by Sarah | Jan 23, 2013 | All About Denver, The Teenager
As a teenager, Denver refuses to get his picture taken…So this post is a nearly identical repeat of last year and chock full of embarrassing baby photos in hopes he’ll let me get some NEW pictures to use. Happy birthday, brat. 😉
Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly.
~Ivan Turgeney
Fifteen years ago this minute, as I was in labor, I still thought he was a girl. The ultrasound said girl. Everyone said girl.
My dreams said boy.
Mymorning walk to induce labor I stopped not at the girls clothes rack, but at the tiny little suits, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the teensy little ties.
After three false labors I was forced to sit in the hotel room my Mom had reserved until I “Finally” stopped screwing around and gave birth already. (For the record, Denver was only 1.5 hours “early” for his due date.) When my contractions were finally 3 minutes apart, my mom called my OB, who then demanded to know why we waited. She, in her dry and sarcastic glory informed him that she wasn’t about to take me in if I wasn’t going to actually have the baby.
And so Denver made me a parent. With his perfectly round head and surprise appendage that made him decidedly NOT a girl, & made me wonder how in hell I was going to raise a boy.
But he was perfect.
The gorgeous blue of his eyes made me fall in love in an instant.
Everything on time. Every milestone reached at JUST the right moment. Every clothing size changing right at it’s declared time (0-3 months? Gone at three months. 3-6? Gone at six…it was eerie).
He was happy. Smart. Playful. Loving.
He was my world.
He was my mom and dad’s world.
The first born grandchild. The first born great-grandchild.
The star.
Our family grew. It changed.
Not always in the best, most fair ways for him. In truth, sometimes he was forgotten, because he was so ‘perfect’. So easy in comparison. (I hate myself for it, but it is true).
It never made him less loved.
In many ways, being the parent of a teen is infinitely harder than raising the young ones. He isn’t satisfied with easy answers. He sees the world around him in such a different light. He sees things that a younger child wouldn’t. He understands and absorbs everything. Things that I sometimes haven’t the slightest idea how to explain to him, to clarify.
Right now he is struggling, battling against an internal battle I can’t resolve for him. Fighting against the common, and always unique and personal pain of being a teenager.
But in his heart – he is a good kid. He is smart. He is still loving.
He is annoyed with his parents. Embarrassed that his mother has a tattoo and plans more. He hates failure. He strives to do his best and no one is harder on him when he fails than himself. Interested in photography. Science. Math. Writing. Cross Country.
He dreams big dreams. Of being a doctor at Riley so he can help other kids like him.
He achieves big things. Advancements in Boy Scouts, Junior Honor Society.
He struggles to fit in.
He is 15.
In so many ways.
He is my baby.
In so many ways – he always will be.
Happy birthday to my oldest, my first born.
15 is a big number. But you’re just getting started.
[flickr id=”5748019048″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”center”] [flickr id=”5888954984″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”center”] [flickr id=”6087274981″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”center”]
by Sarah | Jan 22, 2013 | Books, Changing Tracks, Publishing Credits, Writing
I’m so excited for this weeks Hump Day Hook – because it’s also my official Cover Art Reveal! I’ve been using a version of this for a few months now – but the finalized look is stunning! The design is mine, but the lovely Dawne Dominique worked with me and helped kick it up a notch to this stunning cover.
I don’t have my official release date yet, but I know that it will be out next month with Secret Cravings Publishing – that’s right, February!
Blurb is below the excerpt. It’s from one of my favorite scenes. It’s a little longer than a paragraph, so sorry…I usually try to keep it smaller, but this week is special.
Cole has been in trouble with Jane for 3 weeks. She has ignored him & all his attempts to get her to cave to his charms. All she wants is an apology for his behavior:
“Sorry.”
She grew still. It was an apology. Not a good apology, but she hadn’t really specified. Her hands rested on her hips, her resolve wavering.
“I said it. You happy?”
Frustration filtered into his tone. It had to be enough. Still, she waited. If he tried to walk away, she’d cave, she knew it.
He grumbled a curse under his breath and covered the distance between them in a heartbeat. Perspiration lit up across her skin. It was a hot day, but his presence made it scorching. His breath brushed her ear, “Sorry I laughed at the thought of you being a teacher. Even when ya told me to stop.”
Now that was good. Good enough. What now? She’d ignored him so long, how could she break it properly? Let him know exactly what she wanted?
“You ever gonna speak to me again?”
“Search me.” Perfect. The way his eyes lit up and he leaned closer, he got the double meaning.
*~*~*
There is nothing simple about forgetting your past.
Cole Mitchell runs the busiest saloon and brothel in Dominion Falls. He makes time with his women, makes a killing gambling, and exerts his power how he pleases. One thing he never does is let anyone in.
Until the day she falls into his saloon bleeding and near death. He saves her from the pine box, and finds he can’t walk away. The problem is, if he lets her get close he could relive his past – and he worked too hard to forget it.
She wakes with no memory, only the firm belief that someone wanted her dead. With no name she keeps ‘Jane Doe’ and tries to carve out a life. She finds herself drawn to Cole, and they start a fiery relationship that sets the whole town talking. Their pasts – her lack of, and his buried – keep them from admitting the depth of their feelings, but they find they only trust each other.
Through the chaos of renegade Indian raids, an abandoned husband and her recurring nightmares they fight to find the truth of what happened to her. She soon learns that sometimes the truth is the last thing you want to learn, and she starts to think it may be best to leave the past where it is.
That past isn’t that willing to let go. A stranger proves that he’s willing to kill to keep his secrets safe. If Jane doesn’t remember soon, everyone she loves will be in danger.
Changing Tracks is a 110k Historical Western Romance set in the Colorado Territory in 1871.
*~*~*
Hump Day Hook asks authors to post one paragraph of one of their stories, whether a WIP, one contracted, or already published. Please visit and comment on the participants – you might just stumble on the next great read for your library! To see more participants, click on the HDH banner below:
by Sarah | Jan 21, 2013 | All About Me, Crap, Personal, Random
Nine years ago my life was different. (Sort of) newly married, only one young son at home. I had no blog, but I did have an online existence.
In one of those (now defunct) online locales I met a girl that went by Vilanaa. We talked some, but we weren’t close. Then one day she emailed me to give me a file that the internet (and my stupidity) had eaten…and from that moment on we became fast friends.
I quickly learned her real name was Jess. We bonded fast over many similar experiences and laughed over the same jokes.
For several years we shared our lives through the internet & phone. Never meeting, but she was there for everything. The first person my husband called when I went into the hospital for the girls, for my gall bladder. I became the person she called for everything, joy to crisis. We watched each others kids grow up through pictures.
We finally met several years ago when I went out to meet her. Upon arrival I ‘forgot’ my kids in the car and rushed into a tight hug that lasted five minutes while Denver got the girls unpacked and met her boys. Many tears of joy were shed.
A year an a half ago she returned the favor by driving out here for my birthday. She was present for my first tattoo and my husband finally got to know the person behind the voice.
She is my best friend. Our friendship is amazing and strong and amazing again.
But she lives so far away. Without the invention of the transporter I can’t be there when she’s in true crisis. I have to be content with knowing she has a support system that is helping. I have to be content to be on the other end of the phone to remind her to breathe when she calls me in tears.
Last month I went out with two wonderful and amazing Indy friends of mine, Casey and Shireen. These two women are best friends like Jess and I, but they live in the same town(ish). They are able to see each other at least twice a month (most times) – but at the end of the evening they embraced in a tight hug that lasted several minutes. Both apologized to me, saying it sometimes makes people uncomfortable.
I told them don’t apologize ever for that sort of closeness. That if my BFF were here I’d hug her the same way every time. We all need the bear-hug friend…whether they are five minutes away, an hour away, or 12 hours away.
Treasure your bear hug friend and hug them as often as you can.
Because this 12-hours away crap? It sucks when your best friend needs you.
Now who can get those scientists to finish up the transporters ASAP for me? I’ve got to get a bear hug.
by Sarah | Jan 20, 2013 | All About Kennedy
Be on the lookout for a wicked evil bathroom stall door.
Color – gray.
Height – about 5’6″
Distinguishing features – a metal locking closure, and nasty auto-swinging hinges that rush it back in your face.
The crime – disrupting the simple doe-eyed beauty of my youngest’s face.
Poor Kennedy.
The only thing she did wrong was be born a Mini-me…right down to the klutzy instincts.
by Sarah | Jan 19, 2013 | Photography, Scavenger Hunt Sunday
Got tired of leaving my camera on the sidelines. Took it out to stretch its lenses for a day.
All taken w/ Canon Rebel XS.
1. Basket
Orange is the happiest color. ~Frank Sinatra
[flickr id=”8396280089″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]
The wise man puts all his eggs in one basket and watches the basket. ~Andrew Carnegie
[flickr id=”8397356912″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]
2. Park
We park on a driveway…and drive on a parkway.
[flickr id=”8396325925″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]
Long winter shadows in an empty splash park.
[flickr id=”8396264751″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]
3. Auto
We are the first nation in the history of the world to go to the poorhouse in an automobile. ~Will Rogers
[flickr id=”8396324915″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”none”]
He just liked to get in that automobile and drive. ~Donald Sparrow
[flickr id=”8397346168″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”none”]
4. Recycle
One thing you can’t recycle is wasted time. ~Unknown
[flickr id=”8397351402″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]
Starfish recycle their limbs…(I know, HUGE stretch, but desperate times & great photos…)
[flickr id=”8397352678″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]
5. People Watching
For the first time ever in all my visits the red pandas were awake – and people watching
[flickr id=”8397350690″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]
The zoo was almost empty – and so my favorite people watching spot was devoid of people.
[flickr id=”8397347710″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”medium” group=”” align=”center”]
You can find more pictures over at my flickr account.
Scavenger Hunt Sunday is run by the beautiful Ashley. Head on over to see more Hunters.
Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly.
And so Denver made me a parent. With his perfectly round head and surprise appendage that made him decidedly NOT a girl, & made me wonder how in hell I was going to raise a boy.
Our family grew. It changed.
He dreams big dreams. Of being a doctor at Riley so he can help other kids like him.
