The Quick Trip

When: This past weekend. Left early on Friday, drove ten and a half hours (darn traffic!) and returned late Sunday.

Where: Fayetteville, N.C.

Supplies: Mini Oreos, Twizzlers, Cheetos. Lots of CDs.

Who: Me, Mr. W, Son # 2, and Baby Girl

Why: To visit son #1 at his new home: Fort Bragg. And to meet his new fiancee. That's right-- son #1 is getting married! No idea when, but the proposal happened a few weeks ago, and we were thrilled to get to meet our future daughter-in-law (so strange to say that!), who is also a soldier. They're very cute together and very happy. Was able to actually go inside the barracks and see his room--great to put a visual to where he's living now. Cannot believe how big Fort Bragg is. It has three zip codes! Huge. Just huge.

It was a quick trip, but we had tons of fun. It's always great to have the whole family together--something I never ever take for granted anymore. And even though the rides were long, those are times to cherish, too. Even when stuck in (darn) traffic.

It's going to be a busy week--I'm working on the first Love Potion Shop mystery, trying to tackle some home projects that I've been putting off, also working on the print version of Trouble Under the Tree (coming soon!), and I WILL dig a book out of my TBR pile and lose myself in it (it's been much too long).

I wanted to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who's read Perfectly Matched over the last two weeks. The response has been incredible, and I couldn't be happier at all the wonderful feedback I've received. Big, big, big thank you! (Btw, the print edition should be ready by June 15th!)

Wishing you all a wonderful week! What are you reading? Have anything to recommend to me?

The Darn Bunny

As some of you may remember, we're the crazy family who feeds carrots to the wild bunnies every night.

Why? Originally, it started so the bunnies would stop eating my flowers. Now, it's so the bunnies won't eat my flowers AND because they're so darn cute hopping up to the back door and waiting for us to give them a carrot.

Over the past few days I've been working in the garden. Planted dozens of flowers--all of which are bunny friendly. One of these flowers--marigolds--are not particularly my favorite flower. But bunnies don't like them, and they have great color, so into the ground they go.

On the way to school this morning, Baby Girl and I were admiring all the color in the front flower bed. Yellow and orange marigolds, bright pink petunias. Very pretty.

On the way home, as I pulled into the driveway, I looked at those same flowers. AND ALL THE MARIGOLDS WERE GNAWED IN HALF. It was as if the bunny came along, said, "Ooh, a smorgasbord!" and went to town only to discover after one bite of each item that this particular buffet was not to his liking.

Oh, the betrayal. The pain. The wasted hours planting flowers.

Grrr.

Deep breath. So...my hope is that now that he's tasted he won't taste again. I'll be replanting today.

Is this a good plan? Or a prime example of the definition of insanity?

The Heather Moment of the Week

So, earlier this week, I was working on my newsletter getting it ready to send out. I'd typed up the text, collected links, etc. Finally, I was ready to upload it to my email program.

I went to Constant Contact typed in my user name and password and kept getting an error about one or both being incorrect.

Huh.

I searched my files looking for my password information and couldn't find anything. I apparently didn't save it. So I clicked the link that sends the info to forgetful users like me. And I wait and wait for it to show up in my inbox.

Nothing.

Huh.

By this time I'm starting to get cranky. Griping. Whining. It's not pretty.

And then...light bulb moment.

I don't use Constant Contact.

I use Vertical Response.

Yeah. Go ahead and laugh. It's okay. Welcome to my life.

Anyhoo, if you're not already signed up for my newsletter, the form is on the left side of this page, and here's a link to the newsletter than just went out this week if you want to take a peek: Heather Webber /Heather Blake News

The New Lucy Valentine Novel!

Whee! The new Lucy Valentine novel, Perfectly Matched, is here! 

The heat is on...

When Boston psychic Lucy Valentine finds herself involved with a group of eccentric mediums trying to fine tune their abilities, she is convinced a rare spring heat wave has flushed all the local crazies out of hiding.

Adding to her theory is her newest client in the Lost Loves division of Valentine, Inc., her family’s lucrative matchmaking firm. He’s an animal whisperer who hires Lucy to locate his soul mate—because his cat told him so. Finding his purrfect match, however, isn't as easy as it seems.

But craziest of all is the Beantown Burner, a serial arsonist who is targeting private eye Sam Donahue, brother of Lucy’s boyfriend, Sean. With the help of her kooky psychic group, Lucy must tap into hidden abilities to catch the firebug before the fires turn deadly. She never expected to discover that the motive behind the flames hits a little too close to home...and dangerously close to her heart.


Buy on:

Kindle

Barnes & Noble

And all other e-formats via Smashwords

Print version coming soon!

I hope all of you love this book as much as I do!

The Hand of Fate?

I was just sitting here thinking that since I was no longer on deadline (and what a crazy few weeks it's been), then maybe I should clean the house. It's been sadly neglected.

Then I checked my email and saw that the Amazon Local Deals program had sent me a note:

Half Off House Cleaning - Cincinnati

Fate??????

Nah.

It's just me being lazy...

The Envy

Ooh, the envy.

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I had a great day. Truly. Lots of love from my family. Pie. Good times.

So where does the envy come in?

This:

Baby Girl drew it as a gift for her grandmother.

And for a moment there, just the teensiest-tiniest second, I thought about snitching it for myself.

Really, can you blame me? How cute is that picture?

Anyway, I refrained and the present was treasured and is already at the store to get custom-framed and matted, so that made me feel good about not stealing it. :)

I did, however, get a copy of it. Smart, right? And, I can visit the original any time I want.

But the best news? Baby Girl is working on a painting of otters. Yes, otters (love, love, love, love!)

I've already called dibs...

The Random Acts

I’ve been reading and seeing a lot about random acts of kindness lately. People in the drive-thru who pay for the order of the car behind them, anonymous donations—that sort of thing.

And though I always try to be kind, being randomly kind is well, more random. A spur of the moment kind of thing—not something I plan for, really, but decide on the spot.

I also love being on the receiving end of random acts of kindness. It restores my faith in humanity, which after watching the evening news, is often lacking. I’m often cynical about people and their motives, so it’s a nice bop on my head when a stranger does something nice for me.

Happily, I was on the receiving end of a random act of kindness while I was in D.C. I’d just landed and was going to take the subway to the hotel. When I entered the Metro station, I approached a fare machine and stared at it, trying to decipher how to actually buy a fare card (not as easy as it might seem).

As I was standing there, a husband and wife approached me and asked if I needed a fare card. I nodded, and the man handed me a fare ticket. He and his wife had bought weeklong passes and didn’t need them anymore since they were flying out—there was still two days left of fare on it. His wife handed her ticket to a woman next to me. A simple act, but one I really appreciated. 

And while I was in D.C, I called home to check on my family, and my daughter told me a story about something that had happened to her at school that day. She’s been working on a painting of one of son # 2’s track shoes (a bright green track shoe that has holes for spikes). The day before she’d left her painting in the hallway on a rack to dry, and as she approached her classroom that day, she noticed something on top of her picture.

At first, she thought it was litter and was irritated, but as she got closer, she realized it wasn’t trash—it was treasure.

Someone left this note on her painting:

Notice that someone added to it? (It's hard to see but the bottom part says "Agreed!! -another person")

And then someone else left this:

"I also don't know you, however indeed I agree that you're shoe is great. -BilboBaggins"

My daughter was over the moon. Over. The. Moon. The fact that these notes were probably left by teenagers makes me ridiculously happy—random acts aren’t just for an older population. And I cracked up about the BilboBaggins, too. Gotta love teenagers (bad grammar and all).

It's time for Baby Girl and me to pay these acts forward, because you just never know when a fare ticket -- or a note of praise -- can make someone’s day so much brighter. 

--

PS: I'll post a picture of the shoe as soon as I can. The school keeps it for the big art show at the end of the year, but seeing as though there are only 17 days left of school (not that Baby Girl is counting), it shouldn't be too long. Stay tuned... 

The Heather Moment of the Week

(Heather moments are a little like I Love Lucy moments...)

Technically, I suppose this happened last week, but still. It counts.

The Heather moment of the week:

When I had to use the Tide Stain Stick that I packed for Malice Domestic...before I even left the house.

Can you say slob?

Btw, it worked on getting foundation off my white T-shirt.

The Wrap Up

Had an amazing time at the Malice Domestic conference. Met up with lots of friends (and met so many new ones!), chatted with wonderful readers, caught up with my agent and editor, and laughed a ton.

From my editor, I found out that the third Darcy Merriweather book will be out next April (the second comes out this August!). And, even more exciting, I found out the first Love Potion Shop mystery featuring witch Carly Hartwell will be out in November ’13. I can’t believe it already has a release date when it’s not fully written yet. So excited to get to Carly’s story. I *adore* those characters.

Friday night I went to my publisher’s dinner (where the publisher treats their authors to dinner), and had THE BEST caramel sundae ever. The whole meal was wonderful, but notice how I'm fixated on the dessert? LOL. To add to the amazing evening, author Penny Warner made necklaces for all the authors there. Here’s mine. Isn’t it fabulous?

Six of the seven Cozy Chicks were at Malice, too, and we were able to catch up and sign bookplates for our new cookbook, The Cozy Chicks Kitchen. If you order a cookbook, you can get a bookplate signed by all seven of us (Deb signed beforehand) to put inside the cover of your book to have an autographed copy. Just email cozychicks@gmail.com for a bookplate.

Stole this pic from Ellery Adams!
She's holding a copy of the cookbook. Isn't it cute?
In front, Maggie and Lorraine. In back, me, Leann and Ellery. Not pictured is
Kate Collins, who didn't arrive till after this pic was taken.

Here’s one of my favorite pics from the conference, taken by Sara J. Henry. It’s Dru Ann Love, Aimee Hix, and me. Loved hanging out with them—laughing the whole time.

Dru Ann, Aimee, and me.

Now I’m home and in the space of two days burned my finger and hurt my leg (not sure what’s going on with that). I have the Lucy Valentine book to finish and pass pages to do for A Witch Before Dying (did I mention it’s out in August?). Oh, and move my son home from college and try to figure out vacation plans... It’s nuts around here, but even though I had so much fun at Malice, I agree with Dorothy—there’s no place like home!

The Copout

It's late, and I'm zapped, so I promise a bigger post for tomorrow. A wrap up of my Malice trip...with some pics, too...

The Adventure

Leaving for Malice in a couple of hours. I'm flying this year, which is a bit of a departure--I usually drive. So am currently trying to stuff a trunk-load of stuff into a carry-on suitcase and mourning the fact that I can't bring my robe (love my robe).

Also been trying to figure out how to get from the airport to the hotel. After considering the $50 cab fare versus the subway, I think I'm taking the subway. I'm cheap frugal like that. I've never done the subway with a suitcase, so that ought to be interesting. And I always have trouble with fare cards. But in my mind, I'm going to pretend I'm on a leg of the Amazing Race...except without Phil waiting for me.

I'll let you know how it goes.

By the way, if you're watching the Amazing Race, how much do you love the Kentucky guys??? I adore them.

Okay, gotta go and figure out how much liquid stuff I can fit into a plastic baggie...

The Ring-a-Ling

I've been dealing with a case of tinnitus lately. It doesn't really cause any problems, except for being annoying once in a while.

Most of the time, I don't even notice it. Like when the TV is on, or there is other background noise that drowns it out.

But this morning, I woke up early, before my alarm, and I was just lying there, listening. Listening to the whir of the ceiling fan. The tick of the clock down the hall. The birds chirping.

And the ringing in my right ear. The sound this morning wasn't annoying at all, but almost pretty. It sounded a lot like crystal glass vibrating. A high-pitched ringing. It was like something you might hear in a symphony.

I suppose I should be grateful the ringing doesn't sound like a cowbell, right?

Not sure how long it will last, but I'm going to try and enjoy the symphony while it lasts--and not complain about how it sometimes keeps me up at night.

--

I'll be at Malice Domestic in Bethesda, Maryland later this week. Hope to see some of you there!

The Ta-da!

Here it is! The cover for Perfectly Matched, the newest Lucy Valentine novel! I'm still aiming for a May 15th release date. Keep your fingers crossed. Am writing like a crazy woman...

Isn't it so pretty!? Huge thanks to cover artist Laura Morrigan. She's amazing.

Here's the cover copy for the book, too. Just a little tease to tide you over:

The heat is on...

  When Boston psychic Lucy Valentine finds herself involved in a group of eccentric psychics trying to learn more about their abilities, she is convinced a rare spring heat wave has flushed the crazies out of hiding.

 Adding to her theory is her newest client in the Lost Loves division of Valentine, Inc., her family’s lucrative matchmaking firm. He’s an animal communicator who hires Lucy to find his purrfect mate—because his cat told him so.

 But craziest of all is The Beantown Burner, a serial arsonist who is targeting private eye Sam Donahue, the brother of Lucy’s boyfriend, Sean. With the help of her kooky psychic group, Lucy must tap into abilities she didn’t know she had to catch the firebug before the fires turn deadly. What she never expected to discover is that the motive behind the flames hits a little too close to home...and her heart.

Anyone else as excited as I am??? I love Lucy!

So happy to be part of this cookbook with the other Cozy Chicks. Many of my characters (from Nina to Lucy to Darcy and lots of their family and friends) contributed anecdotes and recipes. It's a fun read with lots of yummy thrown in. Available in print and Kindle at Amazon and also on the Nook. Happy reading & cooking!