I'm Thankful For Our Faithful Dog, Chickens, and Deadlines by C.H. Admirand

I’m so thankful our dog wakes me up between midnight and one o’clock every morning—if she didn’t I wouldn’t have a blog written for today—which reminds me of chickens! Whenever I get distracted halfway through a thought, our oldest just looks at me, smiles and says,  “There goes another chicken.” I guess you’d have to have met my fabulously supportive and wonderful family to understand them. I’d be lost without them…even if I have to put up with a lot of good-natured ribbing.

I’m thankful for deadlines, opportunities, and a fabulous editor, Deb Werksman. This has been a whirlwind year for me. I’ve been given the opportunity to write for an editor who understands where I am coming from, but more, has taught me to dig even deeper to write stories that a year ago would not have been possible. I loved every minute I spent in Pleasure, Texas with the Garahan brothers: TYLER, DYLAN and JESSE. With Deb’s guidance, I have reached another milestone in my career: Receiving 4 ½ Stars from RT Book Reviews for DYLAN, the second book in my Secret Life of Cowboys trilogy. Pinch me!

I’m so thankful for the readers and reviewers that I have connected with over the years, I’d be lost without you. Sourcebooks has opened other doors for me, allowing me to meet new readers and reviewers. Kimberly Rocha is one of those readers. Kim invited me to visit with her Book Obsessed Chicks Book Club out in Long Island. I had a wonderful time chatting with the diverse group of ladies who are all my heroines—they love to read romance! Here is a picture with these totally FAB ladies and one of Kim and I by the awesome cowboy boot cupcake Katie Whelean baked!

Because the darling man I married recently gave me a precious gift—the opportunity to write full time—I don’t have to worry about taking time off from my day job anymore and was able to attend Lora Leigh’s RAW and meet readers face-to-face in an informal atmosphere. Lora Leigh is an amazing author who gives back to readers with a wonderful event designed with the reader in mind. Without readers where would we be?  Those of you who know me know I’m a huge race fan—when Lora Leigh announced that our names would be on the side of the dirt track car she sponsors—I was in heaven! Even though the driver, Transton Stoner, and I did not agree on who would win The Chase…we agreed on who should NOT win The Chase! BTW, his favorite NASCAR driver did win! Here’s a picture of the car and our names.

It’s also been a whirlwind year on a personal level as well—our daughter and her husband became parents—I’m a now a Romance-Writing Grandma! At every opportunity I have been bragging about our handsome grandbaby to whoever will listen and wait for me to find the latest picture of him on my phone. Isn’t he just precious?

OK…it’s three o'clock now and my brain just shut off. Time to go to bed and recharge so I can get up in a few hours and get back to Purity, Ohio and the first book in my new Small Town USA trilogy: A WEDDING IN PURITY –Meg and Daniel are well on their way toward their HEA—on schedule so that I will be meeting my deadline! I don’t have the cover yet, but here are two images I found a few months ago that remind me of small towns and made me smile…Enjoy!