Happy New Year 2009!

Often the New Year brings resolutions, goals, and pledges we hope to fulfill throughout the coming 12 months. I must admit, I’m not really big on New Year's resolutions. Over the years, I've made resolutions, probably the same ones most of you have made, lose weight, save more money, get more organized, etc. etc. But often they go to the wayside as daily life settles in and overall, life happens.

The thing I like to do on New Year’s Day is look at last year’s calendar. It’s a quick snap shot of all the wonderful dates, appointments, and special events that happened throughout the year. And is verification of the goals I did have, and how I completed them. No, they may not have been New Years resolutions, but at sometime throughout the year I had pledged to be at these events, or I wouldn’t have written them on the calendar. I find this small activity a wonderful affirmation of how full of life the year truly had been. And it gets me excited to think of all the wonderful opportunities the New Year brings.

I wish you all a very happy New Year, full of happiness, good health, love, and great success!

Cheers.

Merry Christmas 2008

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday! The festivities are soon to begin here at our house, and Papa and I are anxiously waiting for Isabelle to arrive.

Google alerts have been filling my in box. Shotgun Bride, The Quinter Brides Book 1, is on the Fictionwise Bestselling list and every link to it has Google sending me a notice. It’s been very exciting! I sincerely hope readers are enjoying the story.

I finished my treat making last night, and here is a very easy, wonderful recipe that my family loves:

Mock Butterfingers
Cheez-It Crackers
Peanut butter
Chocolate Almond Bark

Place a dollop of peanut butter between two Cheez-It Crackers and dip in melted chocolate almond bark. Let dry.

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Happy Holidays!

The cards are done, decorating is done, most of the shopping is done, still have some baking to do because I want it fresh for the 24th, but overall I’m ready for the Holiday’s to descend the house. We will be celebrating Isabelle’s 2nd birthday on Sunday at her house, then have Christmas Eve here, and Christmas day at our other son’s house. Yes, it will be a busy week! But wonderful and various other family members will be at the different events.

On the writing side of things…I received another review for Shotgun Bride. Love Western Romances gave it four spurs. Reviewer Carol says, “An uplifting novel, full of hope…I can’t wait to read the sequels.” And speaking of sequels, I signed the contract for book 2, Badland Bride! Over the holidays I’m hoping to get the manuscript information sheet completed so I can send it back to my editor when she returns from Christmas break.

I also received the release dates for Rancher McBride (May 13, 2009) and Doctor McBride (May 20, 2009). My beta reader finished my Texas Ranger story, The Wedding Plan, and really liked it, but I want to do a bit more work on it before submitting it, and the 3rd Quinter book, Boot Hill Bride, is about half finished. I am hoping to get some writing done on it between Christmas and New Years.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season full of blessings!

FREE CHRISTMAS READ

If you wondered about reading an e-book, here’s your chance to try.

My free read, Yes, Genevieve, There is a Santa Claus, is available at The Wild Rose Press. Here’s the blurb:

It’s Christmas Eve, and widow Genevieve Turner is at her wits end, no longer believes in Christmas miracles. But neighbor Simon Larsen does, and drives a toy-filled wagon through a blizzard to prove it.

It’s only 12 pages long and is rated Sweet.

Cheers!

Authors Tea

Last night I had the honor of being the guest speaker for an Author’s Tea in Osseo. My daughter-in-law and mother attended the event with me to help with book sales. We had an absolutely wonderful time! There were about 70 people in attendance. I not only sold several copies of all of my books, but was amazed at the number of people who already owned books and brought them in for me to sign.

I’ve also received two more reviews for Shotgun Bride, The Quinter Brides Book One. Coffee Time Romance gave it four cups, and reviewer, Cherokee says, “This firecracker of a story should not to be missed.” And The Long and Short of it Reviews gave it four and half books. Reviewer Lilac says, “Shotgun Bride is an absorbing tale...”

The Long and Short of It Reviews also sent me an email that said, “Your story "­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Shotgun Bride" was reviewed by us this week and is up for Best Book honor this weekend (voting runs from Saturday, 12/6, through Sunday, 12/7).” So if you have a chance this weekend, please stop over at LASR and vote!

A little bit of everything....

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We certainly did. The kids and their families were all here, and we ate two turkeys! LOL. One at noon, the other at six. In between meals the kids went out and cut down Christmas trees, so I’m hoping to get ours up this week…Along with several other things, such as cards, shopping, wrapping, you know, the whole Christmas gamut, which includes a couple of those wonderful Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies! Yes, December has arrived. Yeah!

My free read, Yes, Genevieve, There is a Santa Claus, should appear sometime this month at The Wild Rose Press.

On Thursday I have the Author Tea for Osseo Community Education. I’m looking forward to the event.

When I turned on my computer this morning, I had a nice surprise… My first review for Shotgun Bride, The Quinter Brides Book 1! WRDF reviewer Joanne Hall says, “Lauri Robinson has rustled up a highly enjoyable read…” If you have a moment, check out the full review. This is the first time I’ve been reviewed by this site, and had never heard of them before.

Last week I received the covers for my two short stories, Rancher McBride and Doctor McBride. The third story, Sheriff McBride is part of the Outlaw and Lawmen anthology. These will be released in May/June of 2009.

I also received a phone call from a book club interested in reading An April to Remember as soon as it’s released in April 2009. They have requested twenty copies, and scheduled me to speak to their group in August. It’s sure to be a lot of fun.

One final note...On Thursday I’ll post a blog on The Cactus Rose of The Wild Rose Press Blog, so stop by to hear more about frontier weddings.

Thanks for stopping, and have a great week!

Do, delegate, dump...

I have the house alone this weekend, and should be busy getting every thing in order for Thanksgiving, but once again, the computer calls and here I sit working on the next Quinter Brother book instead of scrubbing floors and cleaning closets. I’m having supper with a friend tonight, and have my writing group meeting tomorrow, which means Sunday I’ll have to scrub and clean. Then again, I do not believe anyone has died from a messy closet, and I know I’ll have to mop again before company arrives (living with three dogs in Minnesota guarantees the floors will need to be scrubbed again before Thursday), so perhaps I’ll get a little writing done on Sunday as well.

A short time ago I was told to make my life easier I should adopt the three D policy. Do it. Delegate it. Or Dump it. Since I’m historically a Do It type person (just to get it over with) this policy sounded a bit harsh. But, I’ve never liked To Do lists, so the more I think about it, the more doable this policy becomes. Would life be simpler if every morning I looked at what needed to be done and assigned it to one of the D’s? The jury is still out, I’ll have to think about it a bit more, but for today, I think I’ll delegate the floor scrubbing to happen on Sunday night.

On the writing side of things…I signed two contracts this week. Rancher McBride and Doctor McBride are two short stories that will be released in May or so. The third McBride story, Sheriff McBride will be released in June as one of four stories in the Lawmen and Outlaws Anthology by authors from The Wild Rose Press. I finished my Texas Ranger story, The Marriage Plan, and sent it to my ‘beta’ reader for an overall critique before preparing to submit it anywhere. I’m also writing the speech I will be giving at the Author’s Tea on December 4th in Osseo, MN, and of course the Quinter Boys are still vying for their stories to get completed. Oh, and the Quickie Magazine purchased my short story Jailed for publication in their upcoming magazine, and asked for more…All of this tells me my To Do list for writing is longer and taking precedence over floor scrubbing.

How about you, are you a To Do person, or more of a three D’s person?

I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving, and here is a little turkey quiz to see how well you know your bird!

New Release--Shotgun Bride

Shotgun Bride, The Quinter Brides Book One was released this morning from The Wild Rose Press. The print version will become available in February 2009.

Kid, the oldest Quinter brother didn’t want a wife, didn’t have time for a wife, but all that changed the night his brothers knocked him unconscious and hauled him to his mother’s house. Tied to a chair, he had little choice but to marry the girl held at gun point in Ma Quinter’s kitchen. And that’s just the beginning. His new wife can’t even cook, and almost burns down his house attempting to learn how.

I’m currently working on the third book, Boot Hill Bride, (working title, subject to change upon contracting). This story also begins with a ‘shotgun’ wedding, and is set in the number one Old West town, Dodge City, Kansas.

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!

Authors...

There is something about authors, that when you get together you just can’t seem to stop talking. I met John Koblas today for coffee, and four hours later, we finally left the restaurant!

John Koblas has written over 60 non-fiction books and has prolific knowledge on the outlaw gangs of America. One of his books, The Jesse James Northfield Raid: Confessions of the Ninth Man, has been filmed as documentary. Jesse James has long been known as one of the most daring, most wanted, and most controversial outlaws of The Wild West History. This book is full of little known, interesting facts, as well as theories still in question. Mr. Koblas said he wrote the screen play for the movie and that the ‘shoot out’ scene at the Northfield Bank lasted little more than seven minutes in real life, however, in the film, it goes on for over half an hour. That’s Hollywood, right?

It was fascinating to visit with such an eclectic writer, and to compare fiction/non-fiction writing, including the need for accuracy in the western historical romance genre. He was interested in the research I did for An April to Remember, and it was so cool to talk with someone who knew so much about the Sultana, most people have never heard of the riverboat disaster.

If you ever have a chance to hear his lecture on the James/Younger Gang I highly recommend it, and know you will be in awe with his research.


One final note: Shotgun Bride, The Quinter Brides Book One will be released this Friday, November 14th from The Wild Rose Press in e-book. The print version is scheduled to be released in February 2009.

An April to Remember

I received the release date for An April to Remember. Both the e-book and print version will become available on April 3, 2009.

This book came about in October of 2006 when we went to Memphis to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Graceland was wonderful, Sun Studios, unforgettable, but if anyone travels to Memphis, I would highly recommend taking a river boat ride. During our trip on the Island Queen, the tour guide, “Rooster,” shared the remarkable story of the Sultana, a river boat which exploded near Memphis in 1865. More passengers perished in this accident than any other maritime disaster including the Titanic. However, due to the time of its demise, (the same month Lee surrendered and President Lincoln was assassinated) the story of this remarkable ship was swept into history along with many other Civil War tragedies.

Upon our return home, I couldn’t get the ship out of my mind, and began to research the Sultana. I was amazed and somewhat overwhelmed by all the information. While trying to hold as much history as possible, I began to create a romance story around the ship’s fatal voyage. It was my son Dallas, who gave me the title. He’s a history buff, and while discussing the story he suggested I change the name of my heroine to April and title the story An April to Remember.

The actual demise of the ship remains in controversy even today—some claim it was a coal torpedo, and some claim it was a faulty boiler. (You’ll have to read the story to see what happens in my version.)

I’ll be blogging at The Wild Rose Press Cactus blog this Thursday, so please stop by and leave a comment to be entered in a contest for an e-book of Shotgun Bride that I will give away on November 14th.

Happy Halloween!

We don’t get many trick or treaters, so therefore plan on driving up to our son’s house to be with our granddaughter. She will be a ‘princess’ for Halloween. Here is a picture of our other grandchild, Bear. The cape and bat ears don’t show up in the picture, but he has them on as well.

The author event at the Library was wonderful. Mr. Koblas is a wealth of information in the outlaw genre, and his lecture about Jesse James was remarkable. Two short interesting things he shared about gang members: Cole and Jim Younger were both arrested after the failed raid on the Northfield, MN bank, and were incarcerated at the Stillwater, MN prison. When a fire broke out in the prison, a warden gave Cole a gun, told him to get his men, and rescue the women prisoners from the raging fire. The Younger ‘Boys’ saved the women and then turned in their guns and continued to serve their time. The warden played a large role in the Cole and Jim receiving parole. However, during this time when a man was on parole, he had no rights, and Jim Younger had fallen in love. After requesting permission to marry the young women, and denied the right (being on parole was the same as being dead, and a dead man couldn’t marry), Jim shot himself. (Living together in those days was not an option.)

The Northern Lights Writers retreat weekend was fabulous. The planning committee did a terrific job and provided three wonderful days dedicated to the ins, outs, and all about romance writing. And of course we had enough food and chocolate to feed a small country!

John Koblas

I’m a member of my local library board, and each fall we provide an author’s dinner. This year our featured author is John Koblas. Mr. Koblas has written over 500 short stories, articles, and poems published worldwide, a nationally syndicated column, and feature stories for the Daytona Beach News-Journal. He is also one of the most prolific writers in the outlaw genre. The event is this Thursday night, where John will appear in authentic “Jessie James” 1890’s clothing.

AND on Friday, I leave for my writers retreat. Twelve members of the Northern Lights Writers will spend the weekend at a Bed and Breakfast on the North Shore, talking about nothing except ROMANCE WRITING!

It’s an exciting week for me. How about you?

Vote 08

I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, try to convince you which party is right or wrong, which candidate will make better decisions, or begin to justify the billions of dollars spent on elections across the United States. But I am going to ask you to please, please get out and vote.

The presidential election in November 1920 was the first time women in all states were allowed to exercise their right to vote. Only one woman from the 1848 convention, where the right was first proposed, was still alive. Charlotte Woodward was eighty-one years old when she proudly cast her vote—72 years after the battle began.

The right wasn’t gained easily—women were incarcerated, beaten, tortured, and murdered. It was a long and bloody battle, one that is often overlooked or forgotten when Election Day rolls around.

I touch on this issue in Mail Order Husband, where readers are introduced to Victoria Claflin-Woodhull, the first woman to run for the Presidency. The Equal Rights Party nominated her in 1872. The book also mentions how Woodhull spent Election Day in jail.

The women who initiated and fought for decades for this right weren’t fighting for themselves. They fought for women kind, so future generations would have more say, more opportunities to live a life of equality.

So in 2008—88 years after the right was granted, I’m asking all women to please respect the women who changed our lives. Honor their trials, tribulations and deaths by voting.

A final voting tidbit—Mickey Mouse, via write in lines on ballots, has won elections across the United States. The cartoon character has won everything from school board elections to state Governor. The only election he hasn’t won is the Presidency of the United States. The fact that an 80-year-old mouse (no matter how loveable he is) wins any election should be an embarrassment to all political parties, and not what I believe our foremothers fought for.

Vote in 08! Put your mark on the ballet and proudly wear your little red stickers!

Hobbies

A hobby is something a person does for enjoyment and can range from collecting bugs to racing race cars and anything in between. What may be a hobby to one person may be a job or career for another. Hobbies can change, and people can have many hobbies without being solely dedicated to just one. I myself have many hobbies, (besides writing romance). I like to sew, knit, crochet, garden, read (romance novels), NASCAR, antiques, wood crafts, and volunteering in the community besides several other things. Here’s a picture of my antique stove in my dining room.

Hobbies have been as long as man. Many of the discoveries in our world actually came from someone with a dedicated hobby. Space findings, medicines, sports, games, plants, recipes, appliances, vehicles, occupations, the list goes on and on.

When I was growing up a friend of my father built replica train depots. He’d traveled across the United States and spend days measuring a station, then go home and build it to scale for display in his basement. He said he’d been doing it since he was a small boy.

Hobbies have been on my mind this week because I read fewer and fewer children truly have hobbies anymore. The article said video games have taken over where model cars kits, kite flying, card collecting, and various other hobby type entertainments used to flourish. The average age of a person taking up their first ‘hobby’ is in their thirties. The article made me sad. Where are the new innovations going to come from? What happen to the young scientist in the basement? Or the future fashion model sewing clothes for Barbie?

As a child, one of my favorite hobbies was writing. Every once in awhile my mother will show me another story, book, or poem I’d written years ago, and ironically, she’d saved. What about you? What was your favorite hobby growing up? And are you still involved in it?

Fall is in the air.

Well, I had to dig out a fall jacket today. (Big sigh.) And worse than that is the fact I have to find winter storage for ‘Sissy’ to be locked up in all winter. I don’t want to drive her on the salty, sandy, icy, Minnesota winter roads, but I REALLY don’t want to not drive her! Aw, such is life.

It is also campaign time at United Way, and fall also means hunting season, so besides being extremely busy at work, life on the home front will be chaotic as well. I also have to devote time to getting the yard, garden, house and sauna ready for the long winter months. This is a picture of a bottle in the woods near the hunting shack. It's been there for years and I can't believe a critter of some kind hasn't broken it.

On the bright side, I do tend to get more writing done in the winter (once the guys finally head out to hunt one type of animal or another), and I’m really looking forward to that. I have a Texas Ranger in my head who’s impatiently waiting for his story to be told. (He buys a wife from an orphanage and then kidnaps her off a train.) I’ve been doing bits of research on Texas Rangers and the sand hills of Nebraska in preparation of writing his story, which is very interesting, but not enough to quiet him down. A day or two to devote to the outline of his tale will be heaven!

On Thursday I will post on The Wild Rose Press Cactus Rose Blog about marrying Little Joe Cartwright, so please stop by!

Mustang Fans

In honor of Mustang lovers across the Universe, I must post the following poem written by a wonderful young man, Chad McCaskill:

A Tribute to My Untamed Love
She wore a shiny black coat,
I saw her through the crowd.
She hummed as I passed her way
A sweet tune. She wasn't loud.
She was very popular with the guys.
She'd take them for a drive.
Untamed like a mustang on the plains
She made me more alive.
Only one key was for the heart
Of dear Shelby so I'll wait,
Until the day that she is mine
and I can rev up her V8.

AH…I do believe I have found the man of my dreams. Too bad I married the love of my life almost thirty years ago. Oh, well, I’m quite sure Chad has all the young fillies he can handle.

Cheers!

LAURI R

The personalized license plates for my car arrived this week. LAURI was taken so I had to go with LAURI R. I still can’t believe I did it. I have never been a fan of personalized plates, but always told my sons when I finally bought my Mustang I was going to put my name on it so they wouldn’t want to borrow her. And as a parent, I had to stick to my words even though they are all grown and probably will never even WANT to borrow ‘mom’s car’ anymore. I went one step further and got plate covers from The Wild Rose Press, so above my name it says Romance Novelist and their website across the bottom. Problem is now I can’t even convince my husband to drive it to the gas station. LOL.

My story, Sheriff McBride was picked to be one of the four in the new Cactus Rose anthology, Outlaws and Lawmen from The Wild Rose Press. I am so excited about this opportunity to work with three other Cactus Rose authors, Karyna DaRosa, Loretta Rogers, and Linda Carroll-Bradd.

Karyna and Loretta will write about the outlaws and Linda and I about the lawmen. Our Senior Editor says the stories will appeal to all western readers—they range from somewhat spicy to sweet and are all unique.

New Blog

The Cactus Rose line at The Wild Rose Press had created a new blog for their authors, www.twrpcactusrose.blogspot.com. The Cactus Roses are historical westerns (American stories set in the 1800’s west of the Mississippi). Check it out when you have a chance. I’m sure you’ll enjoy hearing about the stories and authors in this line.

I finished a short story to submit to the new anthology The Wild Rose Press will be releasing next June titled Lawmen and Outlaws. My story is Sheriff McBride. The story is about a small town lawman who is convinced the woman who recently arrived in Blue Spring, KS is running from something, but he’s quite shocked when he learns she’s an outlaw. My fingers are crossed they will choose it to be one of the four stories for the anthology.

I also finished the final galley for An April to Remember and hope to hear the release date fairly soon.

Now that all of our company has left, the weddings and family reunions are over, and summer is coming to a close, I’m hoping to once again make a bit more time for writing. The hero and heroine, Howard (Hog) and Randilynn, from Boot Hill Bride have been screaming in my head to get their story written!

My Mustang is doing very well. I honestly didn’t think I could love a car so much! She is lots of fun to drive, and I enjoy her more every day. LOL

Finally posting...

Again, I must apologize for the delay in posts. We made it back from Kansas but then I had a very busy work at week, which has been followed by company from out of town. One of my brothers from Nebraska is here, and it’s been wonderful visiting with him, but we’ve tended to stay up until Mid-night each night just talking and reminiscing. I must admit…I’m looking forward to a long and relaxing weekend.

I received a notice last week that Shotgun Bride will be available sooner than thought in print. It will be released in e-book in November and then print in February. I’m working on the third book in the series, Boot Hill Bride. If the titles of this series don’t change during the editing process, they will be: Shotgun Bride, Badland Bride, Boot Hill Bride, Garden Bride and Wildcat Bride. While in Kansas I was able to spend sometime with my husband’s uncle talking about the early oil days in the region, and am now anxious to do more research for Wildcat Bride. I’m also working on four short stories and the final galley for An April to Remember.

My car made the trip to and from Kansas wonderfully. I love driving her--however this week she has been back at the Ford dealer getting the decals put on as well as a few other ‘extra’s’ I had ordered. My loaner car is an orange and black Dodge Caliber, if I painted triangles on her door’s she’d look like a jack-o-lantern!

I hope you all a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Dreams do come true

Last week I either had a mid-life crisis or I finally concluded I’m the only one who can make my dreams come true…So, pretty much out of the blue, I drove over to Denny Heckers, the local Ford dealership, and bought my dream car…A Mustang convertible! She is a beauty, and has been my dream car since I was twelve. I know it’s a very impractical car for Minnesota winter driving, so I kept my faithful Grand Am for when the pony has to be in the barn. I’m not done tricking her out yet, I’ve ordered the racing pony decals to run down the side of her and personalized license plates! This is so out of the ordinary for me, I’m still wondering if it’s all a dream! Probably will until those montly payments catch up with me! LOL

On the writing side…A Wife for Big John is now available in print (Yeah!). Shotgun Bride, Book One of the Quinter Brides, will be released in e-book on November 14th, and An April to Remember is in the final editing stages.

We are traveling back down to Kansas this Friday and won’t be home until the 18th. I will have very limited internet access while gone, so won’t be able to post until after we get home.

I hope you all take the first steps to making your dreams come true. Remember, you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket.

Sorry for the delay in posts.

It seems time has gotten away from me the past few weeks. I just didn’t have time to do much on line. The weekend after the fourth we had to make a quick trip to Kansas to pick up my grandfather-in-law and bring him home to stay with us for a month. The next two weeks were packed full of wedding fun and out of town company. Our oldest son’s wedding was on Saturday, July 26th. We love our new daughter-in-law to pieces and the days of celebration, (bachelor party, wedding shower, grooms dinner, wedding, and gift opening morning) were all great fun. I’ll post a picture or two when we get them. In the meantime, here is a picture of our granddaughter enjoying a little summer sun.

On the writing side… I’ve received a new review for An Unbelievable Journey. Robyn from Once Upon a Romance said, “This story is captivating from start to finish.”

I was also informed of the release dates for Shotgun Bride. The e-book will be released on November 14, 2008 and the print version will be May 15, 2009. And A Wife for Big John is on schedule for the print version to be available August 8, 2008.

This week is also the 28th Annual National Conference for Romance Writers of America. I wasn’t able to attend, however know several people who are. Paty Jager has promised to try and blog about all the fun she is having. And my fingers are crossed that Denise Meinstad will be a Golden Heart winner!

Belated 4th of July Wishes!

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! We had a very busy week.

First we went to southwestern Minnesota to meet up with a couple of my brothers and their families, where we had a few wonderful days catching up on family news. Then we came home and packed to go to up north to the land for four days. My mother and her dog joined us on both trips. The land up north borders Canada and is really ‘in the woods’. Her dog decided it would be a wonderful place to run away! We spent two days tracking him down, fearful the wolves or bears got him, only to discover some wonderful people found him on the highway. While we were blazing new trails through the woods, he was in town, went to the parade, went to the fireworks, and generally had a grand old time! Needless to say we are very grateful he was found and back at home with Grandma.

To my surprise I came home to two new reviews. One each for An Unbelievable Journey and A Wife for Big John.

Snapdragon from The Long and Short of It Reviews says, “When her search for happiness is put on hold while Sierra Masters instead ends up seeking one incredibly ugly, bald cat, I realized that "An Unbelievable Journey" was going to be full of the unexpected, and Lauri Robinson's latest romance did not disappoint.”

And Silver Raven from Fallen Angels Reviews gave A Wife for Big John 4 Angels and said, “I am thoroughly impressed with this author’s work, and being a first time reader of her stories I will be sure to look for more.”

Other writing news…I am still working on the final rounds of An April to Remember, and have a good start on the third Quinter Bride Book, Boot Hill Bride.

OMG!

Today I have to tell you about some wonderful, talented authors I'm honored to know.

Denise Meinstad, an author in my local Romance Writers of America Chapter, is a Golden Heart Finalist with her inspirational novel “This Time Forever”. Her story is highlighted in the local paper. Our entire chapter, The Northern Lights Writers, is very proud of her!

Paty Jager, another author with the Wild Rose Press, has created a book trailer for her Halsey Brother Books. It is amazing, and I don’t have a clue how she finds the time to do everything she does!

Another author friend, Leanne Tyler, created and hosts this new website for Wild Rose Press American Writers.

As for me...I'm doing another read though of An April to Remember before sending it back to my editor and then will start packing. We are going out of town for the Fouth of July...How about you? Any plans for the holiday?

One More!

Got another review for A Wife for Big John this week.

Trudy from Once Upon a Romance rated it 4.5 and said, “Ms. Robinson’s writing kept me turning the pages. I couldn’t wait to find out what Dani and John would do next. The characters are loveable and very human with real emotion. I enjoyed the subtle inspirational message that God’s plan is always the best. Ms. Robinson’s research into lumber camps of the time is well-worth noting as her explanations give just the right amount of detail to understand the occupation. A Wife for Big John is a tender, feel-good story. You don’t have to concentrate to try and keep the plot straight. Just sit back, relax and transport yourself to 1893 in northern Minnesota.”

I’m touched she mentioned the research and the inspirational message. This book is very close to my heart because so much of the research came from sitting with my father and listening to his stories the last couple months he was with us.

I’m also anxious to get a print copy in August to share with Dad's younger brother, my Uncle Ralph, who suggested I write in a character and name him Richard Roy, a friend of his.

Well...I’ll be busy shopping this weekend…The countdown to our oldest son’s July wedding has begun!

Love Historical Romances?

If you are like me, and love historical romances you should visit The Wild Rose Press Historical Forum. Authors from all the historical lines have posts, news, little known facts, and many other wonderful posts about their romance novels. Visit http://wildrose.forumarena.com/ and join the forum to be included in these great conversations.

And The Wild Rose Press has another new promotion happening. They are giving away a Sony E-book Reader! Be sure to see how you could have a chance at winning!

The past two weeks have been busy…I’ve been working on edits for An April to Remember (it has been fun to revisit Jerek Brinkley and April Simonson) and getting the finishing touches on Badland Bride before I query it to my editor. I also had our granddaughter here for five days, (we had so much fun together), got the garden planted, and had to attend a conference in the Twin Cities for the United Way. Oh, and we had a hail storm to clean up after. (Yup, that is hail, not snow. Still waiting for the insurance adjuster to come out and view the damage to the siding and roof.) I must admit, I’m glad tomorrow is Friday! I’m ready for serious writing time.

Have a GREAT weekend!

FREE READS

The Wild Rose Press is now offering free reads! They have several wonderful short stories readers can down load for free!

And June is Wild Rose Western Month. Be sure to pop over to The Wild Rose Press website and check out all of the wonderful historical and contemporary westerns as well as the special events that will be taking place throughout the month.

I’ve been busy working on the second Quinter Brother Bride book, reviewing the galley for Shotgun Bride, and working on the edits for An April to Remember.

An Unbelievable Journey has been released in e-book. A reader recently told me she was reading the book and laughing so loud her husband came into the room to check on her. She said as soon as she finished the book, she started it all over again. It’s so wonderful to hear from someone who enjoyed the story so much!

Have a great week!

Countdown to release date...

An Unbelievable Journey will be released next Wednesday, May 28th from The Wild Rose Press. It is a time travel about Sierra Masters and Jesse Jones. She’s an event planner from the 21st century; he’s left the army to raise race horses. Here is a short excerpt:

"Nebraska," the man replied.
"Nebraska!" Sierra tossed her head around, taking in the grassland. Sage brush, scraggly, old elm trees, brown grass. Yup, this was Nebraska. Had her trip to Maine been a dream? No, the man standing in front of her held the despicable cat, the same one that had been in Maine. "Wow." She flattened three fingers over her mouth. Her vacation was already over and she didn't remember the flight home. Had she taken Dramamine?
"Ma'am?"
She held up one of the fingers, indicating he should stop talking and give her time to think. Who was he? Head to toe in western attire, boots, tight-legged jeans, a button-up, sun-faded shirt that had a wide flap across the chest, a Stetson. He dressed like a true Nebraskan, but the holster and gun belted around his hips took the image a little too far.
She frowned. Did she know him? Tall, broad, and good looking in a rough and tumble sort of way. His face had a wrinkle or two, especially around the eyes. Squinting at the sun too much; should learn to wear a good pair of sunglasses.
"Ma'am?" That deep, husky, voice repeated.
"I'm sorry. I guess, I'm lost," she admitted, while silently noting his voice was too sexy to be healthy.
"Where do you live?" he asked.
She tilted her head, listening. The tone was deep and gravely, like he didn't use it very often. Taking a deep breath, she realized he waited for her answer. "Omaha," she said with a nod.
"Oh, well that's just a few miles from here."
"It is?" She looked around again. They were in the middle of nowhere- literally.
"Yup," he nodded.

An Unbelievable Journey--Outstanding Read

Stephanie from Simply Romance Reviews gave An Unbelievable Journey an A+ and tagged it an Outstanding Read! She says, “Another thing I enjoy is humor. It’s difficult to write, harder to find someone who can make you laugh out loud while reading. Until reading An Unbelievable Journey the only author that had ever managed it was Sandra Hill. She’s got competition from Ms. Robinson.”
The full review is at Simply Romance Reviews. This was a very fun book to write, my first try at time-travel, and I really enjoyed it. An Unbelievable Journey will be released on May 28th from The Wild Rose Press.

Mother's Day....Today is bittersweet. Last year on Mother’s Day my Dad passed away. I miss him terribly, but know in my heart it was time for his story to end. As I sit on the deck, the sun is shinning, birds are singing and fresh blades of grass have turned the yard a brilliant green. All of it reminds me life is a never ending book, full of advancing chapters you never want to quit reading. It’s also taught me it’s not what you leave behind—it’s the people you loved while you were here that makes a difference. Dad loved all of us kids with such fervor that I still feel it. Always will. This Mother's Day my only wish is that my children feel the same way about my love for them--forever.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sorry for not posting lately, been kind of bogged down with work stuff…

I am planning to have a wonderful Mother’s Day. It’s opening fishing in Minnesota, which means….I will have the house to myself Sunday! No cooking, no cleaning, just me and my computer! I'm working on the second Quinter Bride Book, Badland Bride.

Also, a couple of friends have exciting news to share…Paty Jager’s Outlaw in Petticoats will be released this Friday from The Wild Rose Press. I can’t wait read it! Coffee Time Romance Reviews says it’s a SPLENDID READ! "With intense character emotions, and a bit of mystery... this an outstanding read. "

And Nancy Pirri has a new release Wishes and Kisses from Midnight Showcase. I just got this book and can't wait to read it this weekend.

Again, I wish you all a very happy Mother’s Day!

Recommended Read

Eek! I just received a review from Two Lips Review on A Wife for Big John, they gave it FIVE LIPS and tagged it as a Recommended Read!

Reviewer Laura says, "This was a really good book. And reading about the cupcakes and pies Dani made for Big John was making me hungry as I read! The humor here was so much fun. I laughed at Dani’s attempts at finding a wife for Big John, and the results she received. The romance blossomed nicely too. I liked the interaction Lauri Robinson created between Dani and Big John as they got to know each other and eventually fall in love. I definitely recommend reading Wife For Big John. I enjoyed it immensely and you will too!"

Click here to read the full review.

SHEESH! I've been tagged!

THANKS Paty Jager for tagging me on a night I had to work until 10:00! You owe me cup of cyber tea! Or maybe highly caffeinated coffee! LOL

The rules:
1) Link back to the person who tagged you. 2) Post the rules on your blog. 3) Write six things about yourself. 4) Tag six people at the end of your post by posting links to their blogsites. 5) Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their site. 6) And let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Now the hard part… Six random things about me.
1) I love wide open spaces, where your eyes can see the earth touch the sky. 2) I hate water, i.e. lakes, rivers, etc. I cringe every time I have to drive on a bridge. (Yes, I live in Minnesota and have to drive over them constantly.) 3) I’m a terrible picture taker--both in front of and behind the camera. 4) I like peace and quiet and do not enjoy traveling to big cities. 5) I love history, and would love to time travel back to the old west.6) My ‘dream car’ is a 65 Mustang convertible. RED.

Now for 6 unsuspecting people to tag. Hmm....How about…
Catherine
Phyllis Campbell
Bess McBride
Beth
Tricia Ann Woods
Leanne Tyler

Have fun!

Open Water

I drive past five different lakes in my 14 mile commute to work. Coming home today I was so excited to see open water. There was still some ice floating here and there on a couple of the lakes, but for the most part all of them have open water. To me this really signifies spring is here! YEAH!

On the writing side of things…

The Long and Short of It reviewed A Wife for Big John and gave it FIVE (5) BOOKS! Reviewer Camellia says, “A WIFE FOR BIG JOHN is one to keep so when life is “too-much with us”, we can read it again and escape for a time to the timber land of Minnesota to get our faith in humanity reaffirmed. This Happy-Ever-After story reminds me why I love to read romance.” View the entire review here.

And…Here is the cover for Shotgun Bride, the first book in The Quinter Brides series. Every time I get a new cover I proclaim it as my favorite!

Shotgun Bride
Like most girls, Jessie Johnson will never forget the first time she met her mother-in-law. After all who can forget a shotgun pointed at them? Bartered for a dead horse at gun point, she either agrees to marry one of the Quinter boys or her brother will hang for horse theft. Jessie knows nothing about being a wife- other than the wedding will likely put her new husband in grave danger.

After being knocked unconscious by his brothers, Kid Quinter finds himself surrounded by his uncouth family, the sheriff, a preacher, and an adorable young woman. Tied to a chair, he's given no choice but to marry Jessie Johnson. And that’s just the beginning of his troubles- it appears his pretty little wife has quite a past, including a notorious gunslinger looking for retribution.

A Romance Writer is also a Romance Reader

I’ve always enjoyed reading, I remembering spending a whole summer in my brother’s tree fort reading the Box Car Children series for a box car book marker from the local library. I haven’t changed; I can stay up until the wee hours of the morning finishing a good book. Historical romances are my favorite, and I only remember one book that I never finished. It sat on my nightstand for a couple years at least. I moved it to the book case in the spare bedroom for several more before I finally admitted I wasn’t ever going to finish it and gave it to Good Will.

Well…I now have a second one sitting on my night stand. It really bothers me- I don’t like leaving things undone. BUT, I just can’t get the gumption to finish this one. It’s a romance, by a best selling author, and it’s even autographed. I met her last fall and this was her latest release. Part of the reason may be because it’s a contemporary, but I’ve read several other contemporaries since starting this one. I really can’t pinpoint what’s wrong with the book. I like the hero and heroine just fine. There’s a compelling plot, some tension, some humor, etc. etc. I don’t like how many points of view the author gives us, but I can’t say that’s the reason I don’t want to read it either. Yet, I can’t seem to just ‘put it away’ and decide to never finish it…

Have you ever had a book you just couldn’t finish?

Wow, What a Week!

Last week was phenomenal!

I was offered a contract by The Wild Rose Press for Shotgun Bride. It will be the first book of the Brides for the Quinter Boys series!

I got the release date for An Unbelievable Journey, it will be May 28th. This is a short story so will only be released in e-book.

I met a friend I haven’t seen in ages for coffee. She was driving through town and called. It was so good to see her.

My husband and I went to the Wild Turkey Federation banquet and I won TWO new shotguns. On the live auction we bought a coffee table made out of moose antlers and two matching lamps. (They are not as ugly as they sound. Trust me!) And on the silent auction I bought a really cool clock that hangs on deer antlers. Yes, it all matches the deco of my living room which is full of ‘dead’ animals.

This week started out good too! I heard on the radio today is National NO HOUSEWORK DAY!
I’ve never heard of it before, but I’M GAME!
How about you?

Up North

Jess and I did go up north last weekend. When I say up north, that is exactly what I mean, our property is on the Canadian border, and I must admit, I was apprehensive about ‘camping’ in the dead of winter. After trekking through waist high snow in some places, we arrived at the ‘hunting shacks’. The snow was too deep to drive all the way in so it took several trips to haul in all the supplies. All in all it was a great weekend. It was so peaceful, and melting snow to do dishes made a new story begin to form in my head.

I was able to work on another book I'm writing, but without internet access I became frustrated when I needed some research. In the end I wrote an email to another author who I knew would know the information I wanted and skipped that scene in the story. I sent the email during the drive home. (I am so thankful for wireless internet. I happened to have the laptop on when we stopped for gas and all of sudden it showed I had a connection.) Sure enough, she answered my questions so now I can go back and fill in the blanks.

Since it is a six hour drive to the land (one way), I also read another Linda Lael Miller book about her McKettick’s clan. It was a good story, and I’m always amazed how easy it is for me to pick out typos in someone else’s work, but read right over them in my own.

Jess will be going back up north in May for fishing opener, and I’ve already marked my calendar to go with him. For those of you who know I’ve never been the ‘camping’ type--yes I’m just as amazed as you are! LOL.

Easter Greetings

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I set a few eggs out and Isabelle gathered them. She was very proud of each one and had fun playing with them for the better part of the day. Cody and his friend Jackie made it home from Wisconsin just in time for ham dinner, and Justin and Connie arrived safely in Nevada for their spring get-away.

Jess suggested we go up north this coming weekend to check on the hunting shacks. Cody was up there in January, but now that ‘Spring’ has arrived, Jess thinks he needs to go check on the roofs. I’m sure he’s really thinking it’s his one last chance to go ice fishing for the year. I don’t have a picture of the ‘shacks’ but here is one of the ‘facilities’. There is no cell or internet unless we drive into town, but with the generator, I do have electricity so I can still use the lap top and I do have some stories I would like to dedicate some time to.

I’m still working on a series set in western Kansas. I’ve queried the first one to The Wild Rose Press and have the second one about half done. All the stories will include the shotgun of the mother of five brothers. The second book is about the second brother, who in the first book is not overly likeable. I did that on purpose to see if I could then turn him into a hero in the second book. It’s been a challenge, but at the same time, a lot of fun. And I am anxious to see how it all plays out.

I hope you all have a GREAT week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you all remembered to wear green so you didn't get pinched!

This will be a busy week, besides evening work meetings, I have to put together information on the future of e-books and POD publishing for my writers group this weekend, and get ready for Easter dinner here on Sunday. It will be fun to hide a few eggs for Isabelle to find. Here are a couple pictures of her and Bear, (first the pucker, then the kiss). Bear is eight months old, and weighs close to a hundred pounds, yet he is so gentle with Isabelle. They are very good friends. We call them our two grandchildren since Bear is our other son’s puppy.

On the writing side….I got back the galley for An Unbelievable Journey this evening. It so happened tonight was my only free night. I read through it looking for typos, etc. It always amazes me the things I miss during the first 20 or so readings! But it’s always fun to meet up with the characters again. I’m also working on a short story, less than 10,000 words. I’m using it as practice to tighten my writing. It’s set in Kansas in the 1800’s, he’s a sheriff and she’s the outlaw…

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

Paty and the Jewels won EPPIE's!

Back in December I told you about my friend and Mentor, Paty Jager. Paty is also an author with The Wild Rose Press and her latest book, Perfectly Good Nanny had been nominated for the EPPIE in the Contemporary Romance category. (The EPPIE’s is a contest for Electronically Published books.) Today, I want to let you know that SHE WON! I am so proud of her. Her knowledge and insight have been invaluable to me. AND her book, A Perfectly Good Nanny, is a GREAT READ. It is available in both e-book and print at the Wild Rose Press. Here’s a link to Paty’s blog where you can read all about the event.

Yeah, Paty!

I also learned today that Nancy Pirri, another author friend, and member of my RWA Chapter, Northern Lights Writers, also won an EPPIE! She is part one of the Jewels of the Quill, (Dame Sapphire) and their book, Tales from the Treasure Trove, Vol. III, won in the Contemporary Mainstream category. Nancy is a great author. I read her story, One Magical Night, in one sitting! She's a wonderful assest to our writer's group, and a lot of fun to 'hang out with'.

Yeah, Nancy!

An Unbelievable Journey

I received my cover for An Unbelievable Journey last week. I can’t believe all of the details it has on it. I really like it. Nicola Martinez (she also did my cover for An April to Remember) is the cover designer. I don’t have a release date, probably won’t until after the galley is done, but I’ll post it.

This story has a special spot in my heart; it’s dedicated to my niece who is going through an unbelievable journey herself. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in January, and they chose to do chemo before surgery. The extremely good news is- it seems to be working! Her cancer has shrunk fifty percent since they began treatment!

Today is her birthday…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KARI. One of the things she’s advocating are self breast examines and encourages every woman to (as she calls it) “Grope Your Girlies” on the third of every month. So on her behalf please mark your calendars with GYG on the 3rd of every month.

I hope you all have a GREAT week!

Happy Monday

Last week I worked with a couple of other authors from the Wild Rose Press to set up a critique group on line. We named it The Rose Trellis and created it as a yahoo group. It has been a lot of fun, and if any of you are interested in participating email Tricia Ballad at tricia @ triciaballad.com and put Looking for Critique Partner in the subject line.

Today I was the guest speaker at a women’s connections luncheon, not only was it a lot of fun, but I sold several copies of Mail Order Husband.

A Wife for Big John is still doing well on the lists, it has hit number one on a couple of the Wild Rose Press lists at the different sites, and has been in the top ten on several others. I look forward to getting copies of this book in print, especially for family members. (August seems a long way off, but it also sounds warm! Yes, I think I'm getting cabin fever or the winter blues.)

I came down with the ‘crud’ this weekend, the aches, pains, and headache that even kept me from going to my writers group. I just couldn't face an hour long drive. But the upside is I read two books from my “to be read pile” while snuggled under the covers. They were both by Linda Lael Miller, and I enjoyed both of them very much.

Oh, and last week, my mom found a copy of Mail Order Husband at the library in a neighboring town, she of course had to tell the librarian the whole, “my daughter wrote this” tale. (Thanks, Mom!) And then two days later the director of our local Chamber of Commerce called to tell me she’d checked my book out from the library.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I’m taking Thursday off to babysit my granddaughter and really looking forward to it!

Another Contract!

I had a wonderful weekend- I signed and returned another contract to the Wild Rose Press! An Unbelievable Journey is a short story, (26,000 words) for the Cactus Line and will only be available in e-book. I must admit every contract is just as exciting as the first one. This story is a time travel historical, and was a lot of fun to write.

Here is the draft blurb (thanks to my wonderful editor):

Sierra Masters isn’t shocked by being transported 125 years into the past- it simply proves aliens do exist. What shocks her is how easily she adjusts to living in 1883, and how quickly she falls in love with the handsome hunk Jesse Jones. Par for her life; she finally finds the man of her dreams, but will lose him in thirty days when the aliens return for her.

Jesse Jones is shocked by the girl he finds on the Nebraska prairie, she wears jewelry in her belly button, tries to shave her legs with his straight-edged razor, and insists an alien gang abducted her. He plans to wash his hands of her until a Shaman claims Sierra Masters is Jesse's woman from the future. Then, as she wiggles her way into his heart, he vows to find a way to make her stay in his time.

Other news: A Wife for Big John is doing well. It’s #1 on The Wild Rose Press Cactus Line best selling list, #3 on The Wild Rose Press Fictionwise best selling list, and has already been ranked on the Amazon Kindle list.

They finally hired someone else at work…it’s been a long six months by myself. I've helped set up a critique group for The Wild Rose Press, started working on this year's Big Lake Library fundraiser event, have my writer's group meeting this weekend, and next Monday I will be speaking at a Women’s Connections Luncheon. And of course I've been working on my next story.

Hope you all have a great week!

Five Hearts Review

Considering we spend 1/7 of our lives on Mondays (an often hated day), I have to say, this Monday became an extra special one for me.

Brenda Talley of The Romance Studio reviewed A Wife for Big John, and gave it FIVE HEARTS!

The marketing department at The Wild Rose Press sends new books out to several reviewers, and I must admit when I saw the email tonight containing my first review on this book, my stomach started to churn and my fingers began to tremble as I clicked on the review link. Once I read the review I insisted the TV be turned down (in the middle of Prison Break {gasp}) so I could read it aloud to my husband and son. Bless their hearts for putting up with me, and for being happy for me.

Ms. Talley says, "Through a compelling turn of events to the unbelievable ending, this author has written a great book which is bound to be a big hit. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a stirring storyline. It’s a great book I was honored to read."

I think Valentine’s Day came a couple days early this year!

A Wife for Big John releases this Friday

A Wife for Big John will be released this Friday, February 8th, in e-book (the print version will be available in August). It will be offered for download purchase from several sites, including www.thewildrosepress.com and www.fictionwise.com.

This book was especially fun to write, and I learned so much about the early logging industry during the process. Of course the story includes a reference or two to the world’s most famous Lumberjack, Paul Bunyan.

Set in northern Minnesota in the 1890’s, A Wife for Big John, is a sweet love story about Dani Jones, who wrangles a job as a logging camp cook, and Big John Thompson, who is flabbergasted to learn the cook he hired for the lumberjacks is a slip of a girl. When Miss Jones decides he needs a wife and sets out to find him one, John’s life is turned upside down.

The book is dedicated to my father, who worked in logging camps as a young man, and provided our family with unending tales of his life.

Must Write...

I just don’t feel my day is complete unless I pull out my WIP and type at least one line. Currently, I’m working on what I hope is the second in a series set in western Kansas. I just queried the first story, so my fingers are crossed. Here's an update on my work....

Progress on future books:
A Wife for Big John will be released on Feb. 8th
An April to Remember is with my editor, I’m hoping to get the first edits back in Feb.

Other stories waiting for the next step:
An Unbelievable Journey (a time travel short story), is about a young event planner, Sierra Masters, who is transported back in time to Nebraska in the year 1883 where she assists Buffalo Bill Cody create his first Wild West show. The event is successful, but not nearly as successful as her romance with Jesse Jones.
Shotgun Bride (the first of the series, so the title may change. I’m thinking the series might be the Shotgun Brides of the Quinter Brothers, and this story might be Kid’s Bride). This story is about Jeci Johnson whom must marry the oldest Quinter brother, Kid, in order to save her brother from being hanged for horse theft. It is set in western Kansas in 1880.
Skeeter’s Future Bride (the second in the series) is about the second Quinter brother, Skeeter, and Lila, a pregnant, single, young woman who, aided by a ghost, crawls through a tunnel in 2007 and ends up in 1882. It is set in western Kansas in 1882.
Ma Quinter and her double barrel shotgun have roles in each story of the series.

That's about it for now. Happy writing all!

Countdown to release date...

A Wife for Big John will be released in e-book on February 8th. This was a fun story to write and I learned so much about the logging industry while writing it, including how the hospitals in Duluth and Bemidji as well as others, where built with money the “Lumberjack Sister” collected by selling “chits” or hospital tickets to lumberjacks. Sister Amata traveled across the northern woods selling these chits for over three decades. The men who purchased tickets for anywhere from $1-$5 were guaranteed care at one of the hospitals if they were injured at work, however Sister Amata made it extremely clear the tickets were invalid if liquor or fighting was involved.

The story is set in 1890’s in Northern Minnesota and here’s the back cover blurb:

At first sight, Dani Jones fell in love- not with Big John, but with his stove. It's the latest model and makes her believe her cooking alone will encourage the Boss Man to let her stay until she has enough money to travel to California and be reunited with the man she promised to marry.

Big John Thompson returns from the spring river drive to find the man he hired to cook for the lumberjacks is a slip of a girl- Danielle Jones. To make matters worse, Miss Jones decides John needs a wife, and sets out to find him one...

Happy Birthday Elvis

Well, it truly wouldn’t be MY blog if I didn’t mention Elvis. Since tomorrow is his birthday this seems like a fitting week.

I can't remember not being an Elvis fan. His music has and will always touch my heart. My guest bedroom, decorated with all of the Elvis memorabilia family and friends have given me over the years, is affectionately called “Heartbreak Hotel”. For our 25th wedding anniversary we went to Memphis and stayed at the real Heartbreak Hotel. Trust me- you don’t have to be an Elvis fan to enjoy visiting Graceland and all of the other wonderful sights there. (This is me outside Graceland.)

How or why I became an Elvis fan…I don’t really know…Perhaps I always recognized how Elvis was a true ‘follow your dream’ person. He knew what he wanted and overcame many obstacles to be able to sing and perform for people. Due to some poor decisions, made either by him or those around him, his life may not have ended the way he might have chosen, but I imagine he slid through Heaven’s gate saying, “Wow, what a ride!”

So for all of you who have a dream…Go for it! Elvis is proof- dreams do come true.