...and it happened!

Today while I was out for my walk, I got waylaid by a story idea (complete with a title, and honestly, I've never, ever had a title for book before I started writing it, so this is BIG for me).


Can I just say, I love when that happens.


Also, I'll admit, I've been hoping it'd happen, and starting to feel a little desperate, worrying it might not happen for me again.


Because, it's been, like... a really long time since I've been inspired to write. Not that I've exactly had the time to write since the Great Eye Secession of  '12. But still. You wanta feel like there are still stories in your head, like you can still grow stuff in there. Ya know? Maybe it's the walking that's gotten me back on track. Or other creative outlets (I have been growing stuff--oodles of flowers I've stuck in the ground outside, baby). Or maybe my head is just back in a "happy place".


Whatever the impetus, I'm thrilled with the results. The story might be a bit of challenge--my hero is the ex, the somewhat-bad-guy in Trouble Won't Wait (re-releasing this fall; previously Waiting for Revenge). Well, honestly, Mike was never a "bad" guy, which was part of what made some old hens mad when they read that story in the first place, and they were sure Mandy should forgive him for cheating. So now she's moved on to her happily-ever-after with a new, faithful replacement, and realizing she was meant to meet Adam, she's forgive Mike for his transgression(s). But can he forgive himself? Hm. Doubting his own fortitude, Mike seeks the advice of a better counselor than Baldwin, the crackpot he and Mandy saw together for marital counseling. Trouble is, the office staff mixes up his appointment and he ends up right back in the kooky counselor's office, and gets talked into attending Baldwin's group sessions for therapy... where he meets Ashleigh, also in therapy for a "cheating problem".


Ashleigh is no cheater, but she'll jump through the hoops her court-ordered hippie counselor requires, so she can keep her record clean. Smashing up her ex's truck with a bat wasn't the wisest choice, but he did have it coming, even though she won't admit what he did to deserve it. And since she's maintaining her silence on that matter, it's impossible to convince Baldwin that she isn't a cheater, and doesn't belong in his Cheaters Anonymous group. She'll just attend the group sessions, cringe at what a bunch of creeps most of them are, and keep her eyes OFF that cute older guy who seems so out of place in the group, the only other person who seems appalled by the group of pervs they're stuck meeting with every week. But no, she can't possibly have anything in common with Mike. Even if she has bumped into his ex, who grudgingly tells her he's an okay guy who made some stupid mistakes. He sure won't be her next mistake. No way. Even if she does connect with his kids. Once a cheater, always a cheater, right? Maybe not. Maybe people--even guys--can learn from their past screw-ups. Only problem is, Mike believes she's a cheater too, and the only way she'll be able to clear up that misconception is to tell him the truth about why she went Carrie Underwood on Connor's Chevy. And she's not ready to admit that. At least, not yet.




....Well, it's kinda rough. But I'm calling it Trouble Anonymous. Hoping I can redeem Mike, as well as show Baldwin has some psychiatric skills, even if they are unorthodox and make us laugh along the way.


Hoping to get started writing it tomorrow, even if it's just a rough plot outline.


Back in the saddle, right?


Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Funny and sexy, lethal romance combo

One of my favorite editing projects ever (and honestly, one of the best books I've read in several years) just earned 4.5 stars from Two Lips Reviews. Morning Man, by Barbara Kellyn, is so very funny and sexy, and well-written, reading it was like watching a wonderfully written movie script play out before my eyes. I loved the heck out of it.


The reviewer felt about the same: http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7550&Itemid=36


Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Score 1 for the Senior Team

Last week was my son's baseball tournament. One of our moms had arrived early and was watching the boys warm up on the field when some of the girls from the home school were out on lunch checking out our boys. Of course the girls had their own running commentary about the boys (hello, baseball uniforms!). The mom tuned most of it out until she heard one of the girls say, "Wow! Number 17 has a nice butt!"


Number 17 is our 40-something coach. :)


And for the rest of the tournament, spectators hollered out to the field, "Hey coach, nice buns!"

Call for Irish submissions

Lyrical Press is actively seeking submissions for our 3rd annual set of Irish-themed novels/novellas, to release March 2013. We want romantic, sexy stories either set in Ireland or including an Irish hero/heroine. Any subgenre of romance/erotica is welcome (we’re still looking for an Irishman in a steampunk).

Word counts can range between 20,000-100,000 words. Deadline for submissions is May 31, 2012.

Please include a 1-2 pages synopsis and your full manuscript, attached (in either .doc format, or .rtf). Enter “Irish Submission” in subject line and email directly to mary_murray@lyricalpress.com OR piper@lyricalpress.com

Milestone Moments

Today is a big day for me. (and not only because I've finally blogged again, after a 2 month absence. More about that below.) Today my kids went off to school without me. As in, in a car. Which my son drove. He got his license on Friday, and he's been several places on his own. And each time he goes, I feel a little pull... kinda like the one I felt the first time I had to hand him over to somebody else to hold. The first night he slept without me, the steps he took without my help. Yeah, you get the picture. It's mostly a mommy thing, I know. Dad felt a little "something"--he tells me guys don't "worry" like women do, he just knows some of the things he got up to behind the wheel when he was younger, which can't be worry, right? LOL--but it's a whole different concern for him. For me, I guess it's still about being needed (or not), being able to help and nurture. I don't worry so much about his driving. He's pretty solid behind the wheel, I think. It's more like that first day of 2nd grade when we walked to school and he didn't need a kiss goodbye. Watching him drive away early Saturday morning to meet the bus to his baseball game, I thought to myself, "This isn't a moment you ever imagine when your little guy is 2 and needs you for everything." You know the kid's gonna grow up, and you want him to, to be independent and successful. But sometimes it's damn hard letting go. I probably won't ever watch that car insurance commercial where the guy is admonishing his little girl, who's in the driver's seat, to be careful, and handing her the car keys, without getting a little, um, emotional.


But on the positive front, no more driving kids to school. Woohoo! Which means I can get "my" day going that much earlier. And that's a very good thing. Because I have so much catching up to do. Which leads me to the explanation for my extended absence:


No, I did not go on a walking tour of Europe. Or have an extended hiatus on Tahiti. I had a little eye trouble. As in, my left retina detached. Which was scary, and dark, and a little bit expensive (though not nearly as much as I'd feared, since we're "one of those" uninsured families). Good news is, I should make a full recovery, though it'll be slow. For now, reading/focusing with that left eye is tough sometimes and just ain't happening other times. But I can see with it, which is a truly amazing accomplishment of modern medicine. Here's a little info about it if it all sounds confusing, and the treatment I had was Pneumatic retinopexy --which we had to do multiple times, because the retina kept coming away in new spots. But now I only have a little fluid still trapped behind my retina, making things a bit "wrinkled" when I look at them. And the vision in that eye is kind of dark, like I'm wearing a sunglass lens over it, because the fluid in front of my eye is discolored from the many laser treatments it took. Anyway. I couldn't read much at all for about 3 weeks, which put me miles behind in my editing, completely off track from writing. So I'm playing a little catch-up, and hoping the new 30-45 minutes a day I've been gifted with by my son's driving will help me get that to-do list back in check.


And though I didn't have a life-threatening experience, it was scary enough to shake me up and make me think about what things are important. So I'm doing a little "restructuring" with my career(s) right now. Going to focus on editing, writing, and promoting my books. Helping hubby with his business books, and making the home function like it used to when I didn't work out of the home. Probably I will only be working out of the home from here on, and we'll be fine without that "day job". Hopefully. :)


Time to map out that To Do List.