DEAR GOD, Jehovah, Allah, Goddess - sorry, I know You have many names and it’s my journalistic soul that wants to cover all of them. Forgive me if I get it wrong – I’m rushing the research a bit here.  I do appreciate Your taking the time to listen, as You have done so many times in the past. You must be extra busy with deadlines at this time of the year, because fires, floods, famines, storms, droughts, wars and general stupidity do not stop even in this holy season. With all that going on, I hope You can also find the time to celebrate with us the joy and peace that belong to this season.

There have been so many times when You have pulled this tattered manuscript of my life out of the heavenly slush pile, and even when Your reply has been a gentle rejection note, there is always been encouragement to go on using the talents You have loaned to me. You have forgiven the times I have been grouchy on life’s deadlines, when I failed to appreciate the wonder of the opportunities in new contracts  You have offered, and the many times I have ignored Your submission requirements in hopes that You would see past my mistakes into the willing prose of my heart.

Having said all of that, I feel selfish even asking for more, but here goes:

1)     It’s a bit of a cliché, but I would join with so many, many others to ask You to give Mankind – and I say MANkind because the male of the species seems to be more inclined to conflict than we females, but maybe I’m biased – if You would just give them all a bit of a shake and tell them it’s time to make peace not war.

2)     Please ignore the mean things I said about the intellectual abilities of publishers or agents who rejected my work – I didn’t really want You to strike them. Honest.

3)      There are so many of Your people in need, hungry, homeless, afraid, in pain. Maybe You could inspire those of us who have so much to heed Your teachings and work towards a more equitable society. Perhaps You could even slip a little extra blessings into the Christmas stockings of those who have been courageous enough to stand up for what is right.

4)     Please forgive the times I’ve cursed at my computer; the technology You have given us is truly a blessing and it was just the heat of the moment;  I didn’t mean a word of it. Really.

5)     Of course, I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t invest this prayer with a little personal self-interest. First, I want to thank You for all the people who have bought my books – the nice reviews always feel like a warm GodBreeze to my soul.

6)     Then maybe You could run to a dollop of forgiveness for all the times I left undone the things I ought to have done, and done those things I ought not to have done? Let’s not get into specifics now, eh? That would be a bit embarrassing and take up too much of Your time. We both know what they were. However, if you could see your way to making me a better person, and a better writer, and maybe, just maybe, a bit of help in getting through the edits for the next book, I would be very grateful.

 I can’t promise that I won’t screw up some more, but Dear Lord, I’m trying to be better.

Thank You. Amen.

New Romantic Suspense Release!

Saving Maggie. Read the first page here:

Saving Maggie

Chapter 1

The woman in the sexy little red convertible looked perky from behind. Her glossy long hair was pulled up in a careless pony tail and swayed from side to side like a cobra charmed by an Indian flute, as she bopped to the music from the car radio.

Even at a car's length away, the driver behind her thought this was the sort of hair a man could run his fingers through and grasp playfully… He wished now he was piloting his own expensive roadster, rather than the sedate brown sedan he'd rented especially for this trip. His own car was the sort that would impress the kind of girl who drove a bright red convertible with the top down on a windy spring day.

He imagined himself overtaking her, seeing her look over at him, her eyes widening in admiration as she took in his expensive ride and wealthy, groomed good looks.

Then she'd remember him and smile…

He gunned the accelerator, and with a disdainful purr the rental spurted forward, pulling alongside her. He glanced over, hoping to catch her eye. But she stared straight ahead, singing along to some mindless muzak and oblivious to his look of longing.

He didn't matter to her. She didn't remember. She didn't smile.

Irritated now, he jabbed the accelerator and zoomed past her. He knew that soon they'd meet again.

Then he'd refresh her memory.

Saving Maggie is on Amazon, Kobo, Walmart Online, B & N, and most good ebook outlets!

New Romantic Suspense Release!

Saving Maggie. Read the first page here:

Saving Maggie

Chapter 1

The woman in the sexy little red convertible looked perky from behind. Her glossy long hair was pulled up in a careless pony tail and swayed from side to side like a cobra charmed by an Indian flute, as she bopped to the music from the car radio.

Even at a car's length away, the driver behind her thought this was the sort of hair a man could run his fingers through and grasp playfully… He wished now he was piloting his own expensive roadster, rather than the sedate brown sedan he'd rented especially for this trip. His own car was the sort that would impress the kind of girl who drove a bright red convertible with the top down on a windy spring day.

He imagined himself overtaking her, seeing her look over at him, her eyes widening in admiration as she took in his expensive ride and wealthy, groomed good looks.

Then she'd remember him and smile…

He gunned the accelerator, and with a disdainful purr the rental spurted forward, pulling alongside her. He glanced over, hoping to catch her eye. But she stared straight ahead, singing along to some mindless muzak and oblivious to his look of longing.

He didn't matter to her. She didn't remember. She didn't smile.

Irritated now, he jabbed the accelerator and zoomed past her. He knew that soon they'd meet again.

Then he'd refresh her memory.

Saving Maggie is on Amazon, Kobo, Walmart Online, B & N, and most good ebook outlets!

Sometimes, Disappearing and Making a New Life Sounds Like a Great Idea...

Imagine you're being stalked by a psychotic killer. No-one believes your story of being hunted and  threatened. Disappearing seems like the only way you can escape, by becoming someone else and praying that the madman won’t find you.

For most of us, leaving our lives and starting over is an impossible daydream. There are lots of reasons why people do this – being really unhappy and seeing no way to correct things, being really bored and wanting to live a life with more excitement, having creditors constantly harassing you, family issues, and many more.

Having committed a crime – say you embezzled millions from your company and they're about to bring in the auditors – getting out of your life is one way to try and avoid prison. Don't bank on being successful, though!

Witness Protection is probably the best, because all the work of creating a new persona and a new life is done for you – although you still have to be careful not to give yourself away. And you've probably witnessed something traumatic before you're accepted into the program as a witness, so maybe it's not so much fun.

For Maggie Kendal, there was really no alternative but to disappear. She knew she was being stalked, but there's a twist – the psycho was killing people he thought had hurt Maggie in some way. He dreamed that one day he and she would be together, but in the meantime, he was 'protecting' her from people who he considered had done her harm. Being a little psychic didn't help Maggie at all – no-one believed that the murdered dead called to her, especially after they'd dug up dump sites she claimed the psychos victims were laid, and found nothing. Maggie had to flee to save the lives of other people she cared about.

But Maggie is a wealthy heiress with the means to move and keep moving, to pay for new identities and finally, to find peace in a small Ontario town. She purchased a community newspaper and resumed the work she loved as a journalist. But she knew that he would find her eventually and she'd have to stand and fight - or run again.

Disappearing is harder to do if you’re poor. You need money to travel, money to buy a new identity, money to live on and keep moving around until you feel your trail has gone cold. So you have to have a lead in time when you can quietly liquidate any assets you have before disappearing. Or, as some people have done, you simply get on a Greyhound bus and go, picking up odd jobs and hoping to one day feel safe enough to settle down in a new identity. You'll probably need several new identities as you go along in order to completely wipe out your trail.

You can check graveyards, find the name and birthdate of a child who was born around the time you were…and go and try your luck at getting documents in that child's name. Sure, you can say your paperwork was destroyed in a flood or hurricane, but most government offices have tightened up on this once tried and true method of getting a new identity.

You'll need to keep moving and changing your identity, losing yourself in cities in the beginning. You'll also need to keep a cash flow going, unless you've got a suitcase full of money from your previous life. Even the disappeared need to eat. That means working at low level jobs where pay is 'under the table' and there's no paper trail. Sure, you may be super well educated and have qualifications out the whazoo, but high powered jobs require documentation, and right now you're just concerned with not leaving a paper trail.

Later, like years later, you might feel safe enough – and savvy enough – to find a way to document your qualifications, perhaps by getting an expert forger to rework your certificates and degree information into your new name, not your old one. But remember, many institutions have become wary of hiring people who aren't who they say they are, and they will check with your previous employers or your alma mater, and then the doo-doo will hit the fan.

So, the grass may seem greener on the other side of the fence that's got you boxed in – but maybe it's all an illusion and home, sweet home, is the best place for you.

You can read about Maggie Kendall's journey to escape her psycho stalker and the courage it took for her to save the life of the man she loved and to make a new life for herself with him in Saving Maggie, to be released on November 7^th!

Saving Maggie