Well, it’s not really lost.  I know where it is.  It’s just not here 🙂

All of my epic plans for getting Ivy’s story out the door yesterday failed epically as last week’s paycheck workload spilled over into the weekend like a slow moving disaster at a molasses factory – horrifying to watch, impossible to stem the flow, and one big, sticky mess.  

But enough about that. Today is a new day!  And while the rest of the world is doing all the fun Sunday activities they’re supposed to be doing on this lovely morning, I will be editing naughty holiday fun, hopefully to make available tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

I’m discussing the writing life today on Book & Trailer Showcase, courtesy of Natasha Blackthorne!

http://booktrailershowcase.com/2012/12/01/the-writing-life-by-lily-rede/

It takes me a while to ease into the holidays.  It usually starts with ordering Christmas and Chanukah cards.  Then I have to de-clutter enough to put up some decorations – I don’t bother with a tree, since I travel over the holidays and borrow trees from various family branches.  Then there are presents to buy, and my schedule suddenly starts filling up with parties and drinks dates and dinners.  The problem with all of this chaos is that unless my head’s in the game, it’s tedious rather than fun, so every year I spend the first week of December or so trying to remind myself that the holidays only come once a year, and that I’ll regret it if I don’t make the most of them.  There’s a lot of internal lecturing. 🙂  Eventually, it all comes together and I go a little overboard indulging in gingerbread and mulled wine, and can look forward to the year ahead.

This year, to get my jingle mojo going, I’m writing sexy holiday shorts.  HOLLY is up and available, and IVY should be up this weekend.  This morning’s victory? I FINALLY have a blurb – take a look!

Ivy Kringle doesn’t have time for romance.  The second of Santa’s daughters, she’s determined to keep Santa’s empire moving with the times.  While the rest of the newly formed External Relations department is taking time out for a well-deserved office party, Ivy is still hard at work.  Which is all for the best.  The last thing she needs is to get caught under the mistletoe and reveal her family’s magical susceptibility to the holiday plant.  This Christmas Eve, she’s going to play it cool, no matter badly she wants to heat things up with her sexy business partner, the tall and brooding Rafe Allen.

Rafe is dying to get his hands on Ivy, but worries that his need to take control might scare her off.  When he discovers that mistletoe has the power to make a Kringle girl do anything he asks, he sets out to use the magical plant to seduce the cool and reserved beauty.  As the party rocks on around them, Rafe will use every sexy trick in the book to get Ivy to admit that not only is she as head over heels for him as he is for her, but that they belong together, even when Christmas is over.

The Monday after a holiday should be a day of recovery, a time to adjust your brain to get ready for the run-up to the NEXT holiday. If you’re a busy human (like most of us tend to be), it’s vital to reset the stress clock.  If you’re a writer, you tend to think in terms of deadlines, self-imposed or otherwise – is the project going to get done in time?  Do I have time for one more round of edits?  Can’t I just stop and do something normal for a living, please?  The answer to that last one is always NO…:) 

So here’s to the start of the Yule season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, or any of the other wonderful traditions that call for bright lights at the beginning of a cold winter.  And if you are a writer, or do anything else that tends to gobble up your time and send you careening through the world in your head for hours upon end, here’s to deliberately taking a day or two sometime this season to shut off the computer, put down the pen, and simply enjoy.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” –John F. Kennedy

I’m attempting to stay off the Internet today (monumental effort, kids), but I wanted to stop in and say how grateful I am for my life, for my family, and for all of YOU!  Have a good one, and enjoy the leftovers!  Mmmm…turkey cranberry sandwiches…

What a nice review for BUILD ME UP from Reviewing Vixens!

http://t.co/ELHgcOLP 

Two hours to get through everything and then turkey prep officially begins – I’m sure plenty of you can relate.  People who eat celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, people who cook celebrate all week.  

Gobble Gobble.

A new blog, everyone!

Modern technology and I rarely get along, so I consider this humble little page a major triumph…LOL…

Poke around, feel free to offer comments or suggestions, and stay tuned for updates on new titles and specials!  So glad to have you here!

SAFE FROM THE DARK is finally out!

Phew. I feel like I’ve run a marathon with my fingers.

It’s been about a week now, but I still haven’t managed to go back and re-read it in one sitting – after all the edits, you get to a point where you just can’t bear to look at it. That’s when you just sit back and wait for reviews.

This month! This month is almost half over (wow), but it’s mainly a bridge between Halloween and Christmas, with a turkey in the middle. I decided not to dive into the Bright’s Ferry sequel for a few weeks – SAFE FROM THE FIRE will be out in February.

Instead, I’m writing some holiday romance for you! Four short magical tales that follow Santa’s daughters and their quest for romance, love, and a one-way ticket to the Naughty List with some seriously hot men. 

Keep an eye out for THE KRINGLE GIRLS series, right after Thanksgiving – at least a couple of them will be available as single titles, and there will be an overall collection as well.

Here’s to cold nights, hot reads, and plenty of holiday treats!