Hey! I have another interview on a blog tour for Lady Belling’s Secret. I’ll be giving away a copy to a lucky commentor. Commenter. Did you know there doesn’t seem to be a word for a person who leaves comments that my Spell Check will approve of.

Whatever. I’ll be giving a copy of Lady Belling’s Secret to some lucky person who leaves a comment on THIS blog.

Hop over and give it a read. You mind find the Mysteries of Life by Amylynn Bright over there. More than likely, you’ll find fine examples of me goofing off, answering interview questions instead of writing on my current work in process.

Either way it’ll be fun.

Not as fun as rolling on the floor with a bunch of baby pandas, but that much fun is probably illegal in China and they seem to be hoarding all the pandas over there.

In honor of my pirate story, The Sea Rose, being free this week on Amazon, I give you Captain Morgan.

This was an actual conversation we had on Easter morning over breakfast. I feel that I MUST tell you it was an actual conversation and I am not making this up. There are an awful lot of conversations in our house that go along these lines.

Cecil! Is that you?

Sassy ignored the policy about speaking with food in her mouth to ask the following question, “Can I have a bunny for Easter?” I’m certain she directed this question to me rather than her father as I’m the crazy person about acquiring animals.

“No,” I told her. I’m still sane although people who read this blog can file a complaint if they believe that I am lying about this.

“If I did have a bunny, I’d name him Bunbun.”

“That’s a stupid name for a bunny,” I told her with derision.

“Oh,” she said. “What would you name your bunny?” This holds constant fascination for her – what I’d name imaginary animals.

“Cecil.”

My son threw his fork on the table and look at me like I was the stupidest person EVER. “Cecil? That’s not a name for a bunny. That’s a name for an otter.”

Of course he’s right.

The Sea Rose is free this week. If you haven’t picked up your copy already, you should do it now. Cause it’s free. Free, I tell you. As in costs no money.

“Is it good?” you ask. Of course it’s good. Here are some quotes from Amazon reviews:

“..a well written story of adventure, lust, romance, treachery, and bravery.”

“A fun, quick read with one lustful alpha pirate that will bring a smile to your face.”

“I could smell the sea air and feel the pitch and roll of the ship”

Ava and I are so excited! We just got the call we’ve been waiting for for so long. We weren’t allowed to talk about it for fear that all the negotiations would

Petunia!

crumble, but now that it’s a done deal, WE’RE YELLING FROM THE RAFTERS.

Our panda arrives on May 2nd. We have one month to get everything ready, get the right licenses, and prove that we have the appropriate food sources established. It’ll be a ton of work, but so, so worth it.

She is a little girl named Xiàohuà, or 笑话 in traditional Chinese. The Chinese government is very serious about the naming thing. I think we’ll call her Petunia cause once we pick her up what they don’t know won’t kill ’em. She’s eighteen months old and super adorable.

There will be regular visits from the Chinese government to check on her and we have to send regular lab work back, but none of that matters

CAUSE WE’LL HAVE A PANDA!

Can you believe it? Us neither. Make sure you take note on the calendar the date you heard the news! What’s the date again? Oh, yeah.

You know what we read today? Apparently people are throwing away their dyed Easter eggs. What the hell? Who are these crazy people? What is more fun than funky colored deviled eggs, potato salad, and egg salad sandwiches? Out here in the desert, it can be quite warm on Easter and we’ve always been a bit freaked out about leaving unrefrigerated eggs in the sun. The real crime, though, is the melted chocolate. Forget the eggs! Save the chocolate! Here are some amusing things that got us through the week.

1. Chocolate Stamps. Those brilliant and ingenius Belgins have issued De Belgische Chocolade or Le Chocolat belge. That is both Dutch and French for Belgian Chocolate. We know you come here for the sophistocated international flair. Anyway – it’s a chocolate stamp. When you lick it there is a chocolate flavor and apparently even a smell mixed in with the varnish. Like a scratch-and-sniff stamp. The US postal service is always complaining that they’re running out of money. This could solve everything. People will send snail mail again if they have the option of a chocolate stamp. Genius.

2. New Book Cover. Book 2 – Miss Goldsleigh’s Secret – has gone to the editor for the final round of edits and the book cover is done. It’s absolutely gorgeous. We’re also not going to show you yet. There’s going to be a big cover reveal next month. There will be a prize of some sort as soon as we figure it out. But we’ll give you some hints; it’s various shades of blue, there is a lady, and the secret is exposed on the cover. You’ll just have to stay tuned. Just know, it makes us squeal in excitement.

3. Check in the mail. When Amylynn got home last night there was a check from her agent in with a jury summons. The two have nothing to do with each other except that Amylynn was afraid that the letter from the court acted as some sort of portent or bad omen. She wasn’t expecting anything from her agent so she opened the evelope slowly. Inside the envelope was a check – her first royalty check! If you can’t read the amount, it’s $9.10. Isn’t that adorable. We deposited it via our iPhone so we could keep the paper check for posterity.  Ava here: WE did no such thing.  Amy deposited it because she is brilliant with technology.  I can’t even deposit a check at the bank without help. 

4. Suzy’s Hair Salon. We’ve been pretty slow at work. The last time this happened we did a zillion jigsaw puzzles. This time we’ve been experimenting with hair. Our receptionist is fab with hair. So far we’ve messed around with a spiral curling wand and some heated clam shell shaped clippy things. We’ve been known to braid for each other. Honest to Zeus. The landlord should just be happy we’re not doing coloring jobs in the kitchen. We found a stylist chair on Ebay for 108.00. You’ll have to call to make an appointment.

5. Stuff to read. Once upon a time, Amylynn used to do book reviews. She doesn’t have time for that anymore – although, now we’re seriously considering adding it back in. That’s cause we’re crazy. Why is this a favorite thing? Because we still get books in the mail from the publishers every day. There are bags and bags of books we’ve not been able to give away because we might be book hoarders. Maybe. We’re not committing to that diagnosis.

I sent Book 2, Miss Goldsleigh’s Secret, to my editor for the second round of edits today, and I find myself at odds with what to do with myself. It’s a weird feeling.

I have Book 3 about 1/3 of the way done. And there’s another story – a contemporary romance – my agent asked me to write that I’ve written about the same amount.

But I don’t really want to get into one of those projects because, just about the time I get sunk in, the editor will send the final round back on Miss Goldsleigh’s Secret and I’ll have to put it aside again.

So I decided I’m going to read for the next two weeks. I’ve been sorely lacking in my reading since January.

I have two bags of books I took to work for the girls to read and I haven’t read any of those. Just about every day when I get home, there is at least one new book sent from various publishers to read for reviews I never have time for anymore. I have a zillion ebooks in my iPad I haven’t gotten to either.

Tonight, I bought two books I’m been excited about reading – Cinder by Marissa Meyer and Secrets of a Runaway Bride by Valerie Bowman.

It’s going to be two weeks of gloriousness!