November Reset

It's November first as I'm writing this week's post. A bit warm outside for this time of year, but I guess that's our new normal, unfortunately. It's still a pretty day out, sunny and a little bit of a breeze, plus we went back to standard time last night, finally! I have some garden clean-up I could be doing, but I'm finishing up this weekend's to-do list, and that didn't make the cut. Haha. That's okay, it can wait a little longer.

The beginning of the month means new goals, too. I've spent some time looking at that in the past week, looking at my goals for the year, for this last quarter, and deciding on something realistic. The original goals for the year went by the wayside months ago, and I'm conceding the revised goals aren't going to be doable at this point either, so I've made peace with that. The next two months are always non-stop, between day-job and holidays, so I'm giving myself a break for a change. I'm not saying I haven't given myself any writing goals for November (or December), but they're achievable goals. I can get back to the actual goals in January, new year-fresh start as usual. For the rest of this year, I'm not going to make myeslf feel bad for not getting things done as I would in a normal month, that's all.

One of the things on this month's list is prep for my last event of the year, the Yuletide Bookish Market on Saturday, November 21, 2026. This will be lots of fun, plenty of authors who write all sorts of romances, as well as non-romances. A bunch of my writing friends will be there with me, and I hope you will be, too. You can find more information on the Events page via the link at the top of the page.

Now before I go back to my last few weekend to-dos, I have a snippet for you this week from Hunting Medusa.

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When his phone rang, he took it from his pocket absently and thumbed the on button without looking at the screen. “Yes?”

“Kallan.”

His burgeoning smile vanished. “Stavros.”

“Have you found her yet?”

“No.” He glanced at her when her quizzical gaze lifted from the stove to meet his.

“I’m getting closer. My information is looking good. I’ve found an excellent prospect, dropped out of college right after the last Medusa died and has never married.”

His heart stopped beating. He couldn’t tell his cousin the problem facing them. He didn’t want any of his cousins coming here. Especially not this cousin. And not just because he didn’t want him to know Kallan had found her and not killed her.

“Everything I’ve found points to one of several women in Maine.”

Kallan shut his eyes. Stavros had found the same clues he had followed. Dammit. “Ah. My leads are suggesting Ohio, actually. The young woman I was tracking in Oklahoma moved here six months ago and changed her name. Single, reclusive for the last eight years or so, according to everyone I’ve spoken to so far.” He opened his eyes in time to see Andrea’s jaw drop. He winked at her.

“Hm. Well, you should follow your own information while I will follow up on mine. One of us will find her this time, take her head.”

He clenched his jaw for a second. “Where are you now? Maybe we can pool resources. Compare notes.”

“I’m in New York, but I’m heading out tomorrow to drive to Maine. I should be able to narrow down these threads to one location in the next day or two.”

Just in time for her PMS to really kick in.

Kallan smiled grimly. If his cousin walked into that, it would be bad. For Stavros. “Oh, what a shame. Maybe next time.”

“Sure. After this one is found and eliminated. I’ve got to go. I’m meeting someone who may have better information for me.”

He shut his phone off and stuffed it back in his pocket. “Bad news, Medusa.”

“You tried to send him to Ohio?” She still stared at him, confusion in her blue eyes. “Don’t you think reinforcements would be a good thing for you?”

He shrugged. “Stavros has never been one to wait until he has all the information he needs for a job, and I’d prefer he went somewhere else right now. Unfortunately, he’s heading this way.”

Her cheeks paled, and she dropped her gaze to the frying pan before she stirred the food there.

“He’ll be here just in time for you to turn him to stone, if he’s being honest about his timing.”

“If?” She looked up, fear shadowing her bright eyes.

He rubbed at the back of his neck, hoping to dissipate some of the tension gathering there. “He isn’t always.” And that was far from the worst thing about his character.

“So now I have two killers after me.” She swallowed. “Fantastic.”

Kallan glared at her, even though he knew she had a point—he had come here to kill her. “Thanks.”

“I’m being honest, even if your cousin isn’t.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug and set down the spatula.

The scent of their meal filled the space between them, but he ignored it for now. “How about some honesty from me? I’m known for not lying, which is why he’ll believe I’m in Ohio. I am not going to let him kill you.”

She snorted. “Until you get the amulet.”

He clenched his jaw harder and wondered how much more it would take to crack a tooth. He couldn’t even protest, as that was his ultimate goal—to collect the amulet that protected the Medusa’s offspring so the world could know them for the monsters they were. To make it easier for his cousins to find and eliminate them all.

Except Andrea wasn’t a monster.

And he wasn’t at all sure now that he could kill her. He never should have given in to the attraction between them.

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Are you thinking about your goals for the month and the rest of the year this week, too? Are you on track, or behind like me? More importantly, are you getting in some reading time this week? I'd love to hear about it!

Until next week, happy reading!