Party and Reviews

My nephew’s grad party was wonderful. Lots of people, lots of good food, lots of fun, and plenty of folks took their turn in the dunk tank!

Now that the party is over, the company has all left and the house is still fairly clean, I’m hoping to attack all three of my works in progress. I do feel a touch ‘cranky’ because I haven’t had full blocks of time to really dig my heels in and write. When I have had an hour or so it has mainly been spent on research since all three manuscripts are historicals. Actually, that’s how the third MS got started. I was researching for my sister’s story, some of the information I found was very relevant for the fourth Quinter brothers story, and another compelling bit of info I found led me in a whole new direction…thus a new story was born. I love it!

Speaking of stories….Received three wonderful reviews since my last post.

Night Owl Romance gave An April to Remember a reviewer’s top pick. Reviewer Melinda says, “Lauri Robinson did a beautiful job with this book…”

Nights and Weekends gave a very cute review of Doctor McBride. “Filled with fun characters and realistic conversation…this was a pleasing lunchtime read.”

Long and Short Reviews gave Lawmen and Outlaws four books. Reviewer Camellia said of Sheriff McBride. “This fast moving short story keeps the reader totally involved.” Concerning the overall anthology, she states, “LAWMEN AND OUTLAWS is a “mighty fine” read for Historical Western readers and would be ideal for a newcomer to get introduced to this genre.”

Next Tuesday I will be talking to a book club that is reading An April to Remember.

New Cover

Isn’t it gorgeous? Nicola has designed most of my covers and I’m so thankful for her talents.

An American Rose Christmas will be released in December 2009. A Solider for Christmas is my story, and I’m excited to be a part of this anthology.

This Saturday we are hosting my nephew’s high school graduation party. (Congrats Danny!) Years ago when my son graduated we started a tradition of renting a dunk tank and all the graduates had to take turns at being dunked, so everyone is really looking forward to it! I’m taking tomorrow off to cook all day. 

I hope you all have a great weekend! I find it amazing how January and July both have 31 days yet January seems so long while July so short…

Safety Awareness/Self Defense

Between work, evening commitments, and raspberry plants that are producing berries the size of grapes, I haven’t gotten much writing done this week. I have made three batches of raspberry jam and most likely will get another three or four batches the way the plants are going, so we’ll have plenty to last all winter.

On Monday I attended a Safety Awareness/Self Defense class. It was very interesting, and I’d suggest every woman attend one! (I'd taken one years ago and signed up for this one at our Ladies Night Out.) This was put on by our sheriff’s department. It was three hours long and they talked a lot about safety awareness, i.e. how to make sure your home or car ISN”T inviting for robbers, where to park in parking lots, and how to profile your surroundings. We also learned ‘break away’ tips if you are grabbed, how to use personal safety devices, i.e. pepper spray, and some jabs and kicks. One of my daughters-in-law attended with me and was my partner for the self defense part. At one point while I was holding the ‘punching pad’ she started laughing and said, “How many girls get the chance to beat up their mother-in-law!”

One tip they told us was attackers HATE long fingernails. They said Ted Bundy claimed he never attacked a woman with long nails. So, ladies, go get a manicure!

On to writing...When I sat down at the computer Sunday evening, the fourth Quinter Brother, Snake, wanted me to spend some time on his story…Five chapters later I finally made it to bed. Yes, I was tired Monday morning! But the story was flowing so I couldn’t stop. I’m hoping for a block of time yet this week to pull it up again!

I received a pre-review on Kendra’s Choice. The reader said it had her hooked from page one, and fell in love with Sterling to the point she wished she was Kendra. LOL.

Back to the Real World

Ah, yes, vacation is over so it’s back to the daily rat race. Actually, around my house, it’s the laundry race. I can’t believe the amount of laundry that accumulates. How did we have ALL that in two suitcases?

Our trip from one end of the state to the other (and Minnesota isn’t a small state) was wonderful. First we drove to the South Dakota border to see my brother’s kids and their families from Tennessee and Oklahoma. After that we went to the Canadian border to our property. My husband’s brother drove up from Iowa, and we all had a wonderful time. The fish were biting on Lake of the Woods, and I can once again be called the ‘walleye slayer’.

I did get a chance to write a small amount on my latest WIP. I’m happy to say my hero and heroine are no longer snowbound in a cave in Colorado. They now are traveling Goodale’s Cutoff across Idaho.

My free read went up at The Wild Rose Press this weekend. Blue Spring’s Queen is the fourth and final McBride story. It’s about Abigail, the woman who relentlessly chased each and every McBride brother. I figured she needed her own story.

OH…AND The Wild Rose Press now has the capability of selling print copies of all novel length stories! YEA!

Happy Independence Day

I’m wishing you a wonderful holiday now, because we are leaving tomorrow to go up north for the 4th of July. I’m looking forward to some quiet time in the woods. However, I must say I’m going to miss seeing Isabelle and Hayley every day!




If you want something to read…I posted a new blog on the Cactus Rose of the Wild Rose Press blog about my novella, Kendra’s Choice which will be released in October.

Have a save and happy holiday!