August 2014

Dearest Reader,

I do hope your summer has treated you kindly. With all of the fires and droughts plaguing many places in the west, we have been lucky up here in my little corner of Montana. Every year we hope for a heavy snowfall and wet spring to keep the fires at bay, and the past few years have been good to us. I've been spending many hours each week in the gardens. Oh, how I love watching the flowers bloom, grow, and change as the season progresses. As much as I want to see an end to the heat, I am never quite ready to say goodbye to my beautiful summer gardens.

I have my sights set on expanding an existing bed and adding another one to make room for more lavender and heather. This new bed will include a lovely sitting area beneath a big evergreen--the perfect spot to read in the hot afternoons or draw inspiration from the garden while I write.

I will complete my second short story tomorrow and begin on the third--both for Christmas anthologies--and then it's back to the full-length novels. The Gallaghers and British Agents are all feeling neglected, and their voices sneak into my mind on a daily basis as they wonder when I will once again give them my full attention. Never to fear, because that day is coming soon.

May each one of you enjoy the last month of precious summer, and I wish you all a healthy and vibrant August, filled with hope, success, and dreams fulfilled.