to do the same.

2009-11-11T08:56:00.002-05:00

Happy Veterans day! Those two handsome men are both Marines and both Veterans. The younger man is my son Lance Corporal Penders, and the older man is our very dear friend Retired First Sgt Lew Dusett. Lew served in Iraq in '03 at the beginning of the War; Brennan was in Iraq most of this year and as you know returned only a few weeks ago.

If you know a veteran or a veteran's family - go up to them, call them, email them, whatever you need to do but thank them for serving our country. Don't forget too its the families behind these veterans who deserve our thanks as well.

To all Veterans our there; thank you for your sacrifice for us. To your families, thank you for supporting these brave men and women so they can keep all of us free.

2009-11-03T06:25:00.003-05:00

Not much to say except Thank God this year is almost behind us. While it hasn't been the worst year of our lives - it certainly has been the most challenging. We are so very very grateful to have our son back home with us. As my husband said, "its like a huge hole has finally been filled". Brennan's return from Iraq almost two weeks ago already has been truly the highlight of this year. We are enjoying having him back in our home and back in our day to day life.

To all military families out there, thank you for the sacrifice you make every single day by sharing your loved one with the rest of the country. No one can possibly understand the heartache and the pain and the sheer terror a family goes through when their loved one is deployed overseas. I have two dear friends about to go through what I've been through and only someone who has been there can possibly understand how hard this is.

Next week we will celebrate Veteran's Day. This year is has even more meaning to us as we now have a true Veteran in the family.

Hug a military family member today - make their day by asking if they are doing ok. Yep at some point I will get back to writing now. lol.

2009-10-15T14:48:00.003-04:00

He's home! As of this morning, my son has returned to US Soil after a deployment to Iraq. I will blog more later but right now I just wanted to share my good news. He should be home to our house within a week. Its been a long year and we are much relieved that this journey has come to an end.

Thank you to all the military men and women who serve our country on both domestic and foreign land. Thank you to the families and friends they leave behind who love them and pray for them and miss them.

No one. NO ONE understands what these families go through and the pain they endure unless you have experienced it. If you know of a family with a loved one serving overseas call them up, ask how THEY are doing, ask what THEY need. Sometimes they just need someone to care that they are hurting and missing their someone. They need somebody to say its ok to cry, let me help you. Its a HUGE burden these families carry whether its a son, daughter, mother, father, husband, wife, cousin, doesn't matter - they aren't home and they are missed and worried over in a way few can understand.

2009-10-01T13:50:00.002-04:00

This is an open invitation for all of you to set the date for next Friday - October 9! I'm throwing a down home Texas Barbecue (virtual of course which after all is the only way not to gain weight with all this good food!). I hope you will all come and join me. Here's the link so that we all remember to stop by. I'll be there all day and I"m giving away a PRINT version of any of my books including the one not yet released called "Trouble in Texas" which should be out by Thanksgiving.

http://authorroastandtoast.blogspot.com

Hope to see you all there we'll be having a foot stomping good time!

Roni

2009-09-25T12:27:00.003-04:00

There he is the Captain of our family. LOL. That's my husband, Scott, in his new boat that we picked up this summer. Its nothing fancy, just a little 22' 1984 Baja but its perfect for waterskiing and tubing. We knew when we saw it that it would mean a lot of fun summers on the lake for our sons and us. Scott and I met over 25 years ago this summer, when we were both pretty young - not quite 20! We met on vacation at a lake in Ontario, Canada. He loved how I looked riding on the bow of the boat in a green bathing suit. What can I say? I liked how he could water ski with one ski. What else did a couple need for happy ever after? All these years have gone by and we've never owned a boat - now we do and I have to tell you when we're on the water it really is like time goes backward and we're those 19 year old kids again falling in love.

Although real life is not a romance novel, for the most part, no matter how annoyed I might get with him, or he with me, its comforting and secure to know we love each other. Toby Keith who is one of my favorite singers has a song on his latest album and one of the lines is ..."its too late, you already love me." I laugh whenever I hear it because it sums our relationship. No matter what he does to make me crazy (and not in a good way!) its too late - I already love him. Nothing to do but accept him.

I think that's the good part about being together this long, I've long ago given up any notion of "fixing" him or tweaking him. I just accept him and he me.

That's a real romance novel right there.

2009-08-24T10:22:00.002-04:00

Tell me that photo doesn't just make you swoon. When I tell you that its my 19 year old "baby" who just happens to be a Lance Corporal with the Marines and he's standing in the dessert of Iraq, it adds another layer of emotion. You single gals out there are drooling, you Mom's are tearing up because you can't imagine what I'm feeling. But yep that's my boy. The romance author in me sees the perfect cover! Wonder if I can convince him to let me use it?? lol.

Two months to go. Two months until he's home in our house, less than that and he'll arrive back in the states. Saturday was his Dad's birthday and he was able to call home. Best gift in the world for both of us.

I look back and shake my head at all that's gone on since he left home in January, the changes - good and bad. A year is a long time in a family's life, but for this family certain parts of life have been on hold and we're finally coming to the end of a journey that while we were honored and proud to take, its not one we wish to go through again. When someone in your family serves his country, the entire family and their friends all sacrifice for that service. We worry and we miss him, but we are proud that these young men and women are determined to do the right thing and protect our freedom.

58 days to go.

2009-08-19T14:33:00.004-04:00

A four leaf clover tattoo, three old friends; 1 guy, his sister, her best friend, a business, a heartfelt promise, a late night phone call, a quick plane ride, a plush office and ...nothing.

Does any of that mean anything? Nope. Its just gibberish, or at least to anyone who isn't a writer it is. To me and to probably those of you who write a story is already starting to take shape. I've had these phrases, these snippets of scenes floating in my head now for weeks and they are driving me crazy. If I wasn't a writer; I'd be worried.

As writers, we're used to ideas hitting us from literally out of nowhere. We're used to hearing "voices" in our heads and seeing movies play out in our minds before we ever put the first keystroke down. For me, the frustrating part isn't where to get ideas but rather how to find the time for all the ideas I've got. I've learned, through trial and error that when an idea hits, no matter what else you're working on, you have to at least take some notes, put down the scene on paper and get it out of your head or you'll never get any rest. Certainly, you'll never get back to the manuscript you're supposed to be working on.

I'm supposed to be hard at work on the fourth book in the Double B series. I'm supposed to have it all wrapped up before the holidays so it can get into edits and release in early 2010. I'm trying. Honest. But the reality is this "four leaf clover tattoo story" as I refer to it is driving me half insane. I wake up in the middle of the night and think about it, driving in the car, I think about it. There doesn't seem to be a time when I'm not thinking about some part of this story.

Its becoming an obession. Somebody has a story; it needs to be told and apparently I'm the lucky writer. Sigh. I just wish I knew....the rest of the story.

Hope your writing is going better than mine today.

2009-08-01T08:09:00.002-04:00

As authors we're constantly thinking of new ways to tell the same story. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. That's the basic premise of almost any love story when you break it down. You need a hero to fall in love with, a heroine to identify with and a conflict to keep their love from ever happening. A good writer, one that we all aspire to be, is one who makes the reader keep turning pages trying to figure out how on earth this author will get this couple together.

I think about that as I write. Am I working hard enough to make this couple's story "page turning"?

As authors, our job is to give the buyer a product that not only will bring her back to us again and again, but also to make her not regret spending her hard earned cash. I've read a lot of books in my day, but maybe only half have given me that kind of reward.

I'm happy to report that the anthology "Finding Their WayBack" has received rave reviews. Another one came in today. I'm so proud to have been part of this project with Stacy Dawn and Cindy Pape. Wonderful cowboy writers for sure.

If you get a chance check out our anthology, available in ebook and print from http://www.thewildrosepress.com/ and if you'd like to read a fabulous review you can click on the following links.

http://mistressbellareviews.blogspot.com/2009/07/finding-their-way-back-wayback-texas.html?zx=6cdc4b737c64f599

or
http://theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/findingwaybackantho.htm

I wish all of you happy reviews!

Roni

2009-07-27T06:34:00.002-04:00

I'm very excited today to have as my special guest, Emma Lai, published author with The Wild Rose Press. Here's some of what Emma sent me when I asked about her and her books. Her latest work - "His Ship, Her Fantasy" is due out this August 12. Watch for it from the Faery Rose Line. Thanks so much for joning me Emma! I hope everyone will check out Emma's blog as well.

****

Emma says:

I’ve sampled many professions and industries in the last decade or so…administrative assistant, electrical engineer, software designer, and project manager. They’ve all been satisfying in their own way, but nothing has inspired me like writing.

One thought can spawn an entire story. What happens if a woman falls in love with a ship? This one question leads to many others. What is missing in her life that makes it possible for her to fall in love with an inanimate object? What if the object loves her back? How can an object love? If the object holds the spirit of a person, then how does that spirit manifest? Is the manifested spirit real or a hallucination? These are many of the thoughts that flew threw my head as I wrote and explored the characters of His Ship, Her Fantasy.

Blurb for His Ship, Her Fantasy coming 12 August from The Wild Rose Press!Ellie Woods is in love…with a ship. When an argument with the ship results in a bump on the head, she finds herself in the strong arms of Alastair. But, who is he, and where did he come from?Alastair has loved Ellie from afar for years, but duty has kept him from revealing himself to her. When a grave threat reveals his true identity, he hopes that Ellie will choose reality over fantasyVisit my website to read an excerpt and find details on my Release Party Contest!

I want to encourage aspiring authors to write down their ideas because you never know where they’ll take you. Mine led me down the path of the Mates of the Guardians. The second story, His Hope, Her Salvation, will be coming soon from The Wild Rose Press, and the third story, His Heart, Her Desire, has been submitted for consideration. I hope to finish His Light, Her Shadow and His Dream, Her Nightmare in the coming months.

Emma - that sounds fabulous! Best of everything to you and can't wait to read your latest work.

Thanks for being my special guest.

Roni

2009-07-20T14:53:00.002-04:00

Fresh back from the RWA conference in DC and believe it or not I didn't take too many pictures. But this one actually was at the request of my mother. That's Debbie Macomber next to me in case you don't recognize her. My mother claims to be her biggest fan and I had to get an autograph and a picture. I like Debbie as well. I've read several of her books and we both love to write series - small towns, with a cast of characters that returns again and again. Its one of the things I really enjoy about her books.

The conference is always a huge motivator as a writer. Listening to wonderful keynote speeches by authors such as Linda Howard, Eloisa James and others makes every author and writer in the conference want to curl up with her laptop and just write. Talking with other authors, living the writing world for a few days is just plain good for your soul. There you are among 2000+ other romance writers - finally people who understand why you are the way you are. Its refreshing that's for sure.

Being in DC, what can I say? One of my favorite cities in the world. I love sightseeing, love the hustle and bustle and love the sheer beauty of the memorials and the buildings of our nation's capital. Doesn't matter to me who is in the White House; the important thing is the White House itself. That magnificent building stands for all we as Americans believe in and it still steals my breath every time I see it.

Next year RWA heads to Nashville. Be still my heart! As a country music fan from the cradle I can't think of anywhere I'd rather spend a few days. Whether its in the cards remains to be seen but after coming back from this national conference, I have to say that it refuels me, energizes me and helps me believe in my writing again. That's simply priceless.

If you can't get to a national conference this year, I sincerely hope you can get to a smaller local conference. Any time you can come together with other writers is good for your own writing. If you were at this year's conference or one another year - I'd love to hear your favorite parts of the conference or your fondest memory.

Roni

2009-07-06T14:23:00.003-04:00

Simple pleasures. That's really what life is about and whether the thought of spending a weekend in a camper with your family makes you smile or cringe, its all a matter of taste. The way we camp today doesn't compare to the years in the tents truly roughing it, but today's camping trips are more about stealing away for a weekend then trying to live outdoors. As a writer, its my own private writing time where I don't feel guilty for hours pounding away on the laptop instead of doing housework or cooking or errands. For the family its a time to be together in one place and actually spend time with one another.

This year hasn't been an easy one for our family. Our middle son was deployed January 5 and won't be back until Thanksgiving. The Fourth of July, without him was rough. Thinking of him all those miles away in that incredible heat (118 on Saturday) was horrible. For the first time ever in my life I am wishing summer away and I hate that.

I often think ahead, what will next Fourth of July bring? What changes will have happened to all of us by then? Its those changes that make me cling to life's little moments. That's what really matters after all.

2009-06-26T07:58:00.001-04:00

Available now from www.thewildrosepress.com
Yellow Rose line

2009-06-26T07:41:00.003-04:00

Although I have to say I didn't do my part here with the blog bouquet - I apologized to the marketing group at The Wild Rose Press for letting them down but life, as you know, sometimes has a way of messing up our plans.

Anyway, going forward. Thank you to those who came by and commented and I did draw a winner - "lastnerve2000" has been contacted via email and she won a free copy of "Finding Their Way Back" an anthology of stories from the Way Back, Texas series. I was honored to be invited to write "Under A Rodeo Moon" as one of the three stories alongside my friends, Stacy Dawn and Cindy Pape.

This story of a three siblings (my hero is the bullrider) was a lot of fun to write and to be in teh company of such amazing authors will surely only help with sales! Please drop by www.thewildrosepress.com and see our book on the front page today. After that you can find it under the Yellow Rose Line.

Enjoy!

2009-06-24T11:37:00.002-04:00

Here I am ready for the blog bouquet! Hello?? Oh Oh, its not Monday anymore is it. Sigh. How the heck did I go from early Monday morning to Wednesday in the blink of an eye? Its always the way, time just disappears.

Well thank you to those that came by and those that keep coming back hoping to catch me. Someone asked about what I have going on and I guess the most exciting news is my latest short story releases this Friday - "Finding Their WayBack" is the name of the anthology. My story is called "Under A Rodeo Moon" and its the story of Bull Rider Dusty and his socialite love Carrie. They reunite in WayBack but as with most reunion stories its never an easy road to finding love or "finding your way back" to love.

It releases Friday at www.thewildrosepress.com and I hope you'll enjoy it.
I don't have a copy of the cover with me but I"ll try to post i on Friday morning.

As for the Double B that someone asked about; I'm happy to report that the third installedment - Trouble in Texas - about my wild red-headed heroine Charli Boyd and her attempts to wrangle quiet vet Grant Clark - have finally come to a close. The book is in edits and I have been told we have a release date of early September.

More later - gotta run - life is crazy these days.

Roni

2009-06-22T06:50:00.002-04:00

2009-06-09T11:02:00.002-04:00

Its finally June! I'm so excited about that for a couple of reasons; one it means that we are more than halfway through my son's deployment to Iraq! And two it means that my favorite season is here. I love summer. I mean LOVE summer. I love the heat and the long days when I'm outside until 9:30 at night and barely notice. I mean there is very little about summer I don't absolutely thrive on it.

It took us 20 years to complete, but we finally have a beautiful deck that wraps around the entire house and out to the pool (we did a section every year when we could afford it). Eating dinner outside, entertaining neighbors or just reading the paper and drinking coffee are all summer time treats that I miss so much during the long winter months.

One of my most special memories took place the August my middle son left for bootcamp. My husband and I were sitting on the deck talking with our soon to leave son, and our oldest son and then our youngest son all joined us. For one magic hour we were all on the deck together talking and laughing and sharing memories, just the five of us. I took a great photo of the three boys that I cherish but the memory is locked in my mind forever. It was a special time before our entire world changed forever.

I remember at the end of summer last year when we closed the pool, my Marine son looking at me and said, "do you know that I won't even see the pool open next year". He's right; it opened in May and will be closed in September two months before he'll get home. That seems so incredible to me since our deck and pool are such a huge part of our family's life. I'm quite sure that with the temperatures hovering around 115 right now in Iraq, he would give almost anything for a dip in our pool or any pool.

Anyway, all that aside, its summer and the living is easy. I intend to savor everything from the watermelon sherbert with chocolate sprinkles (my hands down all time favorite ice cream treat), to my favorite flipflops and line dried laundry. Enjoy the summer; enjoy your family and friends and give yourself permission to take it easy. There's no reason to rush; we can do all that come fall.

Roni

2009-05-30T07:30:00.003-04:00

It is my honor and privilege to welcome a friend of mine, Pamela Thibodeaux, to my blog. Pamela is a fellow TWRP author and has a wonderful reputation for writing amazing stories that capture the heart and imagination of the reader.

I hope all of you will take the time to visit read all about her book; and then check out all her titles and her web site. Pamela has been a big supporter of The Wild Rose Press for quite a while and I'm thrilled to have her here with us. The following is a little blurb about Pamela and I know you'll have more questions for her. Perhaps we could even get her to post a comment and include an excerpt from her latest book - Winter Madness (doesn't the cover take your breath away?)

Thank you for coming by today and I look forward to lots of good comments from my readers/followers today.

Roni

I Have Arrived…….or Have I?

When I began writing more than twenty-five years ago, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. All I knew was I’d been disappointed one-too-many times. Based on what I read I figured it couldn’t be hard. I can do better than this!

With the niavette of the uninformed, I figured all I had to do was write a good story and BAM! I’d be published. So I did. I poured my heart out in page after page of five-subject notebooks. By the time I’d filled several and started researching how to get published, I found out the manuscript had to be typed!

I didn’t own a typewriter nor could I afford to rent one. Then came the blessed day I purchased a used word processor. Just when I thought I’d be able to really embark on the glamorous journey, submissions became electronic!

I’d put off buying a computer for lots of reasons, the main one ~ all I do is write. After getting connected, I figured the voyage to being in print was just an email away. Wrong again.
My first novel was accepted as an Ebook, my first short story in an Ezine. What’s with this E-industry? I wanted to hold a book in my hands – after all, being Epublished isn’t really published. That’s what ‘they’ say (anyone ever figure out who ‘they’ are?).

In my article on Success, I make a statement…as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so is success. It is, in and of itself, success.

In addition to numerous articles and essays, poems and devotions, I now have 5 published novels (4 part Tempered series & The Inheritance) available in ebook and print as well as 5 short stories available for readers. As of this year I have signed my un-contracted work with a Literary Agent. Guess this means I’ve finally arrived……or Have I?

We all have our own definition of success, our own idea of what it means to ‘arrive.’ I’ll arrive when I can make a living doing what I love most – bring glory to God through my writing.
When will you know you have ‘arrived’? Leave a comment and one lucky person will win a copy of my latest release, Winter Madness!

Bio: Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder of Bayou Writers Group and a member of White Roses in Bloom Authors. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”

Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com/
Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com/
WRIB Blog: http://whiterosesinbloom.blogspot.com/

2009-05-26T10:29:00.002-04:00

A day late but wanted to make sure we all know that Memorial Day is a day to celebrate and thank those who have served our country as well as saying some prayers for those who are currently serving.

The handsome Marine here is my son, Brennan, all of 19 years old now and serving our country in Iraq. I'm fortunate in that the infrastructure where he is is such that we have frequent, almost daily contact with him via the internet. It doesn't make the time move along any faster to get him home; but at least it helps us with missing him.

An acquaintance stopped by yesterday and said she wanted to thank me for giving our country my son to defend it and protect it. I, of course, began to cry. It was very touching and very moving for her to make this special trip to my home simply to say thank you and tell me she prays daily for his and all our military's safe return.

To all of you parents of our soliders (and yes I know Marines aren't technically soldiers Brennan tells me this all the time!), thank you for making the biggest sacrifice in the world. There is no way to explain or describe it to anyone who isn't a military parent. It is heartbreaking and hard and sometimes you don't know how you'll get through it, but then you do. People constantly tell us we should be proud; yes we should but usually we're too busy worrying and missing them.

I don't mean I'm not proud of my son and his fellow marines, but the fear and the missing them generally overshadows that pride. Again, something you can't understand if you aren't living it or have lived it.

This Memorial Day and every day stop for a minute and say thank you to our men and women who are serving but also to their families left behind because the sacrifice they make is a service to th is country as well. The next time you run into a Mom or Dad who's child is serving, stop and thank them and ask how they're holding up. It means everything to know people understand and care.

Roni

2009-05-11T19:56:00.003-04:00

Tell me that's not the cutest face you've ever seen? Ok, so I guess you have to really be a Texas fan and a lover of long-horn steers to see the beauty in "Easy Money". This is one of the herd that resides on the Silver Spur Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas. I had the wonderful chance to visit last week and spend an amazing three days riding horses, eating way too much and relaxing. The ranch is about an hour from San Antonio and ten miles from Bandera which is known as The Cowboy Capital of the World. There was no cell service, no cable TV and it was awesome. My husband and son and I had a blast.

It wasn't a long vacation but it was definitely a nice break out of the routine of life. Not to mention for this author who writes cowboy romances it was most inspiring. Talking with real cowboys and cowgirls, hanging out in Texas, listening to country music and breathing fresh ranch air all worked together to give me the true Texas experience which can only enhance my writing. In fact, I think for my own good I need to go back every year just to make sure I don't lose the spark in my writing.

I know not everyone can go to where your inspiration wants to take you, but I do hope just once you get the chance to go to where your heart dreams from. Texas is that to me and I can't put into words how great it feels. John Denver sang "coming home to a place I'd never been before". That's how I used to feel about Texas. Now after my fourth trip it feels like a second home. I"ll always be a NY gal, but there's a part of my heart that I leave behind every time I fly away from the Lone Star state.

As a romance writer it only seems fitting that I share with all of you my own hero. This is my husband Scott with me on our trip to the ranch. We celebrated 24 years of marriage on May 4. Most couples at this point say things like "he's my best friend" or "we're still crazy about each other", all I can say is that marriage isn't always hard and it isn't always easy. It isn't always good and it isn't always bad. Hmm sort of sounds like the vows we took doesn't it?

Scott and I have definitely endured our share of good times and bad, richer and poorer and even sickness and health. Now as we face another challenge, the decline in health of my elderly father, we find that once again we're there for each other. I think, after all, that's the biggest key to marriage - always being there for each other no matter what. I'm grateful every day of these 24 years that I have a guy who I know is by my side even when sometimes he'd rather be almost anywhere else.

Now I need to get back to the job of writing. Charli Boyd is not going to get her hero if I don't finish her story.

2009-04-21T09:12:00.003-04:00

Today I have a special blog. I'm hosting the lovely Alisha Paige here. Alisha is published with The Wild Rose Press and her book from the Black Rose line: Nocturnally Vexed (see excerpt at end of blog). You can learn more about Alisha by visiting her web site at: Alisha Paige http://www.alishapaige.com/.

I interviewed Alisha and I hope you'll enjoy getting to know this author of dark paranormal a lot better. - Roni Adams

Roni: Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood? Favorite memories?

Alisha: I grew up with three brothers so I’ve learned to have a lot of patience and feel like I had a leg up on understanding boys and men. I also learned that it’s okay to get muddy. It’ll all come out in the wash. I think my brothers taught me to not take life so serious and to have fun.

Roni: I think growing up with brothers gives you a real headstart when it comes to writing from the heroes point of view, that’s for sure!

Tell us about the hero and heroine in your latest release.

Alisha: Vex Savaker is half shifter, half vamp and works as a detective for the Metropolitan Police in London. He has the ability to read DNA by scanning the spine of any living creature with his eyes, a very cool technique to possess in London where night creatures rule. He’s investigating recent murders in the White Chapel District, the same area where Jack-the-Ripper killed a hundred years ago. Jack is back but this time he’s killing virgins, not prostitutes.

Chastity “Chass” Worthington is a reporter for The Daily Mirror and is working on a hot tip about the murders that could send her to the top but Vex is trying to keep her from nosing into the murders. He thinks she’s next on Jack’s list and he’s positively certain that she’s on HIS list of must haves.

Roni: Love the twist you are putting on the serial killer – killing virgins. What a unique idea. I love it when an author can take something and make it brand new. Good job. Sounds like a great story.

If you were granted three wishes by a genie, what would they be?

Alisha: Long life and much happiness for all of my family and can I have just one book on the NY Times Best Seller’s List?

Roni: If you could go anywhere to tomorrow, where would you go?

Alisha: Tahiti on a honeymoon with husband. We’re going to do it one day.

Roni: If you could see anyone tomorrow (dead or alive), who would it be?

Alisha: My grandfather. He died in 2001 and I miss him so much. He was such a wonderful man and I can still hear him talking about WWII and the way he would say bombs. “Those bums were all around us.” I loved his country accent. Pe-can pie was another favorite. And wash was wursh.

Roni: If you could choose six people to spend one week on a desert island, who would it be and why?

Alisha: My husband, my two daughters and my son. My good friend Cheryl and her honey, Billy so we could have a camp fire every night and roast marshmallows and talk until dawn.

Roni: Aren’t campfire conversations sometimes the best? What is it about being outdoors with the dark around you that inspires such profound or even just silly conversation. That sounds great Alisha.

What word or phrase tingles in all the right places for you?

Alisha: Mine.

Roni: ohhhh very nice.

If you had one day to spoil yourself, what would you do?

Alisha: Go to a winery with my husband, taste vintage wine and then have a couple’s massage on the beach and then back to the hotel room with a giant balcony overlooking the ocean with candles glowing where we can sip wine, chat and kiss all night.

Roni: If you could change one incident in your life, what would it be?

Alisha: There’s too many to count. I think we all make mistakes in life but I’m not one of those people that will say that I wouldn’t change any of them or I wouldn’t be the way I am today. Very true. I might be less jaded and more like a child if I had not gone through so much. I try to watch my children and remember how beautiful and sweet life is in the early days and remember to strive for that in life.

Roni: Great advice for anyone Alisha. I think that everyone can learn from their past mistakes, but hey if we could go back and not make them why not?

What’s the sexiest thing a man has ever done for you or said to you or both?

Alisha: When I first met my husband, he lived next door to me. He came over and talked to me as I sat on the front porch and watched my daughter play. I was a single mom and my daughter was six years old at the time. We barely knew each other but as he sat beside me, he noticed that one of my snow boots was untied and he reached down, grabbed my foot and tied it without asking, then he patted my foot and put it back. It was so touching. I could see that he cared about me and just too the initiative. I love that about my man.

Roni – I think I would have known right then and there he was “mine” too. – lol.

Excerpt from Nocturnally Vexed

Chapter OneKing’s Cross Station, London, England, 2006“He’s killed again, Vex.”Vex stared at the grainy black-and-white photos, taken one hundred and eighteen years earlier, comparing them to full color photos taken last night. Detective Red O’Malley had no choice but to ask for his help. Vex was their last resort. He was used to dealing with the undead, whether it be of the bloodsucker variety or the elusive shifter-rapt; after all, he was a combination of the two.

“I don’t understand,” Vex mumbled, half to himself.“We think it’s the same guy,” O’Malley added.“Not just a copycat?”

“We have DNA to back it up.”

Vex’s head shot up as he looked the detective squarely in the eye. “Then why can’t you bloody catch him?”

“We matched DNA from the Whitechapel murders to this murder, but back in 1888, there was no database in play. And so far, this guy’s been clean. At least in this century.”

“Where’d you get the DNA?”

“A piece of hair. Well, a tiny fragment of hair. Less than a centimeter, found trapped in the wax he sealed the letter with.”

“The famous letter to the police? The one promising to kill again?” Vex asked, catching on quickly.

“Yes. For years the letter was thought to be a fake.”

“DNA evidence is hard to dispute,” Vex argued.O’Malley nodded. “Particularly in this case. It’s a perfect match.”

“Where was the DNA evidence on the recent victim?”

“Semen.”“

Semen? That’s odd. Jack’s never raped before,” Vex replied, scratching his chin.

“Yeah, well he has now. Three times in a row.”

“Looks like he still enjoys pulling out the intestines, uterus and organs,” Vex added while flipping through the photos.

“And mutilating the victim’s face,” O’Malley said, while pointing to a color photo of the most recent killing.“I’d never taken Jack for a shifter-rapt.”

“Explains why they never caught him,” O’Malley mused.

Vex grunted as he flipped through the photos, comparing the old to the new, all of them eerily similar in method.“Good Ole’ Jack the Ripper. Who would’ve thought he’d resurface?”

“Seems all the demons are coming out of the woodwork these days,” O’Malley answered.

Vex tucked the photos into his coat pocket as streams of people passed by, boarding the morning train. “Has the press caught wind of this yet?”

“Not yet. We’re trying to keep a tight lid on this one, considering the hysteria he raised over a century ago.”

“Good thinking,” Vex agreed.“We won’t be able to stall them long, though. Word travels fast. Rumors are swirling. I heard tell that one of the locals who discovered one of the bodies before dawn has been talking to the tabloids.”

“Who?” Vex asked.

“You know I can’t tell you, Vex. You’ll go threaten him.”

“You’re damn right, O’Malley. Now who is it? Spill the beans. We’ve got three dead girls on our hands. All of them beautiful, young women whose lives were cut short. I need a name.”O’Malley sighed. It was no use. The hybrid bloodsucker, shifter-rapt would find out anyhow. He seemed to know everyone or every kind, rather. He’d find out. He had his ways and O’Malley knew it.

“He’s a bartender. He was on his way home after work. He lives just outside Whitechapel.”

“A name, O’Malley,” Vex repeated, staring the man down.

“Ralph Finnigan. He’s co-owner of the pub.” Vex was gone before the detective uttered the man’s last name.

O’Malley watched as the common black bird flew out of King’s Crossing Station and into the light of day.

* * * *Chastity Worthington was alone at her desk. The newsroom was deserted at this hour. Everyone else had gone home to join their families, have dinner and turn in for the night. Chass wasn’t tired. Not in the least. She’d gotten a hot tip and, if it was real, this story could take her all the way to the top. She surfed the Net, stopping on one of the foremost Ripperologist sites. She clicked onto grisly black-and-white photos. She clicked again, enlarging the photo of Mary Jane Kelly, Jack’s final victim, killed on November 9, 1888.

Chass cringed when she clicked again, enlarging the photo further. Mary Jane’s face was hardly recognizable as anything other than a piece of meat. Her desk phone rang, making her jump half out of her skin. She grabbed it on the second ring.“Worthington here,” she chirped into the receiver as she swiveled around, glancing at the darkened news room of the Daily Mirror.

“Chass?”

“Daddy?”

“What on earth are you doing up there at this hour?” Bartholomew Worthington bellowed.

“Working late,” Chass drawled, rolling her eyes.

“We stopped by your flat after dinner.”

“I’m not there,” Chass replied dryly.

“We can see that, darling. Your mum’s worried sick. She’s been thinking a lot about Tabitha. The anniversary is next week.”Chass sighed as she clicked onto another victim’s remains. How long would she have to suffer because of her sister’s abduction fifteen years before? “Tell her I’m fine. Just working late.”

“On what? You’ve met your deadline.”

Chass thought of what to say while she read about the Whitechapel murders.

“Chass?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Did you get a lead on something?” her father asked, his concern quickly fading to interest. As senior editor of the Daily Mirror, Bartholomew Worthington was always looking for the next big story.

“Daddy, I think I’ve got something here. I’ll call you back in a bit,” Chass answered, hanging up abruptly. S

he knew her father would quiz her. She wanted all her facts straight before telling him about the new lead.Chass glanced down at her notes. The ones she’d jotted down the night before. There were ink smears all over the darn thing. She’d been taking a bubble bath, after finally reaching a heavy deadline and calling it a night. The police scanner she kept on in her bedroom began chattering away just as she was about to fall back into the bubbles, wetting her long, black hair.

She’d reached for the notebook on the window ledge with one slender leg, knocking it down with her big toe. She leaned forward, catching it before it fell in the water. She ignored her dripping hands as she unhooked the pen and began scribbling like mad. She strained to hear. That damn faucet, if it would stop that infernal dripping! She jammed her toe into the round hole. Warm water drizzled down her foot. Static sizzled and popped. We have a 10-45. More crackling and popping. Chass strained to hear. She knew a 10-45 was a fatality. In the Whitechapel Area. We need back up. He’s struck again.Despite the warm water, Chass shivered. She jotted down Whitechapel and then turned back to the page before when she first received that strange call. She read her own inky scrawl.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. You work for the paper, don’t you, my lady? Chass had cleared her throat, just waking up, answering the phone while half asleep that very morning. “Yes,” she’d mumbled. This is Jack. Tell your boss I’m back in town.
***

RONI: -Alisha that was a great excerpt and I can’t wait to see your book on sale at The Wild Rose Press. Thank you so very very much for visiting with me and my readers today. I enjoyed this. You know you are my first official guest blogger right? That’s pretty cool

2009-04-15T13:14:00.000-04:00

Testing

2009-04-15T12:59:00.002-04:00

Yes I really do own pink lugggage. My sons bought it for me for Christmas and I love it. No more searching the carousel at the airport to see if the luggage is mine or not. There are very few of us who carry pink luggage.

I'm so excited because two weeks from right now I will be landing in San Antonio airport for five days of Texas fun. My husband and youngest son will be traveling with me and we are going to relax on a dude ranch in Bandera, Texas for three days before traveling into San Antonio for the annual Merritt Conference hosted by my crazy friends from the San Antonio Romance Authors group.

Anyone who knows me knows I have this weird affection for Texas and in particular the Hill Country. I can't wait to get back there and get on a horse and ride out. There is nothing like that feeling in the world. This is my husband and son's first trip to my favorite State and I'm eager to show them all the native plants like paddle cactus and the ranches and of course the Riverwalk and the Alamo.

This Texas trip is one half of our vacation this year; the other half will be five days in Washington DC during the RWA conference. Hubby and son will tag along for that one as well and my oldest son will be comign too. He's going to check out law schools. We all love DC; such a neat place to visit. The museums are all free and there is nothing like walking into the Library of Congress. As an author to stand amidst that kind of history, the writings, the books, etc. is truly a spiritual experience. I urge anyone who is heading to DC this summer to take an extra day so you can do the sightseeing thing; its well worth it.

For the writers in us, its impossible to not take a vacation anywhere and not get inspired. Going somewhere new, getting out of your routine helps the creative juices flow more steadily. I've written some amazing stories while I was away from home. Something about stepping out of you routine brings out the muse in all of us.

Enjoy.

Roni

2009-04-01T20:59:00.001-04:00

My apologies for posting my part of the contest on April 1 instead of tomorrow; April 2. I'm going to be having some minor surgery very early tomorrow morning so I needed to get this done tonight. The blog that follows is actually for Thursday, April 2. So let's pretend I did it right and not tell Skhye, ok? Thanks!

Roni

2009-04-01T19:23:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my blog! Happy April. Can’t you smell spring in the air? Here in Upstate, New York its been a long cold snowy winter. We are all more than ready for some Easter Bonnets and Easter Lilies and daffodils and tulips and all that means spring. I hope you all enjoy the latest contest I’m participating in with some author buddies. You should have by now been to Silver James blog yesterday to get the scoop (if you haven’t then go back and visit her blog at www.silverjames.com).

Just for coming by today I'm going to give one lucky person a copy of my book, "Beauty and the Geek" either in print or ebook form. Simply leave a comment here tell me how you know that spring has come to your part of town. For me, when the weather starts to wram up I love getting the laundry on the line and pulling out the deck furniture. Even if its still a bit too chilly to sit on the deck, just seeing the furniture back out makes me realize that the warm weather is just around the corner.

I won’t be around this weekend, but I promise to get in touch with the winner on Monday and get your free copy of “Beauty and the Geek” out to you. Along with that I'm sending lots of goodies out for the main grand prize too.

Thanks for coming by now your next stop needs to be over at Skhye Moncrief http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com.

The rules to this contest are as follows Enjoy!

Roni

A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET Spring is in the air! Bees are buzzing. Children anxiously await the big morning where they can graze on candy all day. What about mom? We've got a treat for you! Come join a group of romance authors in celebration of spring. Enter to win a prize a day as well as enter to win the grand prize. All you need do is begin at Silver James' blog on April 1st at www.silverjames.com. Silver will host the day's contest and provide the link to the next day's location. Don't forget to enter to win the grand prize!

Here's the dirt... A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET Grand Prize:To enter to win prizes from the authors donating treasures to the grand prize (see each day's post for what an author is donating to the grand prize), find the four Easter eggs in the A TISKET A TISKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET blog event.

You will be searching for a special egg. Just visit all of the authors' websites, locate the 4 eggs, make a list of their locations by pasting the urls to the website pages in an e-mail, then send the entry to happyendings2007@aol.com by midnight CST on May 1st, 2009.

The winner will be randomly drawn and announced May 2nd at http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com. Tip #1, subscribe to http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com to learn if you're the winner!

And don't worry. If you start in on the blog event late, just head back to Silver James' blog on April 1st at http://www.silverjames.com/ to begin your website search for the Easter eggs. Don't miss the fun! See you next to the burgundy tulips.

2009-03-26T08:26:00.002-04:00

Texas BlueBonnets. This native flower screams spring to me, although to be honest, I've never had the pleasure of viewing them when they are in full bloom. I've heard stories, been sent pictures and videos from Texas friends but have never been to Texas for the sheer breathtaking beauty of BlueBonnet season.

Its always been a strange quirk of mine to have this connection to Texas. A New York girl born and raised, I have no idea why I'm so drawn to this state so very far away from our East Coast. But ever since I was a little girl I've had a thing for Texas. Celebrating my 40th birthday by finally visiting San Antonio and the Hill Country area was a dream come true.

When I write stories set in Texas, on the ranches, with cowboys and cowgirls or those that fall in love with them, I feel as if I'm right there. I smell the air, hear the sounds and live the life that for some reason is so deep in my soul. Other writing friends have this connection with places like England or Ireland, countries far away that they have no idea why such a place speaks to them but it does.

Do you have a strange connection to a place or time that seems to make no sense to you? Do you generally feel drawn to write about those places?

I'll be visiting Texas for the third time this May, going back to celebrate my 45th birthday on a dude ranch in Bandera, Texas and then onto San Antonio for the annual Merritt Conference with my buddies in the San Antonio Romance Authors. I hope each of you at some point in your life gets to visit the "home" of your heart. Its a feeling like no other. As John Denver once sang, "Coming home to a place I've never been before." That's the feeling I get when I'm in Texas.

Happy Spring everyone.

2009-03-18T08:47:00.002-04:00

That picture is of my beautiful girl, Tasha. We lost her on March 12 at age 14. Anyone who has lost a family pet knows the grief that still consumes my family's heart. My older two sons, Ian and Brennan were 4 and 5 when we got this puppy, my youngest son, CJ hadn't even been born yet. She was every family's dream of the perfect dog.

Not that she was perfect. Not by a long shot. She was way too smart for her own good and got into more antics and trouble then we ever could have dreamed up.

Pets play such an enormously important role in our lives, or at least most of our lives that its only natural that in our writing we occasionallly include pets for our heroes or heroines. But just like when you put children in a book you have to be careful to make sure that the pet plays a backstage role, and not overshadows the storyline. The other tough thing is to remember you put them in there. What do I mean by that? Well, if you put a cat in the heroine's life in Chapter one and never come back to the cat again, the reader is left wondering why the pet was there in the first place.

Its for that reason, I don't often have them in my books. I never can quite figure out the right role for them to play without it feeling forced. In my book, "Beauty and the Geek" my hero, Louie has a huge striped grey cat named "Google". The whole reason that Google showed up in that book is because a very large striped beast of a cat showed up in my life that same month and took hold of my heart. My cat's name is Tom Cat or Tommy for short (yes I"m very original). He demanded to have a part in my book. What happened eventually is Google was able to show the reader the side of our heroine that was at first hard to uncover. But even then I struggled to make sure he was dropped into the story in a few more places. I tended to forget about him as time went by in my book.

On a final note, whether you put animals in your book or not, they simply make sitting at your desk pounding out scenes much more enjoyable by their very presence in our life. Tasha will be missed for years to come. Rest in peace my beautiful girl, you've left a very big hole in this author's heart.

Roni

2009-03-05T09:09:00.004-05:00

Writing friends. Is there anything better? This picture was taken a year ago when I was in Houston visiting good friends, (from left to right) Bev Oz, Allie Standifer, Me, and Betty Hanawa. You may have read some of our books; we did two anthologies together for the holidays - "Tales from Christmas Town," and "Love from Christmas Town", for 2006 and 2007, respectively.

I know its not the holiday season, but our anthologies were such fun to write together, I keep you get a chance to pick one up someday. But this isn't about my books (well, its always about my books now isnt it - lol), but rather about the value of writing buddies or critique partners. There simply is no more unique friendship then the one shared by two writers. Who but your writing buddy understands when you say "I had no idea that character was going to do that". They don't look at you like you've lost your mind.

A good writing friend is honest without hurting your feelings. She loves you enough to not let you do something dumb like include a scene that is pointless no matter how snappy the dialogue or how amazing you described the sunset.

I tend to bounce ideas off my buddy Jo Barrett (another TWRP author check out her titles at www.thewildrosepress.com), and I know her so well that her silence usually tells me more than her words. If I share an idea for a scene and she doesn't say much, I know its probably not a good idea. When she loves something she talks a mile a minute and can brainstorm like crazy all the possibilities.

I know not everyone can meet face to face with a writing buddy. In fact, I've never lived near any of my writing friends. Heck, I went all the way to Houston to be with these ladies and Jo is in NC so that's a bit of a drive from Upstate New York. But the internet solves all that. If you aren't part of a writing group or a critique group you may want to consider one. I know at The Wild Rose Press there is a critique matchmaking group called The Rose Trellis that helps writers find each other.

This June I"m releasing another anthology with some writing friends. Stacy Dawn and Cindy Pape both TWRP authors joined forces with me to bring you "Return to Wayback", part of the popular series in the Yellow Rose line at www.thewildrosepress.com. This book features three siblings, Free, Grey and Dusty all part of the rodeo circuit - one barrel racer, one bull rider and one bronc buster. I hope you'll pick it up and enjoy the work we put into it.

If you haven't thought about a critique partner or writing buddy before I urge you to take the chance; it could be one of the most rewarding friendships of your life.

Thanks for stopping by.

Roni

2009-02-18T12:37:00.002-05:00

I love series. I love reading them and I love writing them. There's something about creating a world; not the paranomal type of world, but a town or a city or some other geographic location that binds characters together. In the Double B series, this town is SweetMeadow, Texas, and even more important the Double B cattle operation. This ranch is reported to be the biggest ranch in the USA and in some other countries (sorry King ranch, we are bigger than even you!). This ranch is still family owned and operated by the partnership of the Sampsons and the Westons. Founded decades ago by Beau Sampson and his best friends Annie and Jeb Weston; it continues to grow and flourish under the direction of their grown children and most importantly by the head of the family - Cord Weston.

The fun part about writing about these characters is knowing that even when the book ends and the hero and heroine have their happy ever after, we will get to visit with them again in the next book and books after that. Every character in this series is interwoven with the others. Its not the easiest thing in the world to write that's for sure. There's so much you have to remember; and timelines - don't even get me started! How many times I've had to go back and make sure that a pregnancy didn't go on for three years or that characters that were 25 in the first book weren't still 25 in book 6 even though several years pass. lol.

Research into romance readers finds that the majority enjoy a well written series. If you have never tried one; Debbie Macomber is the queen of series. She has written some towns I sincerely want to move to! I hope I've captured even some of her expertise and SweetMeadow, Texas is somewhere you'd like to stop by and visit.

To Tame A Cowgirl kicked off the series and is available in both ebook and print from www.thewildrosepress.com. The second book, The Cowboy Comes Home was released in January and is also available in both forms from TWRP. Coming this summer is Trouble in Texas and already this story promises to be a much wilder read than the other two.

If you read any of them, drop me a note, I love to hear what readers think or if you have suggestions for the rest of the books, let me know.

Roni
roni@roniadams.com

2009-02-05T09:21:00.002-05:00

Is there anything more exciting then when you get the cover to your next book? "Trouble in Texas" is due to release from www.thewildrosepress.com in the summer of 2009. This cover done by the marvelous and talented Nicke Martinez who has created all the covers for my Double B series is absolutely fantastic. She has captured the sass and fun of my heroine, Charli Boyd, in a way I never could have imagined.

For tall the fans of my steamier love scenes this book is for you. Charli is without a doubt my sexiest and most fun heroine to write. Watching her twist Dr. Grant Clark around her little finger only to find herself losing her heart was a wild ride.

Readers will remember Grant Clark from my second book, "The Cowboy Comes Home" which is on sale now from www.thewildrosepress.com . He is the steady, serious business partner who was a little bit in love with his business partner Beth Sampson. When Beth reconciles with Tyler and moves off the ranch, Grant is left to hanlde their vet practice alone. What he doesn't know is that the office help Beth has hired is none other than the wild redheaded Charli Boyd. Grant isn't interested in what Charli is more than offering; the next relationship he wants will be with a quiet serious woman. He's looking to find someone to marry and start a family with; something Charli has made it very clear she will never be interested in.

A fling with Charli would be a big mistake. But then as Charli tells him "what fun is life if you don't make a few mistakes now and then?" For an excerpt from this book visit my web site at www.roniadams.com. In the meantime, if you haven't read any of the Double B series, you still have time to pick up the first "To Tame A Cowgirl" and the second "The Cowboy Comes Home" before "Trouble in Texas" releases. If you have read them; I'd love to hear from you.

2009-01-15T15:19:00.002-05:00

Can you tell what's on my mind this month? In addition to celebrating my latest book, "Cowboy Comes Home" which is the second in the Double B series, I'm also dealing with the deployment of our son, Brennan, shown here with me and my husband. We couldn't be more proud or more worried about our 19 year old Marine. When someone out there says how bad the "kids today are", I'd love for them to meet some of the guys we know. It will be a long 2009 for our family as Brennan heads to Iraq not to return until Thanksgiving, but I know a lot of you are praying for him and his buddies and I'll keep busy writing and reading and posting.

I hope to be a better blogger this year and I hope to ramp up the promotion of my books.

For any other military moms or wives out there, stay strong, pray, and hang in there. Its really all we can do.

Roni

2008-12-05T15:10:00.001-05:00

Hi All, I was asked by the coordiantors to make sure I post this so everyone can find everything they need for the contest. Thanks for your patience!

Roni Adams

Each day, the link to the next blog destination will be posted. But you want to enter to win the grand prize and you're late to the game? We've experienced a few bumps since the start. So, I'll post the blog locations from day one:Nov 29 http://plparker.blogspot.com/ Nov 30 http://lynnreynolds.blogspot.com/Dec 1 WRP at http://thewildrosepress.blogspot.com Dec 2 http://michelehart.blogspot.com/ Dec 3 2 today!-- http://www.freewebs.com/teriwilson/terisblog.htm http://www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com Dec 4 Roni Adams at http://wwwroniadams.blogspot.com/ (or try www.roniadams.blogspot.com)

2008-12-04T06:44:00.003-05:00

Christmas Ride Blog Event

Merry Christmas and welcome to my blog. As you can probably tell I haven’t had a blog for very long so bear with me while I stumble through this initial phase.

I’m told that we are celebrating the holidays in December and that I need to give you a clue as to what my Christmas song is. I would love to tell you to read my latest release and the second in my Double B Series, “The Cowboy Comes Home” because my heroine Beth and my hero Tyler dance to this Christmas classic when they meet up again for the first time, but its not due to release until sometime in early January.

This famous Christmas song brings tears to my eye every time I hear it no matter who sings it:

“Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams”

That’s all the hints I can give you. Have you figured it out yet? Well, for any Mom of adult kids it’s a song that’s near and dear to our hearts as we hope all our little sugarplums find a way to be around that Christmas tree on the 25th.

This holiday season as you sit around with your family and friends please remember our servicemen and women who are far away from home this holiday season. As I prepare for my own son to do his first tour of duty in Iraq with the Marines I’m thankful that he doesn’t ship out until the first week in January. You can believe that next year at this time, this song will bring me to my knees as I eagerly anticipate his return.

The participants of the Christmas Ride blog event are giving one lucky person a $75 Wild Rose Press gift certificate! All you need to do to enter is attend each day's blog post, identify the carol, and make a complete carol list to submit after the final blog post of Christmas Eve. Don't forget to check the list twice! Send it to Christmasrideblog@live.com by midnight, CST Dec. 31st 2008!

My own special gift to you is that anyone who leaves a comment here will be entered into a drawing to win an e-copy of the first book in the Double B Series “To Tame A Cowgirl” which also includes the first scene from “The Cowboy Comes Home”. Make sure you include your email so I can send you the book and check back here on Friday morning to see who won.

And tomorrow on the next stop on the Christmas Ride blog event, go to http://www.stacydawn.blogspot.com/

Everyone who leaves a comment here for me will be entered into a drawing to win the first book in the Double B Series “To Tame A Cowgirl”.

2008-11-21T07:15:00.001-05:00

I had an email from a "fan" today. That in itself is always exciting, but she wantedto know when "The Cowboy Comes Home" is going to release. I wish I had an exact date, but due to the holidays, the best I am able to give you is a solid but vague answer. I've been told this book will release either the last week of the year or the first week in January. I should have an exact date in a week or two and I will be certain to post it here.

In the meantime, have you read my free read over at www.thewildrosepress.com? Look for the story called "Not Exactly Strangers", its a real quick read that I wrote for the Yellow Rose line. It has our small town sheriff, Conrad, from Sweet Meadow, Texas falling for a sexy stranger at our favorite bar and grill - The LoneStar. Give that a read and in the meantime, I"ll get back to writing. I'm hard at work on "Trouble in Texas" which needs to come out next summer. Can anyone wait to see what happens when the red headed wild child - Charli Boyd falls for the small town vet, Grant Clark?

Thanks for dropping by.

Roni