Blog Entries for Rachel Lee

I wish Murphy would move on :)

wordshop1@verizon.net — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Sadly, Murphy seems to have taken up permanent residence around here this spring. Things started going wrong with a computer crash in early February, and the troubles continue.

Not all is bad, though. It seldom is. My youngest daughter just graduated from high school and she's full of excitement, hope and promise, eagerly working toward the next stage of her life: college.

Okay, I admit it makes me feel old. But it also carries me back to the time when everything was possible, because [...]

NIGHTHAWK to be re-issued

wordshop1@verizon.net — Fri, 21 May 2010 06:00:00 +0100

For those of you with an interest in the Conard County backlist, NIGHTHAWK is scheduled to be published again next year. It's the story of a man, once unjustly accused of a crime, who finds love just over the fence of his ranch with a woman who hides from the world because she's crippled and frightened.

A troublesome sheep brings them together for a passionate ride as they help each other past old wounds and into a place where they can love.

Hugs,
Rachel

HER HERO IN HIDING

wordshop1@verizon.net — Tue, 11 May 2010 06:00:00 +0100

The newest Conard County book, HER HERO IN HIDING, is scheduled for release in June, which means it should be on shelves soon.

A woman who is fleeing from an abusive ex-boyfriend who has stalked her all over the country and finally kidnapped her, is found staggering alongside a Conard County road in the midst of a snowstorm. She is near death from hypothermia and a crusty former Special Ops soldier turned hermit and writer, rescues her.

The boyfriend is still after her, though, and our he [...]

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE, and more

wordshop1@verizon.net — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

I'm sorry I haven't kept up to date. We had a houseful of company for nearly two months, my computer died, and waiting for the warranty replacement seemed to take forever.

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE is available now, in stores, and if you can't find it there, I'm sure you can get it on Amazon or at Harlequin. I hope you love the story of a man who comes to Conard County on a mission, driven by demons, to save the life of a woman he doesn't even know.

My dad passed away two days ago, not unexp [...]

Holidays, Conard County and...

wordshop1@verizon.net — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:00:00 +0100

I'm not prepared. Of course. Haven't even started shopping yet, although it's going to be a very slim Christmas. At least all my kids are old enough now to understand. Old enough now to take delight in the fact that we will all be together. :)

I'm signing a new three-book contract for Conard County this month, and Silhouette is thinking about trying to get out three new CC books each year. I rather like that idea, because I know myself that when I like a series I don't like to wai [...]

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

wordshop1@verizon.net — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Sorry it's been so long since last I posted. There's a shortage of news, and Murphy's Law has been running my life.

If it's not one thing, it's another. First the air conditioning--while it was still too hot to work without it -- then the water heater, and now the water softener. I'm looking cross-eyed at my stove, too, because it managed to burn a pizza last week, and the timer on it has given up the ghost. No, I don't think I'm ready for that.

The second Nocturne is m [...]

New books, old books :)

wordshop1@verizon.net — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:00:00 +0100

I finished my first Nocturne and had so much fun with it that I'm really looking forward to writing the next one.

I have started a proposal for a new Conard County book, tentatively titled THE FINAL MISSION. A female NCIS investigator comes to Conard County to tell a rancher that his medic wife was not killed in a hostile ambush in Iraq as he was told. His wife had also been working as an informant for NCIS, and the agent believes she was murdered. Emotions will run high in this one [...]

Good news :)

wordshop1@verizon.net — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:00:00 +0100

The dog I wrote about in my last blog was rescued by animal control. :)

As soon as I could find several hours (because I knew it wouldn't happen fast) I went back out there with treats, hoping to entice him close enough to get a looped leash around his neck. I couldn't keep him, but I could get him to a rescue society.

Except he was gone. I looked everywhere, waited for a while then went home. A call to animal control told me that they had managed to catch him. How? This [...]

Faithful and loyal...to the end

wordshop1@verizon.net — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:00:00 +0100

I don't know who you are, and I don't know much about you. But I do know something very important:

Your faithful, loyal friend is waiting for you right beside the road where you left him. He's not looking very good right now. His ribs are sticking out enough that you can see them at 45 mph as you pass. It's obvious he hasn't eaten in a long time, and just as obvious that he hasn't been brushed in months.

He stands there right on the shoulder, panting in the Florida heat, [...]

Been sick

wordshop1@verizon.net — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:00:00 +0100

I hate this. I spent nearly the first 50+ years of my life with unassailable good health. No longer. I've reached a stage of existence where I actually can discuss the pros and cons of a variety of antibiotics with my doctor.

"Oh that one makes me cranky."

"That one gives me heart palpitations."

"That one keeps me from sleeping."

I have a friend who needs a platelet donation right now, and I can't give because I'm taking antibiotics. What's with this? [...]

New Contract... surprise ;)

wordshop1@verizon.net — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:00:00 +0100

I'm going to be signing a contract soon to write a couple of books for Nocturne. Yes, they're vampire romances, but I want to assure you that you'll find the same community feel that you like in Conard County.

My vampire has a problem with being a vampire, so he fights on the side of good. And he has a couple of wacky assistants, plus a romantic interest who is driving him nuts.

It's moody, but funny, and I promise some surprises. Mostly they'll give me a change of pace be [...]

Some days I'd rather have a root canal

wordshop1@verizon.net — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Seriously.

Some days almost anything, including a root canal, seems preferable to writing. Those are the days when the words slip away like eels, when the ideas hover just out of reach. You can sense them there, you can almost hear them buzzing like an annoying mosquito, but when you look...they're gone.

On days like today, I wish I'd picked another profession. I wish I'd stayed in computer programming. I hate being my own boss, and my own disciplinarian. I hat [...]

Dinosaur Mom

wordshop1@verizon.net — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:00:00 +0100

I've got four children. One is a journalist (she just had major surgery), one works in computers and helped build this site, another is in college, and one is a senior in high school.

I like to say they keep me young. Heh. Actually, the younger ones remind me what a dinosaur I am. For example, I refuse to give in to the texting craze, and get mildly irritated when the youngest is conversing with me at the same time she is tapping messages on her phone.

Worse, it [...]

When did life get so complicated?

wordshop1@verizon.net — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Okay, that's a dumb question. It's probably always been complicated anywhere, any time, any place.

And maybe I'm just waxing nostalgic for a time that never existed. A time in which I wasn't expected to be multitasking all the time. Did that ever exist? I doubt it.

When my kids were little, they certainly made me multitask, and it hasn't got much better with the passage of time. Now instead of crying for me across the house, they phone. And the younger ones [...]

Well, I had a birthday recently

wordshop1@verizon.net — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:00:00 +0100

And I'm not going to brag about it. I've reached that age. Suffice it to say, I still feel forty.

My daughters overwhelmed me with sugar-free cake, flowers, balloons, and even a "lucky bamboo" plant... and I love those bamboo plants. My beloved gave me a recumbent exercise bike that I've been wanting forever. It was an inexpensive one since our budget doesn't run to anything expensive in these times, but it will work and make it possible for me to exercise even when the loca [...]

Back in the saddle

wordshop1@verizon.net — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Well, maybe. At least I'm trying. As I get older, it seems that vacations take more out of me. And just as I was getting back on my feet, my daughter and her husband arrived for a visit. Since she and I gab like a house on fire, I don't seem to be doing much else!

I sincerely hope you like the writer's workshop we have begun. Even if you don't write, I hope it will give you a glimpse into this process of creating a book.

We are steadily revamping the site, a bi [...]

Vacation/research trip

wordshop1@verizon.net — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

I'll be away from the 12th to the 19th of July, visiting a friend near St. Augustine, and doing some research for a possible single title.

Yes, I'm combining work and pleasure, oh-so-necessary, since ideas have to be fleshed out. And I have an idea for a book, but it's been so long since I visited St. Augustine I thought it might be best to check out the place again, refresh my memory, and this time actually take some photos! (What a concept.)

Hope you all have a great week. [...]

The kitty purrs

wordshop1@verizon.net — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Interesting research lately on cats purring. By and large, the only cats which purr (in the sense we think of purring) are domesticated cats. But more interesting is that there is scientific evidence to suggest that purring heals cats... and us.

Cats don't just purr when they're happy. They also purr when they're in pain, which is what led researchers to take a closer look.

The cat's purr hits a frequency which demonstrably heals bones. Observation of this [...]

New CC proposal & vampire romance

wordshop1@verizon.net — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Well, it's that time of year again. Celebrating the Declaration of Independence and watching the cat and dog try frantically to hide from the sounds of fireworks. This is Callie's first Fourth, and she spent a lot of time on the stairway landing last night mewling. Not as bad, however, as our late beloved Molly who managed to break nearly every tooth in her head trying to chew her way out of the house one year.

I'm sitting here with another proposal almost done. What a relief! [...]

If you're on Twitter ...

wordshop1@verizon.net — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:00:00 +0100

I'd love to see you there. It's such an easy pleasant way to chat.

You can find me at http://twitter.com/Rachel_Lee

Messages are short, but it's so nice to keep in touch.

Hugs,

Rachel