I just finished the first 60 pages of a western historical paranormal, and I’m loving it. It’s darker than my romances, and I so want to write this trilogy! But to do that (ergo, sell the idea to a publisher) I have to write a compelling synopsis to accompany those pages, and I dread it.

Seriously I have to get over this synopsis phobia I have. So, I’m going with my gut and trying a new approach to synopsis writing. No idea if it’ll fly, but nothing ventured nothing gained.

The proposal for the final book in my Born in a Brothel trilogy is ready for my editor’s eyes now. Yeehaw!

And another idea for a western historical trilogy is cooking away in my brain.

Today, life looks pretty good. 🙂

One thing I absolutely love to do in the spring is go mushroom hunting. While we do have several varieties, the only ones I go after are morels, or sponge, mushrooms. I found this batch yesterday.

Here’s my recipe, handed down for generations.

Thoroughly clean mushrooms in cold water. Slice in half, and remove stems if desired. Soak in cold salt water (a tsp of salt to half gallon) for an hour. Rinse well and pat dry.

Beat an egg (one egg is enough for about 8 small to medium mushrooms). Dredge mushrooms in beaten egg, then coat with finely crushed crackers. (saltines work well)

Fry mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Today is the release date for good friend Liz Kreger’s first novel, FORGET ABOUT TOMORROW. Liz is the epitome of the word survivor and a daily inspiration to me. Hop over to her site and read about her much deserved success, and follow the link to order her debut. I’ve ordered and downloaded my copy and can’t wait to read it.

And, today is also the release date for dear friend Karin Tabke ‘s second full length novel, SKIN. I’ve read snippets of this hot romance and I’m dying to read the final version. Come on Amazon, get my order here now!

Congrats, Liz and Karin!

I’ve begun an exercise routine, and I can feel the burn. I imagine by tomorrow I’ll feel the pain, lol. But after trying on summer duds, I realized winter gravity wasn’t kind to me.

Going to the gym is out. I’d never keep up with the commitment because I prefer exercising in the morning. No way am I tromping out of the house at the crack of dawn to do my workout. That’s why I invested in good exercise equipment for the home, but in all honesty that stuff is gathering dust.

So what am I using? A rope/pulley deal that mimics situps and leg scissors that I bought for less than $10 years ago. I’m using it because it does target my problem areas, and in the past I’ve seen results after the first week.

Wishful thinking??? Dunno. Fingers crossed my luck holds and the elastic in the bod will snap back into shape. 😆

We had a gorgeous start to spring. My crocus, jonquils and tulips put on a great showing in varying purples and yellows.

The big flowering crab apple in my front yard was a cloud of fushia, and the enormous lilac (that my grandpa planted) had the largest and most fragrant white clusters I’d seen in a long time. The redbud trees were just starting to show color.

And guess who frittered around and didn’t get a picture of all this beauty?

Pointing fingers at moi, who bragged about her new camera and the ease of taking pictures anytime. Oh, please slap me.

So out of the blue, the cool front turned into a dip back into winter. The flowers might have survived or not suffered so badly if it’d just been one night. But noooo, we had to have a string of below freezing weather.

What’s even sadder is that despite my bitching, all I’m out is the beauty of spring. My plants will survive, and grow and hopefully have a better spring next year.

As I look out my office winter at the withered flowers on the lilac, my thoughts go to those that depend on crops. Across the river, the apple crop for this year is toast. Millions of bucks lost with no way to recoup. I feel so badly for those farmers.

Other produce growers are likewise crushed. It’s sad, and we’ll all pay for this bizarre dip in tempteratures at the market, and when we dine out.

So how is spring in your next of the woods?