On deadline!

I have a writing buddy today as I finish my book. He's keeping me warm.  

Giving Thanks for YOU

To my readers, family and friends,

May your Thanksgiving be filled with love, laughter and light.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

As part of my research for writing my suspense stories, I've been attending the Washington County Sheriff's Citizens Academy. One of the best parts for me was getting to meet 19 month old Chase, a beautiful German Shepherd officer.  

Here's Chase and his human partner.

I was so impressed with Chase. For such a young dog, he really was well behaved and already so well trained.  And so friendly. At the end of the class we clapped for Chase and his handler. Chase got so excited and did a lap around the room.

My next K-9 book comes out next April and I can't wait to write another one. I enjoy incorporating animals into my stories.

My Mother

Today is a sad day for me. My mother passed away this morning. I wasn't with her at the time but I was on the phone telling her I loved her when she took her last breath.
I am a mess at the moment. This is the only picture I have of me and my mom on my computer. This is from my wedding day nearly 28 years ago.

Duty Bound Guardian ON SALE!!

Okay so if you don't receive my newsletter then you might not know that I have a book on sale for the month of October.  (If you'd like to receive my newsletter the sign up is to the right).

Duty Bound Guardian, book 2 of the Capitol K-9 Unit continuity series is now only $.99.

FRAMED 

When a priceless artifact is stolen, museum curator Lana Gomez becomes the prime suspect. How can she hope to adopt her orphaned nephew if she's a person of interest in a crime? Cooperating with Capitol K-9 Unit officer Adam Donovan doesn't get her very far—the handsome cop thinks she's hiding something. But when the real thief returns set on silencing Lana, it is Adam and his Doberman pinscher, Ace, who become her only defense against a madman who wants nothing more than to see Lana eliminated. 

Capitol K-9 Unit: These lawmen solve the toughest cases with the help of their brave canine partners. 

Writer's Police Academy

What a busy summer I had this year. After traveling to New York City to attend Romance Writer's of America's national conference, traveled to Appleton Wisconsin to attend the 7th annual Writer's Police Academy. This was such a fabulous adventure for me. Well, for any suspense writer. There were hands on classes, demonstrations and lectures where I took notes until my hand cramped.
I'm definitely going back because there was only so much I could absorb at one time.

Here's some fun photos of the trip.

 As we drove up to the facility for the first time.

Inside the lobby

The back of the fire engine

They even had their own plane to train on

 Watching a rescue litter demonstration

 Watching traffic stop demonstrations

 One of the many buildings in the 'town' for simulated training

 The fire captain demonstrating his turnout gear

All dressed and ready for a fire. 

A rescue dummy. I couldn't even move it. It weighed 170lbs. 

 The back of the fire truck

The fire truck with the ladder

Fellow Love Inspired Author Tina Radcliffe and I waiting our turn to ride in one of the fire vehicles

 The back of the seat inside the fire truck

 The view from the passenger seat of the fire truck

The driver's side with lots of equipment

 That little button on the floor by my foot turns on the siren on the passenger side

This is a fire engine--means it doesn't have a ladder

Turnout gear storage

 A hands on demonstration. We cleared the motel during a simulated fire done with theatrical smoke. The smoke was more disorienting than darkness.

Above-the view from my hotel room. A pretty park in Appleton. And to the right an Irish pub. The name cracked me up. And below we had fried cheese curds. When in Wisconsin...

Such a fun group of women. Debby Giusti, Christy Reese, Tina Radcliffe, Rhonda Starnes, Margaret Daley and me.

 A K-9 demonstration. The dog was a black German shepherd so he's hard to see but he has a hold of the 'suspect' who is wearing a bite suit.

 Here we are again. It was a sunny and windy day in Wisconsin

 Here the SWAT team showed off their equipment.

The back of an ambulance with a dummy on the gurney

K-9 officer

K-9 officers ride

K-9 officer and his handler at work sniffing out drugs in a car

As you can see it was a full schedule with so much to learn. 

There were two featured guest author speakers: Allison Brennan and Karin Slaughter. Both were amazing and funny and informative.

Allison Brennan

Karin Slaughter

Master of ceremonies and the brain behind the WPA Lee Lofland

Another fun thing that happened at WPA is I got to meet one of my favorite romantic suspense writer's Mary Burton

Mary Burton and me.  A very windy day but so fun

If you'd like more information about the Writer's Police Academy you can find their website here or visit their Facebook page 

I highly recommend it!