Oh, you've been away?

Yes, indeed, I have been away.  I've been in North Carolina and Virginia and the points in between.

I must admit, I did not enjoy NC.  All I did was work with Jackie Ivie in her newest Vampire Assassin League novella...which is rough and tumble to be sure, but not too bloody.  I also helped Shelley Noble plot out her newest mystery.  While I was at it, I finished up Dead Meat, getting it ready for Charity to put up on Amazon, once Karyn is done with the cover.
She told me today she's not happy with what she has so far.
I'm going to check to see what's up with that.

While I was away, I made too many observations about people.

You know?  I think I am prejudiced after all.  I'm prejudiced against deliberately stupid people.

A word from my buddy, Charity

South Beach sizzles as two determined and courageous sisters explore their attraction to two very handsome and successful men.  Join Connie and Carmen on their sexy, emotional, and humorous journey to find love and reach for their dreams.

 

NOW AND ALWAYS

 

Romantic Times: 4 Stars - Pineiro "ignites her own brand of Miami heat in this sexy and humorous romance."

 

Connie Gonzalez is a driven, ambitious woman who is one of the FBI’s best agents and determined to prove herself in a man’s world. Assigned to the Miami Bureau, Connie soon finds herself going undercover in Miami's glamorous South Beach area. An injury throws her together with the very rich and tempting Dr. Victor Cienfuegos. Victor is everything Connie should avoid, but despite the risks of her work and allowing any distractions, Connie cannot deny the attraction between herself and the sexy physician. Will danger keep them apart or is their love strong enough to survive for now and always?

 

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FAITH IN YOU

 

Affaire de Coeur: Pineiro "pens a truly charming . . . romance . . . Her lively writing style makes this . . . romance a page-turner. "

 

Paul Stone accepts Connie Gonzalez’s invitation to join her for a traditional and fun-filled Christmas Eve dinner. Paul is instantly captivated by her intriguing kid sister. Carmen Gonzalez is leery of the self-assured FBI agent whose upscale upbringing provided him with all he ever needed. . .except love. After a fast-paced courtship, Paul and Carmen are ready to walk down the aisle, blissfully unaware that fate – and their own secret fears – will test their fragile commitment long before they make it to the altar . . . .

 

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And now for something completely different

We're expecting company from Scotland this week.  I'm getting rather excited.  I love listening to the burr, first of all, and next, I love listening to someone else tell stories!  Let's face it. I'm pretty much stuck in the house because of saving gas money and not being able to walk too far or too fast and the heat, so the complaints of my family become rather tiresome.
But we will have a relative stranger sleeping on our new sofa bed, eating at our table...and she's a woman, so she'll be bound to talk.  And I am an expert at bringing out the chattiness in people.
Ask anyone.

I ought to read up on Scotland a bit.  Though I did plenty of studying for In Deep, the unpublished story that takes place at Loch Ness, there are some dates that should be memorized...such as Culloden and Sean Connery's birthday.

My knowledge of Scottish cookery goes only as far as the highlander historical novels I used to inhale.  I sincerely doubt anybody cooks bannocks on a heated rock any longer, not when there are stoves for that purpose.  Haggis, well, I don't think that that is mentioned in polite circles.  Yep, that's about all I know about food in Scotland that isn't like food in England.

I know kids get milk money every month until they are five or so...so the kiddies won't starve, I suppose.  Nice thought.  Although the parents could probably waste the money on drink should they get hold of it.  There's no maid who takes the milk money and make sure the kiddies get proper food.  That's up to the mother and if she's a sot, well, there you are then.  Poor kiddies.

And the weather is poorly most of the time.  Rainy mists in the glen and highland.  Pipers in the rain.  Kilts.  Heather.  Fishing in the lochs.  Nessie.

I will refrain from bringing up the monster.  I promise I will.  Maybe, if the woman is lucky, she will be out with my daughters and won't have to tolerate me at all.

Long haul

Well, I am glad to say that Dead Meat is finished.  All it needs is a cover and away we go.

This is the sequel or second part to my Dead Guys trilogy. 
I've had it with vampires being heroes.  They're not nice, no matter how you might make them out to be.  If they are nice, they aren't vampires.

So, my hero is a lignarius, a vampire disposer.  Slayer and hunter and killer have been overused and right away people think he's the bad guy, when in reality, he's the good guy!  His own parents were victims of vampires...his father was killed by one and his mother, grief stricken beyond sense, killed herself, leaving Jim Ryan on his own at a young age.
Luckily, his father was in the military in Germany.  Somebody knew somebody and Jim was taken to live with Jesuits who at first thought he would become one of them. But his anger ran too deep for him to be a priest.  Instead, he was trained to be a lignarius (Latin for carpenter or one who fixes things) whose job it is to rid the world of vampires.  He is one of a long line of people who performed this job and he is really good at it.

In the first novella, he disposes of a female vampire then meets her twin sister, who is not a vampire.  He is attracted to her in a way he does not understand because Jim is a virgin, not because it is part of his job restriction, it is something he thought was part of it.  Turns out, his job does not require physical as well as mental purity.

Jim falls in love immediately with the vampire's sister.  Love gives enemies hostages, though, something Jim has never felt before, never experiences before.

He is in love, though, and willing to do whatever it takes to win her heart.

Even if he is The Lignarius.

Further adventures soon in Dead Meat, to be followed by Still Dead by next year.

After the storm

We spent two days on Long Beach Island.  The lower half got hit hard by the most recent storm, Sandy.  Many, many houses were destroyed or damaged beyond repair.  I have photos of some of them but will have to get them from husband's camera.

This is a postcard from the upper part of the island, a long time ago.  This is where the bonfire was lit to celebrate V-J day. Keep that in mind for my next book.

Help wanted: Lignarius

A bit more from Dead Meat.

Hell.  Another mess to clean up.  This one would have to be reported to the police.  It was a good thing he’d already presented himself to them and they were aware of his business in their fair city.  They would clean it up about the driver as best they could, keep the press from getting nosy, making sure no one at the hotel got curious. But if the poor man was married, had a family…it wasn’t his business…others handled that.

His sole purpose was disposing of vampires.

Unreanimating the reanimated.

Others took care of legal.

Someone higher up took care of the family in some way, should it be necessary.

Somebody else got rid of the dead meat.

An excerpt from Dead Meat, sequel to Dead Dreams

She poured ice water into her glass from a cut glass pitcher, took a long swallow, and appeared to gather her wits.

“I’ve been a minister’s wife for over forty years. I’ve helped at funerals, baptisms and even births.  Here I thought I’d just about seen it all.  But, just give me a little time to collect myself, Jim.  I'll be all right.  I’ve got to think of something to help you get to this child before something terrible happens to her.”

       Abertha cocked her head in thought.  He could tell when she thought of something and the instant she decided against it.  She shook her head just a bit…a poker tell if there ever was one. He smiled at her concentration and her effort, though. 
        “Everything I can think of that would lure a child out of hiding has a negative side to it.  I have lectured children against strangers offering them candy, or asking for help to find a lost puppy.  Come for a ride in my shiny new car…I won’t hurt you…they’re classic things bad people do when they want to harm kids.”
        “I just want to help her.”  He raised his shoulders in a helpless shrug.
         Abertha’s face lit up.  “I think I have an idea,” she pronounced with more than just a note of triumph.  “I'll go with you.”
         Jim shook his head. “I can’t get you involved, Abertha.  These vampires are vicious.  If they should see you or overhear you talking with Bailey, you’d be marked for sure.”
         “Pish tosh.” 
         “No, I really can’t ask this of you.  There has to be some other way, we just haven’t thought of it yet.”
         The woman straightened in her chair.  “Not alone.  You’d be right there with me.  You’re the man who kills vampires. I know you can protect me.  You’ve been fightin’ the devil for a long time.  I’ve tried in my own way, but never felt I’d done much good.  The Reverend, he knows how to send Satan back where he comes from, but I’ve only just stood by and watched.  I know I can get that little girl out of this terrible situation.  I have a way with children.”
         She added a nod of finality and caught Jim’s eyes with her own.  He saw that she meant business.
         So he raised his hands in surrender.