One week to go before DESERT DREAMS!
 I am sitting here on my laptop in the midst of fine tuning a few parts of my manuscript for A Price Above Vengeance. ( I'm beginning to wonder,  are we ever really done? Probably not until I hand it over to the publisher!) I am also working on my "pitch". With my brain still spinning from finishing our taxes at the eleventh hour, I am now struggling to condense 100k words into about 40! Pretty tall order. But when I'm not sure I can  do something, I turn to my friends of like mind --  my writer friends and test readers.
My husband would joke and say I'll use any excuse to meet them for coffee or wine but truly it is the people in my inner circle that get me through the days when I doubt myself. Not sure if that is a writer thing or a woman thing, but I think we all have them. Friends are who we turn to when we need a leg up in life, a fresh perspective, and even a shoulder to cry on -- as well as being able and willing to do the same for them in their time of need -- and we all need it now and then!
I have been called a hopeless romantic, and not just because I write in the romance genre. I've even been accused of being jaded because I've been fortunate enough to be in love with the same man for the last 30 years ( married for almost 27!). Perhaps they are right, but it's important to remember that a good romantic story isn't just about the magic of falling in love and the HEA -- writer lingo for happily ever after. Its all of the in-between -- the cake under the icing  if you will-- even if it's not always as sweet as we would like. Those challenges define our strengths and reveal our weaknesses so that we can become stronger the next time the storm blows our way... and they always do.
In the process of today's edits, I am reminded that, as Adrian and Gwinn are in the midst of a serious confrontation, it is those difficult times that help to build the trust that is the foundation of any relationship -- whether romantic or platonic.
Ultimately it is the people we love that show us by their actions, commitment and of course... LOVE how valuable we are. They help us find and keep our objectivity so that we can (re) focus on the big picture, look back at how far we've come, and envision the brightest future possible.
Hopeless romantic or not, I think it is within each of us to create our own happily ever after by pursuing our Desert Dreams, no matter what they might be.

I've always believed that, in life, there are no accidents. Whether good or bad, even the truly aweful things we are dealt in life become part of who we are. They make us stronger, giving us the perspective we need to appreciate what we have,they restore our humanity and show us that, in spite of what we think when were in the midst of our grief, the world around us isn't a completely hopeless place.
Those close to me know all too well that the last few years have certainly challenged my personal belief in the goodness of the world around me. I still have moments when my mind goes back to the rage I felt at the string of injustices that fell upon my family and I till I was certain I would break. But, now, I have the strength to push back, to cast away the the need for vengeance and trust that the universe will take care of itself -- though maybe not as swiftly as I might like. I refuse to waste any more energy waiting for justice. That negativity no longer serves me, and if Im am honest with myself, it never did except to become catalyst to something altogether unexpected. This is the ultimate example of making lemons into lemonade.
Injustice. Vengeance. Belief. Trust. Though I didn't see it at the time, it is now, in hindsight, that I know without a doubt that those themes wove thmselves into my writing as a form of therapy that even Freud himself would be impressed with.
In this quote, he said: "Words have a magical power that can bring either the greatest joy or the deepest despair... Words are capable of arousing the strongest enotions and control all of man's actions."
In my writing, I found a voice for those emotions, bringing them to life within the characters that could do the things I never could;  by finding redemption, and in the end, seeing that justice is served even if only on the page. Sadly, in the real world, justice is a false precept --ultimately unattainable and unrealistic within our current culture. But I've made peace with that... for now.
Throughout this journey, there have been friends, both old and new, that have amazed me in their unwavering enthusiasm and support of what is important to me. Those are the people who inspire me every day to stay the course and live the best life I can.
In the last few months, I have had the pleasure and privilage of joining a group of writers that share my passion for the craft. They assure me that the voices in my head that distract me with their chatter and keep me up at night don't mean I'm crazy or delusional, becuase they hear them too. I have learned that they are just  part of the magic of writing fiction and that in listening to their story, I have discovered a part of myself that I never knew existed. For all of my friends -- including Adrian and Gwinn -- I am grateful.