Leap Year!

     Well, we are approaching the pinnacle of Leap Year...February 29th is in sight. Have to admit, whoever made the calendar we live by was a bit imprecise...an extra day every four years to catch us up. Humph! If we did that in the books we write...somebody would certainly leave an 'unbelievable' review!

     Speaking of reviews, it never ceases to amaze me how many nice, kind and caring people stop and leave a review on one of the books I have out there. Of course then you have the professional negative reviewers as well. If a book isn't to their taste, whether it's well written or not, they skewer it. But to all those nice folks out there...THANK YOU. A good review is the highest praise we can ask for as writers.

     We just put in a a new patio with Old Chicago pavers. Amazing! Anxiously waiting for the landscaper (Landscaping by Anthony, landscapingbyanthony.com) to put in the plants. We are very pleased with the effect the white fence and the pavers have made.

     More than a third of the way through the next Falls mystery. Still don't have a title which is unusual for me. More than halfway through editing the paperback proof of Brotherly Love, the 16th in the series. Carolyn gets it next. Thank you Sweetheart.

     Went to poll workers training yesterday. There are three poll days we'll work this year. March (presidential preference primary), August (regular primary) and November (regular election/presidential election). Long days but we feel good about doing our 'civic duty'. We still volunteer in the hospital on Tuesdays as well. I wheel out discharged patients and Carolyn works on the labor and delivery floor.

     I'm on Twitter, in case you're interested.  TheFalls_VT is my twitter address. Makes sense, I hope. I'm not much of a Twitter person, but it's another way for people to relate and see a bit of what The Falls series has to offer.

     Our daughter Stephanie and her husband Joe are now in Italy. Joe's in the army as a Lt. Colonel. They are stationed near Venice. Must be a whole new world!

     As Grandpa Burman would tell you, Take care and be kind to yourself. I would add. May the dragons watch over you...

Valentine's Day!

     Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. The day for people in love to send each other greetings, warm wishes, intimate presents and a day to be thankful for the one person in your life that means the world to you.  It works that way in The Falls as well. Grandma Burman has planned a special supper for her Ralph, Doc has created an evening of  luxury, love and pampering for his pregnant wife Jordan, Meg and Shanks have taken a long hike up to his cabin, where they will spend the evening and next day wrapped up in a toasty blanket beside the roaring fire. Nicholas and Marion will spend half of the evening playing happily with the twins, and the other half spending some much needed alone time together. Even Darlene and Moses will be spending the evening at the fancy French restaurant in Brown Bear Junction, followed up by a visit to The Scoop for hot fudge sundaes. 

     There are always those people who are alone on Valentine's Day as well. Sean will spend the evening playing video games and eating Marie's favorite ice cream, while thinking of and being glad for the time they had together. Old lady Montgomery will spend the evening flipping through the photos of her and the Colonel. He's been gone for eighteen years, but she's still just as much in love with him as when she was eighteen.

     Perhaps the most interesting couple will be Cash and Yamato. They will spend the evening rocking on the porch in the cold, sipping hot coffee and enjoying warm blueberry pie from Tina's Diner. Not one word will be said of love or commitment, but in their hearts, they are as much a couple as anyone in The Falls. They believe in each other and would do anything for the other.

     To all of you: I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day. It doesn't matter if you're a couple or by yourself, or just spending it with friends. Enjoy the blessings you are endowed with in this world, indulge in some ice cream, crack open a bottle of bubbly if you so choose, and be glad that you have what you have.

     I'm a third of the way through the 23rd Falls novel, and I have just sent the fifteenth one (Brotherly Love) into CreateSpace to be made into a paperback. I should get the proof in a few days and then in three or four weeks the book should be ready for publication on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace and elsewhere.The 22nd novel, The Falls: The Grass is Always Greener is out on Kindle.

     So my Valentine's present to all of you is to let you know that The Falls is alive and well and will have many stories yet to come! Happy Valentine's Day Carolyn! Love you lots...