Odds and Ends of News

Spring is springing, at least in south central New Mexico. I talk a bit about that on my other blog. (deirdre-fourds) I've got spring fever bad but am trying to get things done. My next story is in --beating the deadline by a week. It's a cat shifter tale, appropriately titled Catastrophe, and one I had a huge amount of fun with. If you are fascinated by the cheetahs and ocelots and their kin, this may appeal. No release date yet but perhaps in June or so. Much more on it later!

Wrenching has a date and a cover that I shared my last post. Look for it on March 16. It is not a bit Irish

or green but can still be kind of my St Patrick's gift to my readers. I'll do another excerpt from it in a day or two and a little background before the release date.

Last but not least, I do write some things besides the milder romance Gwynn pens and the hot hetero and GLBT ones that Deirdre writes. I doubt if many of my readers here know, but saddle mules are now quite the rage among trail riders and there are mule events, shows etc. in many parts of the country. Mules are hybrid creatures with a donkey or burro father and a horse mother. They have an undeserved reputation for being stubborn, hard headed and often mean. But they really aren't. Back in my youth I spent about ten years working with my dad in a business of training and selling mules as well as horses. The mules were just beginning to be recognized as good saddle animals and I feel like we kind of pioneered getting them out in front of the public which was the first step in getting them to the level of popularity they enjoy today!

Anyway, there is a monthly magazine called Mules and More about raising, training, riding and showing mules. I put together a small article with some pictures and lo and behold, it is a feature in the March issue. And I made the cover--that is a much younger me back in those days on a little speckled mule we called Beano since he was spotted up like a pinto bean. If you go to www.mulesandmore.com you can see the cover picture right there on their home page! How many romance writers do you know who have been mule skinners?? So far I haven't put a mule in a novel or novella but that might happen soon!

A late note, I got some contributer copies of the magazine in today's mail--Sat, Mar 1) and will give one or two away to folks who comment on this post--autographed of course!!