Good Intentions

When I said last time that I was taking breaks between the to-do list tasks, I didn't intend on a two week break, but last weekend's to-do list got away from me, as well as everything that I had on the list for during the work-week. Sorry about that. This summer altogether has been pretty off-track, so I'm aiming for a reset. I took a big chunk of today to finish a re-read of a favorite book I started yesterday in between ticking things off my to-do list--not a whole lot of things I can get accomplished while sitting in the waiting area at the garage while the car inspection is happening, but reading is one of those things, as well as a tiny bit of writing. Right now, I should be thinking about supper, but instead I'm here, and thinking about grabbing some take-out for dinner so I can get a couple more things done this evening, so I'm ready for that reset starting tomorow to kick off the new month.

The next big thing on the list (aside from the ongoing photo scanning project and revisions), is prepping for the big Books Books Books event coming up on Saturday, September 27 in Lancaster, PA! I was looking at the seating chart yesterday, and there are so many awesome authors who will be there, including some of my writing buddies. I can't wait to see them and all of you who will be there. My checklist is here on my desk, and I've marked a couple things off already so by the time the 27th rolls around, I won't have to worry about anything else but getting my table set up and prepping to see everyone. Will you be there, too?

So I can get back to my to-do list (including a newsletter with more signing details, have you signed up yet?), I have a snippet for you this week from Protecting Medusa.

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            Philomena parked beside her mother’s house. She’d arrived first, and she needed to get dinner on in a hurry. Once Jason got home, she’d be too distracted to focus on cooking.

            She went in the back door, balancing a grocery bag while she reset the alarm, then hit the light switch with her elbow as she continued into the kitchen.

            She took her mother’s cast iron skillet from its hook over the counter and put it on the stove, turning the heat to high and dropping in some ground beef before she shed her coat. As she put away the rest of the groceries, the meat began to sizzle.

            She rolled up her sleeves and dug a spatula out of the utensil drawer, but froze when she heard a creak from upstairs. She waited, then shook her head. It was a hundred year-old farmhouse. 

            She stirred the beef in the pan, adding chopped onions she’d picked up at the store--not out of laziness but because she knew she needed to move quickly after three days away and with an excitable six-year-old on his way home. She could take time tomorrow to do her own prep work for dinner.

            The sound came again from upstairs. She set the spatula on the spoon rest and turned the flame under her pan down to low, then tugged up the hem of her long skirt to pull her dagger from its leather sheath on her thigh.

            A loud thud reached her ears, and her heart beat faster.

            Dear Gods, someone really was in the house.

            She crept up the back steps, keeping to the edges where she knew her weight wouldn’t make the stairs creak, the smooth handle of her long knife comforting in her sweat-damp hand.

            More thumping, accompanied by running water.

            She frowned when she got to the top of the steps, wincing as something hit the porcelain bathtub, followed by muffled cursing.

            She stuck her head around the corner, but the partially-closed bathroom door at the other end of the hall blocked her view. All she could see were shadows.

            Two people? In her mother’s bathroom? She wished she’d grabbed the phone on her way up so she could call the police. No, she should’ve called before coming upstairs. Too late now.

            More thumping and a crash.

            Her jaw clenched, and she stepped into the hallway, her pulse pounding in her ears.

            “I’ve called the police,” she lied, moving slowly along the hall. Frigid air drifted toward her. Either the bathroom window was open, or something was seriously wrong with the furnace. She frowned, holding tighter to her knife.

            A dark blur went out the window, and her eyes widened. It was quite a drop to the ground, even with all the snow mounded below from the big storms so far this winter.

            When a large, naked man with a gun went to look out the window, she froze in the middle of the hall, her dagger shoulder high.

            Naked. 

            She swallowed, and then he turned around. Her lungs stopped working.

            “Hello, Philomena. Have I ever told you how much I love a woman who can handle a blade?” He caught the edge of the door and pulled it wide open.

            She’d know that voice anywhere, and that face, even if she’d only seen him in photos. Ryder Ware, Jason’s father.

            And wow, was she seeing him in person. 

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The weather here the last week has been lovely, nice and cool overnight, and not too hot during the day. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the too-high temps and humidity, but this has been a nice break, and I'm glad to have an extended weekend to enjoy a little bit of it--we went to a baseball game last night, and the weather was perfect. Maybe I'll take my revisions outside tomorrow for a little while to enjoy the end of the holiday weekend. After I get the rest of the indoor chores done, that is.

Have you wrapped up your August goals list yet? Worked out your September plans? I'd love to hear how you did!

Until next week, happy reading!