Callie Croix Release Day
That naughty Callie Croix has another release today. Dillon’s Claim, the sequel to Deacon’s Touch, is officially out and this eldest Dumen brother is quite the sexy alpha cowboy!
There are a couple of contests going on with giveaways for the book, so you can check out the info on Callie’s personal blog.
Hope all of you are ready for the upcoming holiday madness! I’ve got all my shopping and wrapping done, so that’s a huge relief. But if my Callie persona lands me on Santa’s naughty list, I’m going to be ticked 🙂 (You won’t tell him, right?)
Voila! French Bathroom Transformation.
Well, it took almost 7 weeks, but the master bathroom face lift is finally complete! I’m thrilled with how it turned out. I’ve been wanting to make some changes since soon after we moved in, as things were starting to break/peel/chip and generally just feel dated.
To make a long story short, it was actually the shower I hated since day one because of a bulkhead drop wall that trapped all the steam inside and made the paint in and around the shower peel and get all moldy. Ick. I was so sick and tired of sanding and repainting in the shower all the time! Once I got the accounting department’s permission, it was go time on this bathroom operation.
Here are the before shots I took:
If you look closely in the above shot, you can see some of the paint peeling along the edge of the bulkhead “drop” wall that goes across the shower. So annoying.
The old vanity and sink with peeling counters and trim. It looks much better in the picture than it did up close, believe me. You’ll just have to take my word for it 🙂
And… *drum roll* Here are the after shots!
Ta-da! Nice clean, modern shower, with no more bulkhead or peeling paint. Because the rest of the room is so girly, I went with plain white subway tiles and an accent of silver and black mosaic, colors reflected in the rest of the bathroom. I thought hubby would appreciate a hint of masculinity. The shower head is the neatest I’ve ever seen; a rain head with a center detachable spray head, so we can clean the walls easily. So very cool.
Beautiful new black granite vanity with silver flecks in it, a new undermount sink and brushed silver Victorian faucet with French writing on the knobs. I love putting together little details like that!
Pretty robin’s egg blue paint on the walls, a fresh coat of white on all the trim, some French decor I had all kinds of fun picking out, and then I gave the clawfoot tub a coat of semi-gloss black Tremclad to make it match everything else. I added all kinds of neat little accessories that pulled the room together: French towels, toothbrush holder, fancy towel racks and candles, etc, etc. That was my favorite part of the whole project 🙂
And last but not least, a couple pretty silver French-style chandeliers, to make everything seem that much more luxurious.
Yeah it took awhile to get all the tradespeople lined up to do their thing, but the important part is that it all turned out well in the end. I love the room, and I had my first long soak in the tub last night. Very nice, if I do say so myself! Hubby likes it, though not as much as the kids and I do. But a happy wife means a happy home life, right? So I say it’s all worth it, lol.
In writing news, I found out last week that Absolution took third place in the 2011 Laurel Wreath Awards. Another accolade for Luke and Emily! I miss them.
Now that the bathroom’s done and I’m finally wrapping up edits on the last story I have contracted (gulp), I plan to get the rest of my Christmas shopping done in the next week or so, then write without any undue stress hanging over my head! How are your Christmas preparations going?
Ben’s a Winner!
Yesterday I received word that No Turning Back won the romantic suspense category of the 2011 Aspen Gold Awards. 
Ben’s psyched, of course, and now his ego is bigger than ever.
Right now I’m completing line edits on Darkest Caress, a paranormal romance coming out next April from Carina Press. Once those are done I’m going to hack away at this first draft of the second Bagram book, featuring Ryan and Ace. I’ve got everything plotted out now, so it’s just a matter of getting the words down.
We’re also in the middle of renovations on our master bathroom right now, and of course it’s taking longer than expected. Trades not showing up when they’re supposed to, which pushes the whole project back. What can you do, right? It’s going to be purty when it’s done, so I’m holding on to that thought.
Relentless Takes 3rd
Rhys and Neveah took 3rd place in the ACRWA Heart of Excellence Awards! I’m thrilled because I think Relentless and Absolution are the best books of the series, and yet they’re the two books that haven’t sold/placed as well as the others. Go figure.
At any rate, I’m happy to have an accolade to put next to Relentless 🙂