Returning to my roots. Well, my writing roots at least.

Move along. Nothing to see here. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Today’s post is about me taking a little time, not much mind you, to go back to where my writing started; middle grade fiction.

Almost a decade ago I started writing a series of mid-grade books titled Sheriff Teddy. I wrote five of the little buggers and I enjoyed doing each one. As time went by my writing evolved into horror. While I love horror, I also love my kids and they love the farmyard adventures of the crime solving canine, Sheriff Teddy. Just as important as their love for Teddy was my wife’s love of that dog.

I am the law!

Teddy was Tabitha’s dog for most of her childhood. For over a decade he loved her and she loved him. I had my differences with the dog, but I was saddened to hear that old age had forced him to be put to sleep. Tabitha was extremely attached to him and all pet owners know the pain of putting a beloved family member to sleep. The animals we bring into our lives aren’t animals. They become a part of us and our families and we love them dearly. They are never simply “just animals”.

Teddy and I became acquainted while I was dating Tabitha’s sister. Don’t ask. That’s another story for another time. Be advised that I love telling the following adventure even though it is mildly or maybe even majorly embarrassing.

I first met Teddy when we stopped by to visit the parents. “Let me put Teddy up,” the sister said, opening the front door. I knew of Teddy only by word of mouth and I imagined a small loveable yappy dog. What I encountered was very different.

When Teri opened the door I saw this small horse charging across the living room toward us. There was nothing small about Teddy or his teeth. Be aware that Teddy was an overly large, “loving”, albino German Shepard. The girls say he was a dog, but I beg to differ. I think he was a Shetland pony disguised as a dog.

Well Teddy proceeded to get by Teri, and then circled me before clamping down on my rear end. That’s right, the dog bit me in the ass. Let me tell you, it hurt.

Now wasn’t that funny? Regardless, I liked the dog. Okay, maybe I only tolerated him. I don’t know, but Tab finds that story freaking hilarious. She saw it happen and laughs hysterically whenever she thinks of it. It’s because of fond memories such as these that Teddy became a fictional character of his own series.

Teddy became the basis for the Sheriff Teddy stories for no other reason than he was the chief protector of the Ramsey house. The fictional Teddy lives on a farm in Nebraska and is assisted by Deputy Brownie (one of our real life dogs) and Deputy Puffy (another beloved pet of Tab’s that had moxie and plenty of attitude. Puffy also had a kick ass Elvis lip curl.)

 

The Sheriff Teddy gang has dealt with everything from egg thieves, sheep rustlers, a dragon and even inept alien invaders from Pluto. It’s these adventures that I feel compelled, both by Tabitha and my conscience, to return to for a while.

I’m going to take a break from my Dog World sequel and writing Werewolves of the Dead to proofread the Sheriff Teddy series.

Don’t fear dear readers. I will return to the undead and lycans very shortly.

My son Christopher

He makes old school woodland cammies look good.

Eight weeks ago Christopher came to Tabitha and me, asking if he could join the Young Marines unit here in Nashville. I wasn’t surprised as most of the men on my mother’s side of the family have served in the Navy or the Marines and I was no exception. I asked him to consider the Air Force JROTC or the Navy Sea Cadets, but he was dead determined to do the Young Marines.

The Young Marines Nashville chapter is the one of the hardest in TN and we knew that going in. Having gone through Parris Island myself I knew what would be required of him and I tried my best to prepare him for it. It wasn’t enough.

Chris (second squad last recruit) is trying to use his heat vision on the back of that recruit’s head.

My going through boot was one thing, but sending my 12-year-old son to something that primes you for the Island is another. Older members that have completed the course act as drill instructors and yell and scream at the new recruits much the same way as my drill instructors did to me. I have to thank Senior Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Leon and Drill Instructors Staff Sergeant Davis, SSGT Colon, and SGT King for giving me the tools to somewhat prepare my son. Even with what those men did for me, it was gut wrenching to watch my son go through it on the first day. All that was missing was a night-time ride, yellow foot prints painted on the deck and the absence of parents. Needless to say he was in tears at the end of the day.

See? Yelling, yelling, and more yelling. You have three choices for answers: Aye, sir, yes, sir, or no, sir. Other possible responses are unprintable.

It tore Tab and I up to urge him forward that day, but we, Tab, Chris and I, made a commitment to see his 13 weekends through to completion of “boot camp”. Life after school will get hard and we’re preparing him for a life of pushing forward even when things get difficult.

As I said, it’s one of the hardest chapters in the state and there is a lot of physical training (PT), drill, and learning of Marine Corps history and the history of the Marine Corps League, its sponsor.

Chris (5th from the right) and his recruit platoon, standing by for formation.

 There were 30 young men and women when the platoon first started almost 7 weeks ago and now there are only 11. The first three weeks were difficult for him, but he’s found that it gets easier with each week he attends.  And make no mistake, I am with him and these kids as they go through the PT aspect of training.

I haven’t run anything longer than across the front yard in almost 20 years. I’ve grown soft myself and I’m paying for it, and I can’t tell Chris that a 3 mile run and doing push ups until your drill instructors or company commander is tired is good for him and not do it, too. Tab and I are running with Chris and I’m doing the extended formation runs with him.

Chris and platoon mate chatting and hydrating after run.

The first time the platoons did a 3 mile run, I joined them. The company commander and the platoon sergeant were both surprised, maybe even shocked, to see me. In fact, the company commander did a double take when he saw me behind the recruit platoon. Both have told me that never before has a parent run or PTed with the kids. Like I said, I can’t push my son to do something physically taxing without doing it with him. I believe in lead by example. I’m still recovering from runner’s knee in both knees, but I continue to do what I can with him and Tabitha’s doing work with him as well.

We’re coming up on 7 weeks into it and are halfway through recruit training. Chris is still nervous about it all, but it’s nowhere like it was. Past three weeks he’s gotten into the minivan motivated and proud of what he’s achieved. In six weeks he’s gone from being unable to do a mile run non stop (He stopped every 300 feet the first two weeks) to doing two miles nonstop. He’s gone from zero pull-ups to 3, he can do 30 sit-ups before getting tired where 5 wore him out at the start, and he can do his 30 push ups with little effort. Chris has also dropped 15 pounds and the muscle he’s developing is clearly visible.

He understands that even though dear old dad isn’t always right (ask mom and she’ll agree), but he was in regards to it all becoming easier as you go forward.

Chris (the only bald head in a white t-shirt) pushing with other recruits. Week before the male recruits were told to shave their heads and all were to bring personal hydration systems. Only Chris did both. The platoon got push ups for his attention to orders. That’s a good thing.

I’m proud of my son for doing things he thought was hard and accomplishing them. I’m proud of him for learning that things are only hard if you quit and if you quit, you’ll never achieve anything. Hell, I’m just proud of my son for being the best young man that he can be. I love you, Chris.

Chris and his commanding officer, Mr. Westbrooks, hamming it up. Okay, I admit that Mr. Westbrooks always looks like that.

Guest post from the stellar Julianne Snow!

I’m not blogging as much as I’d like and as a way of apology, today’s blog features a good friend from the Great White North, Julianne Snow. I met Julianne in the same place that I have met other greats, twitter. See, social networks pay off in spades.

Genius in all its glory.

Julianne is on a blog hop promoting her new book, Days with the Undead: Book One. Click on the cover below and it’ll take you to the Kindle link. But first, a little background!

Get it! Now!

Her uber awesome minion, Kalla Monahan, emailed me at the beginning of the month to host Julianne on her blog tour. My first reaction was “Hell yeah!” Julianne is a talented author and has a great love of the undead that rivals my own. How could I say no?

Today Julianne is sharing her thoughts on undead survival. It gives a look into the thought process for her writing in general and the book in particular.

With no further blathering on my part, I present Julianne Snow.

Survival Strategy According to Julianne Snow, Zombie Killer

Thank you for joining me today as we will be talking about strategies to help you survive during a Zombie Apocalypse. What I have to offer is simple and is not going to include telling you to pack a bug out bag. That’s common sense and while important, it’s just not part of the scope of this session.

There are six main strategies and they are all important. As we have no idea when the proverbial sh*t is going to hit the fan, shall we get started?

Don’t Wait: Okay, I’ll admit that seems somewhat self-explanatory but it’s probably the most important. Waiting is only going to allow your city or town to fill up with hordes of those ravenous Zombies. Recognizing that there is a problem and reacting to it quickly is only going to help keep you alive. If you turn on your television one day and hear that the dead are again walking the earth, don’t wait. Waiting is bad. Get moving. Now.

Don’t Dismiss Travelling On Foot: We all know that travelling by car is faster, offers more protection and is more efficient. Zombies can only walk as fast as their oxygen starved, dying muscles will allow them to. So why shouldn’t you dismiss travelling on foot? Everyone is going to panic, get into their cars and head out of town. What is that going to cause? Gridlock. Accidents. Cars running out of gas and adding to the gridlock. It’s going to be hell on the roads and each moment that you are stuck in gridlock, unable to move away, is only going to allow the hordes more time to catch up with you. Moving on foot allows you more freedom. As long as you can walk faster than the horde, you’ll be okay. Just remember that a car is easy to navigate around while on foot, especially on a crowded roadway. The benefit to moving on foot is the fact that you don’t need to stick to roads either. The world is your oyster; let your feet help in your survival.

Avoid, Avoid, Avoid: If at first you don’t succeed, avoid. Seriously. If you don’t need to interact with the Undead, don’t. It’s fairly straightforward. You cannot get bitten if you don’t place your body within the proximity of their mouths. You cannot get infected if you never come into contact with them. Simply avoid them. Avoid at all costs. Avoidance will help to keep you alive.

Observe, Never Assume: One of the first things during Z-Day that will kill you is assuming that you know all there is to know about zombies. We have never faced down a horde of the living dead so how can we possibly know what is likely to happen? Sure, you’ve watched the movies and read the books but what you’re absorbing is only someone’s opinion of what could happen. Are you going to allow that to be the death of you? Absolutely not. Observe what the Undead are doing and how they are behaving. That doesn’t mean engage them either. Consider this strategy as one to be performed in conjunction with avoiding the hordes at all costs. Let someone else engage them and learn from their mistakes. Surviving is important, but surviving smartly makes you the expert.

Not Everyone Is Your Friend: Just because you meet someone while you’re out foraging doesn’t mean that you should accept their lip smacking invitation for dinner. If your instincts are not screaming “Stranger Danger”, they’re broken. Without an uncontaminated protein source, you just may end up the guest of honor at a feast with your seat just a little closer to the fire than may be comfortable. If you don’t get my meaning, there might not be any hope for you. Plain and simple, other survivors could represent a multitude of horrors. Piracy will be rampant as other survivors begin to covet what you’ve got. Cannibalism may become a little more accepted as hunger does strange things to the psyche. Hell, a member of their group may even be harboring the infection, getting sicker and sicker until death finally occurs…. BAM, you’re dead! Or worse, infected. If you find yourself being invited over for dinner, trust no one – trust me on this one.

Keep Moving: You may have found yourself the perfect place to wait out the end of the world. It’s got everything you think you’ll ever need; strong walls, unobstructed views for three hundred and sixty degrees, and a stockpile of food and ammunition. It’s perfect – or is it? What happens when the Undead come knocking… and trust me, they will find you. How are you going to kill them all without attracting more? Who knows if they can hear gunfire? Or if they have a sense of collective consciousness? Something else to consider would be the fact that your stronghold may actually belong to someone else. Someone with bigger guns and the desire to use them. The war between the living and the living dead is horrible enough. No need to go adding another war into the fray. The only way to get around this is to keep moving. Sure, you can replenish your supplies, I’m not against that. What I am against is complacency. It kills. Keep moving – that’s what the Undead are going to do.

Survival is important and frankly, optimal. Keeping these six strategies in mind will help you to survive. I don’t want you to wait or dismiss travelling on foot should the situation arise. If you avoid the Undead while observing them, never assuming that you know what they’re going to do next, you should be okay. Just remember that not everyone is your friend out there and that they may have less than honorable intentions. If you keep moving, you’ll always stay one step ahead. Good luck!

About Julianne

It was while watching Romero’s Night of the Living Dead at the tender age of six that solidified Julianne’s respect of the Undead. Since that day, she has been preparing herself for the (inevitable) Zombie Apocalypse. While classically trained in all of the ways to defend herself, she took up writing in order to process the desire she now covets; to bestow a second and final death upon the Undead.

As the only girl growing up in a family with four children in the Canadian countryside, Julianne needed some form of escape. Her choice was the imaginations of others which only fostered the vibrancy of her own.

Days with the Undead: Book One is her first full-length book, the basis of which can be found in her popular web serial of the same name. You can find Julianne’s The Living Dead of Penderghast Manor in the anthology Women of the Living Dead. Look for more of Julianne’s short stories in upcoming anthologies.

Scotland the Brave

I’m American by birth and a Scot/English/German by ancestory and Mom always said I took after the Scots side more than anything else. I could go into the whole this tendenancy is from this ancestor but one thing is undeniable to me. And that can be blamed on one ancestor nation. For as long as I can remember I have always loved pipes and drums. To get my self motivated when I’m feeling slow is Scotland the Brave. Nothing gets my blood pumping more than hearing this:

Of course, this is pretty damn awesome, too:

Up and coming Film and Animation Guru needs some help with finishing school...

Reblogged from Alaskan Dreams:

• 

Alan Halverson is an old friend from Fairbanks, AK. Now he is an up and coming media guru living down in the lower 48, Oklahoma to be exact! He currently is finishing up his associates in Film and Animation and will be starting his new program in Film and Production. He plans to go to school out-of-state and finish up his degree so he can jump in with both feet and work with some serious projects.He is currently in the the middle of trying to earn some scholarships and as such I am wanting to spread the word and ask that you go take a look at his scholarship application video and vote for it.

Read more… 157 more words

As an up and comer myself I can't help but to support this young man in his endeavors however I can. I hope you give him some attention too.

This is what irony looks like…

A good friend suggested I blog about a funny thing that happened to me and she was right.

Those that know me know that my birthday was on the 19th and the only thing on my list was a laptop. As love would have it, my wife okayed me to get one. It’s a great little laptop, a Dell Inspiron 1525, and in the almost three weeks I’ve had it, I’ve grown to love it to death. It’s great! Except for one thing.

See below.

I wish I could say this in my Brak's dad voice. "She's pretty like a little princess."

And this is what my wallpaper looks like.

Werewolves and superheroes. What could be better?

My choices on Craigslist were limited as I had X-amount to spend and most available were over that. I found five that met my needs, emailed the owners and in three days only one returned my query. The choice was obvious so a selection was made. Again, I love it except for that damned cover.

Replacement covers were out of my price range so I decided on a laptop skin. I can replace anything in a laptop. I’ve stripped many laptops down and rebuilt them so that wouldn’t have been a problem. My wife, God love her, didn’t fully understand why I wanted something other than the cover I have. Allow me to explain.

In May I’ll be going to WerewolfCon and I didn’t think I or Dog World would be taken seriously if I showed up with a pink laptop. I wrote a blood and guts, military based werewolf novel and a pink laptop in my hands made me a little wary. Yes, I knew the color and went ahead anyway. Still, come on, it’s pink! Or fuchsia or magenta or whatever. End of the day, it’s not…manly.

I know I’m going to get flak over that remark, saying I’m sexist, but what’s life without a little controversy. Dear Tabitha and I had a little discussion that went like this:

Tab: So, what’s wrong with it?

Me: It’s pink. I mean, look at it. It’s pink.”

Tab: No it’s not. It’s magenta.”

Me: Magenta. Pink. Whatever. It’s girlie.

Tab. Do you like it?

Me: F*ck yeah, I like it. *I clutched it like a child at this point.*

Tab: Then what’s the problem?

Me: Pink! It’s so girlie, sweetie.

Tab: You have two girls, one of whom is super girlie. Just say that they bought it for you.

Me: That’d be lying, be bad for karma, and it still wouldn’t change the pink color.

Tab: Then buy a new cover.

Me: At $50 a pop?

Tab: Good point. Then buy a laptop skin.

Me: Okay. Hopefully they’ll have something a bit more manly looking.

Tab: You are such a guy.

Me: You should be happy about that.

Tab: You’d think so, wouldn’t you? *she gave me a wink on that one*

That’s par for the course in discussions I think.

Well I went into search mode and picked out a skin. My friend and fellow author, Janet Sked, sent me an Amazon gift card for my birthday and I ordered one straight away. This is what I ordered:

http://www.amazon.com/15-4-Taylorhe-laptop-protective-werewolf/dp/B004EF15TC/ref=sr_1_68?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330542682&sr=1-68

I was stoked to get it. It was coming from Janet’s current homeland, the United Kingdom, so it took two weeks to arrive. When it did, I was barely able to contain myself as I carefully cut open the packaging. My hands shook as I pulled out the skin and excitement gave way to a great big WTF expression. This is what I received:

 http://www.amazon.com/156-Inch-Taylorhe-protective-butterflies/dp/B004L5EX0I/ref=sr_1_39?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330463513&sr=1-39

Enclosed was a packing order, calling for a werewolf skin to be sent. Irony seems to have it out for me. Tab laughed and I looked embarrassed. Good new is Janet has a new butterfly skin coming to her and the seller is sending me a new one. Let’s hope that this time it’s at least a fairy. Those little buggers can be mean.

One of the new columnists for Book Trailer Showcase is…

Me!

Hey, guys and girls. I’m happy to announce that I’ve been selected to be a horror columnist on Book & Trailer Showcase. Myra Nour first approached me a few days ago, inquiring if I’d be interested in a position as a horror columnist. Naturally I said, “Yes!” The catch though was for me to submit two works from a published blog. I’ve done a few of those, but the hard part was picking which one. All the blogs I’ve appeared on are pretty outstanding, but I was able to choose. I submitted my examples and Myra loved them enough to welcome me aboard. Outstanding, right?

Now, when you go to her site, don’t freak out. You’re at the right page and yes, it’s all romance at first sight. Myra is a published romance author and a lover of horror that happens to be branching out to include horror in the Showcase as well. If you dig hard enough, you might find me lurking around thereabouts.

My first article will be appearing at the first of April. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can do Myra and BTS proud as well as amuse and/or entertain you, the reader.

For my horror writing mates out there, Myra’s on the lookout for you so let this be your official invitation to join up. She offers a great variety of advertising options for first time and seasoned authors at outstanding rates. Even if you aren’t committed to going that route, take the time anyway to look around.

Wow. That reads like a sales pitch. Normally I hate salesman and sales pitches for no other reason than their annoyances make them taste like bad Sloppy Joe.

So with all that aside, do us both a favor and check her out. If you like what you see, contact Myra and let her know I sent you.

Werewolf Con 2012

This is what Epic looks like.

Hey guys. I wanted to take a moment and talk about Werewolf Con 2012, which is taking place at the Midway Convention Center in Columbia, MO May 4 to 6.

I’m locked in for attendance and it goes without saying that I’m fairly motivated about this. It has the makings of being the biggest gathering of werewolf lovers in North America.

Here’s a sample of who’s on the list to show up:

Ahi Leman – First Jason – Burlesque Rock Show
http://firstjason.com/
firstjason@firstjason.com

Karina Koji – Burlesque Troup FyreFae Productions – Burlesque Rock Show
https://www.facebook.com/FyreFaeProductions
karina.koji@gmail.com

Werewolf Ball
Decadent Nation (Represents all Werewolf Ball Bands)
http://decadentnation.com/
colinlavaute@gmail.com

Special Guest and Vendor
David Gallaher
david.gallaher@gmail.com

Special Guest and Vendor
Steve Ellis
http://www.wix.com/ste527/hypersteve
steve@hypersteve.com

Even with all that goodness, WWC still needs sponsors and vendors. If you’re a horror publisher, big or small, or a werewolf author then I urge you to sign up with this event. I know this sounds cheesy as hell, but this is our chance to be a part of greatness.

Won’t you please help? If you don’t, the lycans will be very sad and we all know what a depressed werewolf can do. They do like to eat when they become depressed.

Romance and a little loving – undead style

Awww. Isn't that just the sweetest thing?

I wasn’t going to post anything for Valentine’s Day, but Tabitha urged me to do something so here it is. I’m posting the sex scene from Memoirs of the Walking Dead. Hey, sex is romantic when it’s with that special someone and nothing beats… well, use your imagination.

The scene takes place after Paul and Tracey take shelter from a human offensive on their city. What follows has captured the imaginations of many with a few being reacquainted with meals enjoyed earlier in the day.

Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Dear God she is so sexy when she’s angry. I loved watching her jaw work through that wound in her cheek.

I can’t imagine what Candy orCharlottethought about all of that. I know Candy hid behind a rack of Garands and I wasn’t sure ofCharlotte’s whereabouts. It’s hard to tell with that cat.

She charged across the room at me. I braced for impact and next thing I know we were kissing with such passion that it curled my toenails. That’s my metaphor and I’m sticking to it.

“I want you, Paul,” she said. The statement blindsided me. So did the smell of her perfume, the taste of her lips -although dry, they were kind of soft- was more than enough to push me to her way of thinking.

“I want you more than anything,” I moaned, fumbling with her dress like a high school freshman. I was never graceful in the bedroom. If you’re looking for some kind of suave, charming or ballet like in its movements then I urge you to pick up one of those harlequin novels. You won’t find anything like that here.

I ended up pulling her dress down. It wasn’t pulled down so much as being ripped away. She, in turn, ended up twisting my left arm to the rear trying to get my shirt off. It was obvious that it was either a long dry spell for her as well, or she was just as clumsy.

Moving to a cot was an adventure in itself. I stomped on her ankle, before she threw me onto a military bunk bed. My head hit the headboard railing, giving me what would’ve been a concussion. Luckily, all I got was a ringing in the ears. She jumped on me, kneeing me in the groan before falling off the bed. Somehow I got my right arm caught in the vertical rails of the headboard too. Can you say awkward?

I’m not going to get into great details, (Writer’s horror: Thank God. I don’t think I could stomach undead loving) but it was memorable in its bizarreness. Undead woman, like undead men have a finite amount of, for lack of a better way to say it, joy fluids. We can still feel, hate or love sex, but our bodies can’t produce new fluids. Pretty apparent, I know, and not much of a shock. Don’t judge us. It’s not necrophilia if both parties involved are undead.

(Writer’s continuing horror: Oh dear God! He’s still talking about it! Gag me, shoot me, do something!)

She was a little on the dry side at first, but that problem was solved as the act went on. Don’t give me that gross look or say, “that’s disgusting”. Have you ever seen yourself have sex? Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s bizarre in its own way, too.

We made love (Again: I really don’t want to hear this let alone type it for you nice folks) and rested in the short military bed. Rested is an understatement; we fell asleep. I dreamed of days best left behind, my life was more like a nightmare really, as Tracey lay beside me. It was the closest to heaven I’d ever felt. Somewhere, Hey, Soul Sister played on for her.

Bloody Hearts Blog Hop 2012

Woof. What a busy week for me. Between taking Emily to hearing tests, eye exams and speech therapy, I’m also editing Dog World and Memoirs of the Walking Dead while writing a colum for Book & Trailer Showcase and participating in the Bloody Hearts Blog Hop 2012. It goes with out saying that all of that is a good way to lose sleep and weight.

The blog hop is being run by Vamplit Publishing which is the home away from home for many great authors such as T.K. Millin and that charming feline of the night, Efi Loo.

I am Efi Loo and I'm coming for you next.

It doesn’t take much to be a part of it, though you must follow the rules. Here they are, courtesy of the BHBH itself.

My heart for you!

Staying home on Valentine’s Day and need something to do? Love horror? Then why not browse our blog hop February 13th and 14th?

How to Join

BLOGGERS: We are seeking bloggers who love horror and have something horror related to share on Valentine’s Day including: books, movies, artwork/prints, music, games, toys, collectibles, etc.

• Enter your blog in our hop using the link above or CLICK HERE. Note that we are not using Linky Tools so we can better control and format the blog list.
• Grab a badge to the right and put it on your blog in one of the columns. Make sure the badge links back to this page.
• Join us on facebook and/or Google+for up to date news and events related to the blog hop.
• On February 13th, publish a post with your giveaway and the rules. We suggest you include another Bloody Hearts badge in your post so participants won’t have trouble finding your post.
• Choose and announce your winner(s) on February 15th and deliver the prize.

BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS: The blog hop starts February 13th and runs through the 14th. Visit links under the category of your choice below and follow the contest/giveaway rules on each blog.

My contest is short, sweet and to the point. I want to hear your romantic story about how you wooed your significant other into putting up with you for all eternity. What was that one moment in time in which they agreed to be yours forever!

The judge will be my lovely wife Tabitha, simply because she needs more on her busy plate and is the chairwoman of the Romantic Hearts Synidcate.

The winner will receive an advance PDF copy of my soon to be released short story collection,  Hell is What You Make of It. The winner will be announced on the 15th.

So there you have it, lads and lasses. Let me hear you soppy stories. The truth is, I’m a romantic at heart.