Why God Made Offices

Yeah, plenty of people probably envy me because I work from home. Heck, if I didn't work from home, I'd envy it, too.


But some days, I can really understand why some employers are reluctant to let employees "telecommute" (is there a new word? because that one sounds "So 90's" to me"). It's probably because certain people in high places at those companies have tried working from home on occasion and figured out how hard it is. Particularly for women.


What could be hard about working from home?


Picture me sitting down to my laptop (it's on the kitchen table, because somebody else whose business office is in our home commandeered the good spot for his desk). I'm cracking open a book file to edit, and looking at my To Do List. Uh-oh. I need to pay a couple bills. Which means I've also gotta transfer money. No problem, though. People do that all the time at work, right? When I go downstairs to fetch the receipt I printed, I notice the kids have left an empty soda 12-pack box on the floor. Which I pick up. Wait. Does this mean I'm out of Pepsi? I check the fridge. Good on Pepsi, almost out of milk, though. So back upstairs, I put MILK on the grocery list, then drop the empty box in the recycle bin. And notice the cats have spilled food all over the floor. So I fetch the broom to sweep it up. The broom is in the laundry room, where I remember I've got a load of clothes waiting for the dryer. Which is still harboring yesterday's dry clothes. So I move the dry clothes to my bed--the laundry Staging Area--and stop by the bathroom, where I notice the mirror is very spotted up. But that's fine, because the window cleaner is in the laundry room, and dangit! I still didn't transfer those clothes to the dryer. Once I've got the dryer loaded, mirror wiped, and laundry sorted on the bed, I high-tail it back to the kitchen, because I have screwed around long enough. It's time to get serious and seriously get some work done!


So I check my emails, then settle in with the file, and just as I reach the 3rd paragraph, hubby calls to ask me if I can do an invoice on his computer.


Oh, and who's that at the door? It's only the mailman delivering an Amazon purchase, but the flowers out front need water. And the trash should be at the curb.


Once I get back inside, I head back to work, but then remember that bill I'm supposed to be making up. And don't I have to call the insurance agent today?


When am I gonna make it to the grocery store for milk? Probably before I go, I should scan the sale flyer and stock up on whatever's cheap, and like, something for dinner. Which means I probably need to clip this week's coupons too. Oh jeez. And get the mail at the Post Office, because there might be a check waiting to be deposited, and I may as well go to the bank while I'm already running around town.


*** 90 minutes later: I'm putting away the last of the groceries, have started another load of laundry, and almost finished that customer invoice. This is good. Now I have a solid 3 hours to work on that edit this afternoon... at which time my phone rings and one of the kids needs a ride home from Wherever. Right away.


Hubby and kids look at me at the end of the day like I'm mentally damaged and wonder why I can't get anything done when I'm right here all day long. Right here, all day long.


Piper Denna
Romance is sexy! (working from home? sometimes.)

...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