Book Releases

Holding On (Colorado High Country #6) —
The Colorado High Country series returns with Conrad and Kenzie's story.

A hero barely holding on…

Harrison Conrad returned to Scarlet Springs from Nepal, the sole survivor of a freak accident on Mt. Everest. Shattered and grieving for his friends, he vows never to climb again and retreats into a bottle of whiskey—until Kenzie Morgan shows up at his door with a tiny puppy asking for his help. He’s the last person in the world she should ask to foster this little furball. He’s barely capable of managing his own life right now, let alone caring for a helpless, adorable, fluffy puppy. But Conrad has always had a thing for Kenzie with her bright smile and sweet curves. One look into her pleading blue eyes, and he can’t say no.

The woman who won’t let him fall…

Kenzie Morgan’s life went to the dogs years ago. A successful search dog trainer and kennel owner, she gets her fill of adventure volunteering for the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team. The only thing missing from her busy life is love. It’s not easy finding Mr. Right in a small mountain town, especially when she’s unwilling to date climbers. She long ago swore never again to fall for a guy who might one day leave her for a rock. When Conrad returns from a climbing trip haunted by the catastrophe that killed his best friend, Kenzie can see he’s hurting and wants to help. She just might have the perfect way to bring him back to the world of the living. But friendship quickly turns into something more—and now she’s risking her heart to heal his.

In ebook and soon in print!


About Me

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I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Denmark and traveled throughout Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two adult sons, whom I cherish. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. Along the way, my team and I won numerous state and several national awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, I was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism. Now I write historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense.

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Seductive Musings

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Blizzard!


This is the view right now from my office window at the newspaper. See the tree? Neither do I.

After weeks of temps in the 70s, Colorado's mountains and Front Range have been hit with a monster snowstorm that is dumping at least 2 inches an hour and has been doing so since last night.

The drive from home to work — normally a 45-minute trip — lasted much of the morning, but I felt lucky compared to the people who had gone off the highway and now sit nose-first in snowbanks. My little car handled the drive pretty well, apart from the fact that in places the snow was so deep that it scraped the bottom of the vehicle. I came close to losing control a couple of times, but — thank goodness! — made it safely.

I have a hotel room reserved for tonight, where I shall hang out and write.

Schools are closed — it takes something of this magnitude to get a snow day in Colorado — and most highways are going to close this afternoon.

I wish I were home by my fireplace instead of stuck in an office! But staying in a hotel is always kind of fun. By tomorrow afternoon, I hope to have made it safely home again to snuggle in front of a fire and write.

To all my friends in Colorado — yes, I'm talking to YOU! — be safe!!!

19 comments:

Amanda said...

To all in Colorado stay safe!

Wow that is ALOT of snow! Glad you don't have to drive back home in that tonight hun it just wouldn't be safe! Get some hot chocolate to warm the soul when you get to the hotel!

Stay safe and hope it breaks soon hun *hugs*

Hi, Amanda — And thanks! I'm doing my best to stay safe. The hotel I'm staying at is about a 15-minute drive away (on a clear day). I'm hoping to make it that far.

BUT, the editorial staff of the paper is ALWAYS PREPARED! So we made a quick trek — yes, using our feet — to the liquor store just in case we all get stuck in the building all night. I have a big bottle of Bailey's and some glasses sitting on my desk now. :-)

The Red Cross is opening shelters for stranded motorists, so I guess this really is a doozy of a blizzard!

We've had barely any snow this year. It just figures we'd make up for it in one day. That's Colorado.

Unknown said...

That is a blizzard! WOW! In March no less.

I am so happy that I found your blog! You are my new favorite writer. :) I have read all your books in the past two weeks and am so sad that there isn't another sitting on the shelf waiting for me.

I also wanted to thank you. I love the fact that you are so breastfeeding and homebirth supportive in your books. As a member of La Leche League, a midwife-in-trainng, and a member of the Indiana Homebirth support group, I found it so nice to see references of the important things in my life in your books. So thanks.

Looking forward to following your blog and reading more of your wonderful books.

Sue Z said...

Holy crap, PC! That is one heck of a storm. It looks like you are getting your winter weather a wee bit late!

The Bailey's sounds like fun!

Have a safe trip to the hotel!

Hi, M — And welcome! I'm so happy to be your favorite author. I can't believe you read ALL the book in two weeks! Goodness!

Do you have a favorite book, hero or series?

You'll find that everyone here is very friendly and loves to talk about romance novels.

Yep, it's a March blizzard. Actually, our snowiest month is March. Strange, I know. I've seen blizzards as late as May and once even in July. Because I live right up against the mountains, the weather is very unpredictable. It isn't uncommon to go to work in shorts and sandals and then drive home in snow.

How wonderful that you're a midwife! Both of my deliveries were with CNMs. The first time I went all natural -- not even an IV -- and caught the baby myself. The second time around I said, "To heck with that" and had an epidural that wore of at 9 cm. Lots of screaming. LOL! I really think the whole country would benefit from expanding our homebirth, waterbirth and midwifery options, not to mention adding doulas to the mix.

When it comes to breastfeeding, it was the greatest experience of my life. It was amazing to hold a six-month-old baby and know that every bit of sustenance he'd had had come from me. I'm actually about to write a column for the newspaper about how we could cut health-care costs and improve health nationwide if the government encouraged all women to nurse for the first year (at least) of a baby's life. I've also fought as a journalist to win women the right (which they already had, actually) to breastfeed in public without being hassled.

Sorry to go on there... But I am glad you appreciate those aspects of the stories.

The heroine of my Arthur series is going to be a midwife, so I've been taking with my midwife friends and watching lots and lots of homebirth videos.

Thanks again for popping by! I hope you enjoy the blog!

Pamela

SueZAY, you snuck in behind me! Thanks for the good wishes. Alec has made it safely to his job, so that's a relief. I'm putting in a few more hours here, then I'm going to saddle up and head out into the wilds of Boulder. LOL!

Thank goodness the liquor store hadn't closed yet!!!

Christi said...

Gee, and here i though cloudy and rainy was bad. I think i'll stick with my 62* rain. Good to know you have a plan and the paper has a "help keep you warm" stash. Anyway... stay out of that white stuff and enjoy your writing time. ((warm hugs))
Christi

Bo said...

STAY SAFE!!! I am LOL@ you guys running to the liquor store just in case.Too funny!

It has been VERY windy here today,and except for the tumbleweeds and neighborhood trash constantly blowing into our yard and irritating me,I love it.I want to put summer off as long as I can *G*

I voted in the poll,you know I want to see Wentworth get his own book b/c I want to see his transformation! You can do it!

Anonymous said...

OY! Stay safe and warm, Pamela!! ((hugs))

Judy said...

Wow you really are getting clobbered. Please don't send the storm east! I suppose this will add to the flooding in North Dakota. Just drive safe.

Anonymous said...

umm, Just want to say, that in Romance Novels...I think blizzards are the sexiest things ever...just a little fan to author tid bit....and thunderstorms
But I'm very glad you're safe, and I hope you get home safe tomorrow!!

This sounds like the kind of thing March likes to throw at us on the coast. Stay safe, keep warm and have a Bailey's for me - yum!
And happy writing!

Hi, Christi — Thanks! I'm now safe and warm at the hotel on their free wireless. Hurray for free wireless. The snow was coming down so hard on the way here that I might as well not have scraped off my back windshield. It's supposed to let up tonight. It will probably melt tomorrow by noon. That's how these March storms usually are. But, we really, really needed the moisture. So hurray for precipitation! I know that you can appreciate that, as someone who lives in Texas.

Hi, Bo — Thanks! I will try. Yeah, journalists are renowned for drinking, something I really don't show too much of in my books. They bought a HUGE thing of PBR and were drinking at their desks when I left. LOL! I understand about wanting to put off summer. It's SO DRY here in the west. And TOO HOT. That's what I really dislike.

And, hey, thanks for the vote of confidence. As you know, I love Lord William. He's going to be completely redeemed by the time he gets his own book. I'm going to make him SUFFER his way to being a hero. Bwahahaha! And I know how to make heroes suffer. Just ask Nicholas. Or Iain. Or really any of them. LOL!

Hi, Barbara — Thanks! I will do my best!

Hi, Judy — I think the same storm front is hitting N. Dakota. But none of our snowmelt will go that way, It will head to the Mississippi via the Platte, I think. They're pretty far north of here. And I will not send it east. We do need the moisture even if no one is enjoying driving in this stuff.

Hi, Christine — I agree that blizzards certainly can be sexy. A little hypothermia. Sharing a sleeping bag or blanket. Skin on skin. And who knows what might happen? LOL! Thanks for the good wishes. I hope to be home around noon, after the snow ploughs and the sun have had a go at the roads.

Hi, Linda — I shall drink a shot in your honor. :-)

I'm nice and warm now, so that's great. I'm going to soak in the tub, then do some work for the paper and then work on fiction.

Thanks everyone!

Lori said...

Wow. A snow day in late march. That's something. We never had a snow day in the entire 4 years I loved there. I do remember living in Boulder, though, where the motto was, if you don't like the weather, wait a minute.

Still, glad that you're safe for the night.

Hi, Lori — That is STILL the motto for weather in Boulder. We don't get lots of snow days. Last year we didn't have a single one. In 2006, when we got six feet of snow in a month -- yes, six feet -- we had about a week's worth. The kids were very happy.

It's kind of funny because this winter we've had temps of -14 and temps of 75. In the same season. And it's been dry and now it's very, very wet. This is very slushy snow.

As I'm sure you remember, we all dress in layers so that we can be ready for ANYTHING.

:-)

Debbie H said...

Here I am, late as usual since I started this job.

Pamela, take care. We are supposed to get some of that starting tomorrow afternoon into Saturday.

It's spring and that isn't suppose to happen here. I know in Colorado, it can happen in July if the atmosphere is right.

Wish I was there to enjoy the Bailey's with you. I love it! I've been trying to find some Scottish Cream, but no luck so far.

Mandie said...

Pamela- Thank you so much for writing back!

I do have a favorite book. I loved Ride the Fire. Bethie is my favorite heroine. She is such a strong woman and mother. I love the complexity of her character. I love that she triumphed over her dark past. I love that she is so forgiving. And I adore Nicholas. He too has a dark past and I love seeing him break through his demons. I love seeing him go from rough warrior to loving dad. Makes my heart smile. I also appreciated the ending to this book. The whole family back together has such a wonderful feeling to it.

And I am so happy to hear that you used CNMs for your pregnancies! There need to be more of us out there.

And I totally agree. Breastfeeding has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. My son nursed for 21 months before deciding that he was done with “nummies”. So I am still pumping for him, because it is important to me for him to have 2 years of breastmilk. And that is so awesome that you are doing an article on the health-care costs related to breastfeeding. I did a similar paper in college. And thank you for standing up for our rights to breastfeed in public. I have been on several “nurse-ins” myself.

I hadn’t heard about your Arthur series! Now I am excited! :)

Thanks again and I hope you are keeping warm!

Casee said...

Stay safe, Pamela! I hate driving in those conditions.

Hi, Debbie — I heard the panhandle got slammed with a blizzard, too, and that there was other crazy weather elsewhere in the state. I hope you're warm and dry. Scottish Cream? Hadn't heard of that, but it sounds tasty!!!

Hi, Mandie — Ride the Fire, huh? That's one of my personal favorites. I've said it a million times, but that book trashed me. I've never been more emotionally destroyed by something I wrote than I was with that book. I couldn't talk to anyone for about six weeks after I finished it. In some ways, it's a very personal book, and I scoured my insides to come up with the emotion that went into it. So I'm glad you liked it!

Cool about the "nurse-ins." And good for you for nursing so long. My first weaned himself at 15 months, while my second was weaned at the early age of 10 months after I landed in the hospital at death's door for nine days. By the time I got out, he barely recognized me, and I was too weak even to pick him up. I felt like something precious had been stolen from the two of us. But that's how it goes sometimes.

The Arthur series (as in King Arthur) isn't written yet. It's a gleam in my eye at this point. I needed to find the perfect mate for him. He's the ultimate warrior, so she needed to be a goddess/priestess type. I came up with midwife. He takes life; she helps bring it into the world. :-)

Hi, Casee — So good to see you! Yes, driving in snow really sucks. I don't like it at all. I will say that my car handled it really well and that my snow tires were worth every penny I spent on them. Thanks for the good wishes! I hope all is well with you!

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