Dear Reader,

I’m doing the Happy Dance! My editor called this week with the awesome news that WYOMING BRIDE is #13 on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list! And #47 on the USA Today Top 50 list. Random House, my wonderful publisher, sent flowers to celebrate this news. I have you to thank for making this happen. I so appreciate your support and interest in the books I write!

Moving back to Colorado and struggling with unpacking for the past several weeks has been a little less stressful due to your many lovely emails and Facebook comments welcoming me to the state of Colorado or missing me in Florida. I must admit that after a few days of very cold weather, I thought about the warm, sunny days I left behind in Florida. The photo at the top of this letter was taken in the kitchen of my new home with a transplanted Florida barracuda!

Answers to your Questions

My desk is finally set up and I’m finishing MONTANA BRIDE. So many of you have written asking when you can read it. At this time, I don’t know the publication date, but it will be sometime later this year. As soon as I know, I’ll post that information, so be sure and sign up for my e-newsletter and continue to visit my website or Facebook Fan Page for the latest news.

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Dear Reader,

If you are like me, this is the time of year when life gets really busy with school events and charity events, holiday parties and family get-togethers. I’ve had my share of each over the past couple of weeks. My grandson and granddaughter both had parts in their school’s production of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Meg (age 7) was the Five of Spades, and Logan (age 9) had a speaking role as one of the Jury. I was so proud of them both! I wonder if Logan’s joy at being on the stage has anything to do with having a grandma who was a drama critic, director of theatre, and actress with two degrees in theater before she became a writer? Hmmm.

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Dear Reader,

I’m doing The Happy Dance! TEXAS BRIDE is on both the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists! Thank you for all your kind responses to TEXAS BRIDE. Here are just a few:

Marie wrote: Just finished this book, GREAT book, can’t wait for the other 3 to come out. PLEASE don’t make me wait toooooooooo long.

Esther emailed: I really, really enjoyed this book! I knew these people from other books you have written. It was great seeing them again, and I can’t wait for the other brides. Keep them coming. I couldn’t put it down.

Your comments really make all the hard work feel worthwhile!

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(Top Image: Buffalo skull on the wall of my office with painting of the Texas Hill Country, I thought the skull must be a cement reproduction, it was so heavy–until a tooth fell out! Jj)

Dear Reader,

One month into a new year and–despite all my resolutions for change in 2012–I’m still caught up in my usual routine: writing, tennis and travel.

Writing

I’m excited about the upcoming debut of my new Mail-Order Bride series. TEXAS BRIDE is the first book and will be available for purchase on March 27, 2012. Besides featuring Cricket Creed (from my Sisters of the Lone Star series), TEXAS BRIDE also introduces Alexander Blackthorne, the first Blackthorne in Texas, and therefore is also a prequel to my Bitter Creek series. (And, yes, I’m working on getting a Bitter Creek Family Tree on my website for those of you who have been asking for one!)

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Dear Reader,

I recently met with a friend in Seattle and realized I’d been in 9 different time zones in the space of a few weeks. No wonder I kept yawning over my lunch!

Despite the inconvenient disruption of my sleeping habits, I enjoyed my travels over the three months of summer immensely. If you’ve been reading my summer blog posts from London you experienced some of these highlights with me.

Almost Touching

Every so often, the British Heritage Trust at Stonehenge allows groups to walk in amongst (but not touch!) the stones at sunrise. I was privileged to be one of a group of 32 who had that experience. It was exhilarating to be allowed to get close enough to see where someone etched his presence in the stone in 1814, or to see where water has worn away holes in the stone, or to see the “blue stones” within the circle concealed by the larger stones without, or the moss growing on the stones right up close or to stand directly beneath one of the stone lentils. Most visitors are required to remain on a sidewalk perhaps three or four car lengths from the stones. We were the only folks there (aside from a single security guard), and the circle is large enough for me to have been there with no one else in sight. It was a feeling of sheer joy–cold and windy bliss, to be sure–to be there as the sun rose in a bright blue sky.

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