What a day. It started with a really awful night.

Y'all know that my body has been through the wringer. There’s the whole falling-of-the-cliff gig. There’s the broken neck thing. And then there’s the gave-birth-to-a-baby-with-a-15-inch-head incident, which tore my cervix, caused permanent damage to my lower spine and even made my hips hemorrhage internally. (Can they really do that? Yes. TMI? Sorry, I’m a journalist. There's never any such thing as TMI.)

Somehow yesterday I did violence to myself and set off the lower spine problem. I’ve had physical therapy, massage, steroid injections and every other thing that can be done short of that special Klingon spine replacement surgery they do for Worf on Star Trek. I would sign up for trials for that, but no one’s doing them yet...

To make a boring story shorter, I couldn’t even lie down last night without serious pain. I finally took narcotics and got maybe four hours. What does a newspaper E-in-C do she's been awake all night? She gets up and goes to work.

Today was our press day — and we made our deadline — but it was also the day I was supposed to meet the president of Colorado’s Senate to see whether there was any chance of getting legislation going to make it illegal to put women inmates in chains when they're in labor.

And... It went really, really well. I took the packet of materials I had put together out of my own research on the topic, met with him privately in his office, and gave him my impassioned plea to end this practice. He got a funny look on his face and said, “Do you mean to say that they actually shackle a woman by her wrist or ankle to a hospital bed even though she’s already under armed guard?” And I said, “Yes."


Elated, I left his office and got lost. Then I got on the elevator and meant to go to a different floor and wondered why the elevator wasn’t moving. Then I realized I kept pushing the button for the second floor... and I was on the second floor. And that explained why the lobbyist in the elevator was giving me strange looks.



So there’s a lot more to do to get this effort underway, but I feel things are converging. When I got back to the office — which entailed driving through a short blizzard — I found I had a message from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) saying that they had hoped to get legislation rolling about this for next year but that if I already had something underway they’d throw their weight behind it. And so it’s on!

I feel very happy about this. It’s something I’ve tried to make happen for a long time, but I haven’t been able to persuade a lawmaker to take up the challenge. Now I’ve done the research they’ll need to pass the bill, and I’m willing to throw the newspaper behind it. Is that objective journalism? Do I care?

Back when the Founders created the First Amendment, newspapers played an advocacy role on behalf of things they believed were important issues. Nowadays “advocacy” is saved for the editorial pages. But sometimes that’s not enough.

Too many people don’t care about women, and especially about women in prison. I have to change that somehow. I can’t exactly say why this became so important to me, but it is. When my mother told a friend what I was working on, her friend said, “Well, I guess they shouldn't have landed in prison.”

But birth impacts the baby, too. And no prison sentence should include being chained while doing that uniquely beautiful thing that only women can do — bringing a new life into the world.

I am staking myself to this one.

I know it has nothing to do with fiction or Naked Edge, which I’m supposed to be promoting now with tireless zeal. And though it was mentioned in Unlawful Contact through the character of Megan, it really has nothing to do with my novels. But it has to do with what’s important to me on a soul-deep level. And so here it is.

If you’re interested in checking on or changing the policies in your state, please let me know! I’ll hook you up. If you want me to blog on this topic, baby, I’m all yours.

Time for more percocet... If only I had some chocolate!

Now back to your regularly

Hey, everyone.

I wanted to let you know that those of you who’ve won copies of Naked Edge (and who’ve sent me your addresses) can expect a package in the mail very soon! I still need address from some of you, however. If I don’t hear back by the end of the week, I’ll pick new winners. So please send me your addresses!

After the Epilogue Chat update: The chat will be held this coming Saturday, March 13, at 7 p.m. MST (that’s 9 PM for the East Coast and 6 PM for the West Coast) in a Chatzy chatroom. I will post the URL of the chatroom here that afternoon, so check back here before the chat starts, and click the link to join us. Chatzy is very easy to use with only minimal registration required.

Remember this is a spoiler chat for those who’ve already read Naked Edge and want to talk about it with others.

Blogging today: I'm blogging with Denise Agnew and The Branford Bunch today at http://tinyurl.com/yz7rkec. It’s another chance to win a copy of Naked Edge and to ask questions.

Women in prison: Those of you who read Unlawful Contact know that it focused heavily on challenges faced by women in prison. That’s a topic I’ve covered a lot over the years, most recently when I wrote about the treatment pregnant women receive in prison. Part of the HEA in Unlawful Contact ** mini-spoiler ** is that Reece, the senator hero from Extreme Exposure, passes a bill that makes it illegal to shackle pregnant inmates in labor.

Yes, unbelievably, most states in the U.S. allow incarcerated women to be shackled during this most vulnerable and sometimes scary time of their lives. Not only do they give birth surrounded by strangers — even the baby’s father isn’t allowed to be in the room — but these women are also chained to their beds and kept under armed guard. Talk about overkill!

Can you imagine a woman in active labor trying to run away from an armed guard?

I’ve been trying to bring attention to this abuse (as I see it) for a long time. My most recent article on the subject seems to have caught some attention. So on Wednesday I’m having a private meeting the president of the State Senate to discuss the issue.

Wish me luck! I hope I can make my state lawmakers understand that chaining women to a bed during this time only further damages already damaged human beings. And it puts their babies at risk. This is so important to me. I became a journalist to help people who otherwise would be ignored by our society, and this is an issue that tears at my heart.

This will be a busy and somewhat stressful week for me, but I’ll be back and we’ll move on with the fun stuff I have in store for us, like an interview with Gabe Rossiter.

And THANK YOU for your messages and e-mails! I’m delighted that so many of you have enjoyed the story and happy to know that Julian and Marc have some competition in Gabe. One reader described Gabe as “a hero for the ages.” That would probably embarrass him, but I bet that Kat would agree.

Congratulations to Lori, Joy, Liz P, Ronna and Alba!

You each won a signed copy of Naked Edge! E-mail me your mailing address, and I’ll pop your books and matching bookmarks in the mail.

Sorry to have vanished. No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth or get arrested. I simply was consumed by problems at the paper this week. We missed our press deadline by more than an hour due to serious, prolonged computer problems in the production department, and it wasn't pretty. But we did eventually get the paper out. And we're getting a new computer for production.

As a result of the chaos, however, I missed hanging with you on release day — the problems started Tuesday morning — and am just getting caught up now.

I’m starting to hear from those of you who’ve had time to read the book, and I’ve been relieved and thrilled by what you’ve shared with me. Several of you have told me you wanted to talk about the book with others who've read it.

So... I’m setting up a chat. It’s the “After the Epilogue Naked Edge Chat” for Saturday evening, March 13 at 7 p.m. MST (9 Easter/6 Pacific). If anyone has a chatroom, let me know. Otherwise I’ll set it up at Chatzy and post the link.

What will we do in this chat? Well, we'll chat about the book without worrying about giving spoilers away to those who haven’t read it. You can ask me anything you’d like, and you can compare your thoughts and favorite scenes to those of other readers. You don’t have to be a regular poster on this blog to participate. Whether I know you from my blog or Facebook or Goodreads or a past life, you are welcome!

Everyone who participates will be eligible to win a signed copy of the book with a bookmark. Think of it as a perc for those of you who zipped out, got the book and read it — people like Kara C, who seems to have inhaled it. I’ll share some things that you don't know about the story — not the boring stuff about my falling off mountains, but more the specific details in the story.

It's also my way of thanking you for not giving away the surprises at the ending of the story in your reviews. I’ve been amazed at everyone's restraint, and I'm very grateful that no one has spilled the beans! Since you've all been so circumspect, you deserve a place to hang out and talk all you want about you know what!

So here were some fun things from the first couple of days of the book’s release:

Chatting at Leontine's Book Realm, Sapphire Romance and Borders True Romance.

Leontine's question about the kind of personal ad Gabe would run had people laughing, including me. Jenn J at Sapphire Romance asked some insightful questions based on her deep knowledge about the story. At Borders, I met a lot of new people.

And then there was the review at Smart Bitches. I loved it! SB Sarah gave the book a B+ and offered my favorite description of Gabe so far:

"[Y]ou see him act so honorably one moment, like when he comes to the heroine’s rescue after another police officer way oversteps his boundaries, and then you see him act like a callous, heartless self-absorbed dickbag and wonder how it can be the same person.”

I fell in love with the word dickbag and have tried to use it in as many situations as I can since then. I may have to put it in my next I-Team book.

I still have bookmarks. If you work at or own a bookstore and would like some, please let me know. Or if you’re a reader and would like one, also, let me know.

Other fun and games to come:
More contests
An interview with Gabe Rossiter
Naked Edge trivia
An interview with a true powder hound/extreme skier friend of mine (complete with video)

So has anyone seen the book on bookstore shelves out there anywhere? Does anyone have any release week stories to share?

Also, please RSVP if you'd like to come to the After the Epilogue Chat. I'll need your e-mail address to invite you in.

Thanks!

Thanks to those of you who joined me through the countdown to the release of Naked Edge. That day is finally here! It's been one year and 11 months since Unlawful Contact brought you Marc and Sophie's story, so it's about time!

Today, help me celebrate the book’s release. There are lots of fun ways to do that.

The best way to celebrate is to get your hands on a copy of the book and spend the day or the evening reading, and then to come back and share your thoughts on the story. There are drawings for free copies of the book going on across the 'Net.

Chat with me here and be entered into a drawing to win one of FIVE autographed copies of Naked Edge that will be given away during the course of the day. Just share with me your favorite moment from a Naked Edge excerpt (listed here on this blog), and you’re in!

Or come to Borders True Romance, where I will be blogging all day, and be entered into a drawing for an autographed copy of the book there.

Visit Leontine's Book Realm to read an interview with me about the book and to be entered into the drawing there. We had a lively chat yesterday.

If you're out and about and see displays featuring Naked Edge, snap a photo, email it to me and I'll post it here.

Here are more ways to join in the fun:

If you are a reader and would like a matching bookmark or a signed bookplate to put in your copy of Naked Edge, send an e-mail or contact to me through my Web site's guestbook with your mailing address.

If you represent a readers group and would like bookmarks for your entire group, or if you want to set up a speaker phone chat with your readers group to discuss the book, please contact me, and we’ll set it up!

If you are a bookstore owner or employee and want bookmarks for your customers, let me know and I will get them in the mail to you.

If you love the cover of the book, go to my Web site and download the free wallpaper for your desktop.

Then stay tuned, because I'll be having an After The Epilogue chat later this month so that those of you who want to talk with me about the book can spend a couple of hours doing just that without worrying about spoilers.

Plus there will be more contests and craziness to come.

So get yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and help me make this the best I-Team book release party ever!

Today is brought to you by the Number 1. One is for... One man’s determination, one man’s love for a woman, one man’s astonishing sacrifice.



Gabe wasn’t looking to get involved with a woman. Especially not a virgin who believes in happily-ever-afters. (A virgin! When was the last time he'd heard that word associated with anything other than olive oil? He really can’t remember.)

But from the moment Kat enters his life, she begins to challenge everything he thought he knew about himself. She sees things in him that he doesn't see — which, frankly, scares the hell out of him.

When her investigation into events at Mesa Butte puts her life in danger, he can’t let her face that alone, whether that includes flying bullets…



Or much more stealthy and sinister weapons.

Keeping Kat safe will take every bit of his strength… and his courage…

And before it’s all over, he’ll find himself willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to keep her alive.

It seems that somewhere along the way, Gabe fell in love.

“There is no greater sacrifice than when one lays down his life for another.”

That brings us to the end of our countdown. Now only hours remain until Naked Edge is released in bookstores. I spent more than a year working each and every day on this book, and I hope with all of my heart that Kat and Gabe’s story will be one that stays with you for years to come.