I don’t usually blog about general things. I am a writer and tend to use this spot for letting you all know about my books and sharing hunky men on the occasional blog tour. Everyone needs some eye candy from time to time – – and blogs, I am told, are an excellent way to promote yourself and your books online. I also don’t blog every day since I should write! 100K+ books take time to write, revise and edit!

But today, since I got up early to put the bird in the oven and I have some extra time, I thought I would list what I am thankful for. So, here goes — and don’t be surprised if most of them aren’t about writing in some way:

• My health — for my age I am in good shape, well, except for the extreme myopia, creaky joints and the arthritis in my thumb on my typing hand, but all in all, I expect to live to be a hundred;
• My husband of 39 years (been together for 41 years) — he is the love of my life, my soul mate and still makes me laugh — among other things;
• My son — he is a reader like his mom and is a gentle giant (and he’s single and available!!);
• My fans — without you all I would not sit my ass in my chair and write books, exposing my soul and my feelings to the world. Yeah, I write escapist genre fiction, but every written work has something of the author in it. When you love my writing, you are in a way loving me and that makes me happy and keeps me going;
• My friends;
• My critique partners and beta -readers without whom I could not do what I do;
• My wonderful cover artist, April Martinez, whom I have never met but really need to since she has become a long-distance friend  – – she is the reason some of you want to read my little books.  Her covers just suck you in. She is also the reason I can bring out my backlist with her formatting skills;
• My long-term editor Terri who is sadly leaving to pursue her own writing (and her demanding day job!) and my new editor Sharis;
• My publisher, Atlantic Bridge/Liquid Silver Books, all the admin staff, and the owner, Linda, who is  and has been a very special person in my life since way back in 2000, the early days of e-publishing.  We have survived, my friend — hope to be with you for another eleven years;
• My snug little empty-nest home and my light and airy den — finally after almost 6 years in this house, my den is de-cluttered and the energy matches me!;
• Computers — I couldn’t write without them.  Just the thought of an old typewriter and carbon paper and Wite-out gives me an ulcer and a migraine. How did we live before Track Changes?!;
• My cat Pidge who loves me and is the best lap cat ever;
• Belgian dark chocolate;
• Single malt scotch (especially Glenlivet Nadura 16-yr reserve, cask strength, nectar of the gods;
• The guy who created the South Beach Diet — I am back to my fighting weight and love the healthy way I am eating now which is why I’ll live to be a hundred;
• My 1999 Volvo S70 turbo with standard transmission — yeah, I drive a stick and will keep this car until something better comes along and since I don’t see that happening, I’ll probably be driving it as long as I can see and do the gears;
• Skinny-leg jeans — for an old lady, I can rock them;
• For Pilates since it allows me to rock skinny leg jeans and keeps my bootey up where it belongs and my inner thighs from rubbing;
• For the person who thought of lettuce-wrapping burgers — Hardee’s and Red Robin do them the best;
• Pork chops at Squealers in Indy — hey, I come from a long line of hog farmers — pork is the other white meat;
• Belgian dark chocolate — yeah, I mentioned it once, but it is well worth mentioning it again;
• Mary Stewart and her novels which is why I write at all — no one writes romantic suspense as she did — spunky heroines in exotic locales and a hunky hero.  Yeah, the sex was mostly off stage but I have a great imagination and I was reading her when I was 12 — so that was fine. I travelled the world with Mary and her heroines and for the time I spent with her novels, I wasn’t in land-locked, boring Indiana;

• My guilty pleasure reading — Cherise Sinclair’s books — love them and they are a secret indulgence, well, not so secret now.  LOL  And I have never met Cherise, just love her books and would never have discovered her if she hadn’t written me a fan e-mail! Fate works in mysterious ways; and

Well , the timer is winding down on the bird (well, a boneless turkey breast, really, and another thing I am thankful for!) so time for one last thing I am thankful for — you got it — HUNKY MEN pictures — the Internet is truly a wonderful place!  Enjoy! — Monette