I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be signing my brand new book, Along Came a Cowboy, this Saturday, May 10th, from 2 to 4 at one of my most favorite places in the world--Words Bookstore/AfterWords Cafe on Spring Street in Hardy, Arkansas! Signing at Words is always so much fun. The atmosphere, the lattes, the music, the lattes. :) Join us if you can! I'd love to see you there.

Over at Amazon, there are two great reviews by individuals and they both gave Along Came a Cowboy 5 stars. In the Library reviews called it "as much fun as a rodeo." And Romantic Times said it was "a poignant story."

I blogged over at Faithchick yesterday. Step over and check it out if you have time.

In case you haven't noticed, I've been on a blog sabbatical. (Also known as back-to-back deadlines.) But several people have prodded me lately to blog. Not that I'm naming names, but "Princess of Patience" might want to reconsider that title.

A lot has happened since I last posted. Death on a Deadline came out with Heartsong Mysteries bookclub! This is the first in the Sleuthing Sisters series that I'm writing with two of my sisters, Jan Reynolds and Sandy Gaskin. If you want to check out how to get Death on a Deadline free, click HERE! We recently finished the second book, Drop Dead Diva, and are currently hard at work on the third, Down Home and Deadly! It has been a blast writing these books with Jan and Sandy.

And more news on the book release front -- In just a few days, (early May) Along Came a Cowboy will be on the store shelves. It should be widely available. I'd love to hear where you see it! This book was a labor of love and I don't use the term labor loosely. I'm thrilled that it's almost here. My editor, Rebecca Germany, blogged about it today on Edit Cafe. Check it out if you have time!

We're in the middle of softball season at the Lynxwiler house. Our oldest is on two teams and our youngest on one. We're thinking about taking out our front door and putting a revolving one in. Might as well. Everything around our house is in softball vernacular now. "You left the milk out of the fridge? That's strike two, missy!" "Didn't get your homework done? You're outta here!"

I've been doing some speaking at the local high school, talking to the kids about writing and most of all, about following a dream. It's been fun. I remember, though, how hard high school was. Have you heard Brad Paisley's song about if he could send a letter to himself back when he was in high school? It's called Letter To Me. One of the things he'd write in that letter to his teenage self is "These are nowhere near the best years of your life." How true. Everything--the fun and the misery--is SO extreme.

Off to write!

If you're not quite ready for Christmas to be over, check out these three Christmas reads. Hearts Evergreen . This book features two great holiday reads from Robin Lee Hatcher. Another romantic Christmas book to enjoy any time is Big Apple Christmas, a 4-in-1 anthology featuring authors Lynette Sowell, Carrie Turansky, Gail Sattler, and Vasthi Reyes Acosta. If you'd like to see what life would be like in a town where it's Christmas all year long, check out my own new release - Forever Christmas!

NOBODY by Creston Mapes

The title alone is enough to pique my interest. Add that to the fact that my friend, Creston Mapes, is one of the nicest guys I know and his new book NOBODY is at the top of my TBR list.

Here's what Creston has to say about NOBODY!

NOBODY was released Sept. 11 by Multnomah and seems to be doing very well. Yay. It's my third novel with Multnomah in three years and is a stand alone. The first two books, Dark Star: Confessions of a Rock Idol and Full Tilt were made up a two book series known as The Rock Star Chronicles.

The story behind NOBODY is pretty cool. I was with my late father, Bernie, at a park in St. Augustine, FL, when we saw a homeless man sitting on a park bench, clutching a loaf of bread, tearing off pieces, eating some and throwing chunks to the dozens of black birds all around him. My dad noted that "he" would be a good subject for a book. Then, when my publisher suggested Las Vegas as a backdrop, and a research visit to that city, I set up a day with Brian Brooks of the Nevada Health Centers, who took me all over the Vegas homeless community. We visited free clinics, talked to doctors and nurses, went to the soup kitchens and encampments where they "live." I also met with Jud Wilhite, pastor of Vegas's booming Central Christian Church (10,000-12,000). Jud shared a moving poem with me called I Stand By The Door, which amazingly aligned with my spiritual walk of getting too steeped in the church, and not concerned enough about the people outside the doors of it.

Since I was a reporter at one time, my main character, Hudson Ambrose, is a reporter for the Las Vegas Review Journal, the city's real paper, which I visited when in Las Vegas. The book begins when Hud hears a pre-dawn call on the police scanner at the newspaper about an injured person at a bus stop along The Strip. When he arrives, he finds a murdered homeless man. Waiting around for the police, Hud knows the case will get tied up in red tape when they do arrive. He wants to get an ID on the guy before the police come. He can hear the sirens bearing down. Quickly, he searches the mans pockets and is shocked to find a bank book with close to a million dollars in it. A safe deposit box key drops into the puddle of blood at the man's feet. Hud's got a decision to make. And off we go into NOBODY, and Hudson Ambrose's breakneck investigation into the life of the homeless man, Chester Holte. Why was a former rich Atlanta business mogul living homeless on the streets of Las Vegas? What happened after his wife died in their private plane crash. Who was the beautiful Holly Queens and what was her relationship with Chester? And why does virtually everyone in the Las Vegas homeless community believe Chester was an angel in disguise?


www.crestonmapes.com