Sunday Morning

Ah, Sunday mornings are so lovely and lazy. I staggered out of bed with my usual arthritic stiffness, hobbled toward the bathroom, flipped on the light, and found "someone" waiting. In the sink. Stuck. Trembling.



I didn't scream, because I hadn't had my coffee yet. I looked at the poor, adorable--obviously trapped in the slippery marble sink--baby mouse and said, "There's no way I'm going to kill you, so don't be afraid."

Once I've seen its face, I do not kill. No way. I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat anything with a name or face either. I just...can't. My grandparents owned a dairy farm. We drank milk, but we didn't eat the cows. I was brokenhearted when I found out what sometimes happened to the chickens I helped my grandmother feed.

Back to Minnie Mouse....

Hours later, after morning coffee, etc., I enlisted the aid of my gentleman friend, who also agreed the little mouse must be safely captured and transported to the great outdoors. Yes, of course I realize he/she will probably just come back inside my house, but let's not go there yet. He found a plastic cup in the kitchen with a lid. After I snapped this very bad photo with my Blackberry, he scooped the little critter up and took him/her safely out to the front yard where my dog couldn't make sport of it.

So we've done our Sunday Morning Good Deed.

Now...tell me why we've had lows in the upper 40s the last week of July, and have mice coming into the house the 1st weekend of August.... It's too early for fall and winter even at this altitude.

Another impact of global climate change, no doubt. ::sigh::

I have a huge vegetable garden where this mouse could be happily feasting instead of being trapped in my bathroom sink. Go figure.

Have a wonderful Sunday and read something with a happy ending.

~Deb

PS: Some of you may remember my earlier post about this, much larger "visitor."

PROMO: I'm Baaaaack!

As many of you know, The Gift is the book I sold while my husband was dying from cancer. I am delighted to have finally completed it, and have it scheduled for November 2009! Early reviews are encouraging--hurray and whew!--and the cover art is stunning. I could not be more pleased. I must say I have the most patient editor and agent in the world!

My favorite bookseller has arranged to take advance orders for autographed copies, if you're so inclined. As an aside, she also has some of my backlist, if there's something you missed. Here is her info:

Pre-Order an autographed copy of The Gift now from:

Beth Anne's Book Corner
1532 North Circle
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
(719) 471-7545
mailto:bethstec@aol.com

Thank you all for your patience. I hope you find The Gift worth the wait. I'm currently working on a proposal titled The Secret, which will be a sequel.

Happy reading!

~Deb

Sweet & Sassy

Nothing sweeter than a sleeping princess all content and perfect.



And Princess Bonnie got to see the Wiggles for the third year in a row last night. She'll never outgrow this, so it's becoming an annual tradition. Now she expects me to make new T-shirts for them every year. I figure the cost of the tickets plus the T-shirts are worth the trade-off of bribing her sister and brother-in-law to take her instead of me. :) I think they had fun. Don't you?



And today I received the galley/page proofs of THE GIFT, just as I was really starting to make progress on my new proposal. Alas, first things first.

Baby, it's cold outside--at least for the end of July. We've had lows in the upper 40s and our high today was 55! Brrrr... Rainy, too. Nice change.

Happy reading, all.

~Deb

Summer Days

The garden is growing, flowers are blooming. My gentleman friend does the gardening here (and takes the beautiful photos), and we've been eating fresh lettuce, peas and such for weeks. I watch the tomatoes eagerly, hoping to see some color, but they ripen slowly at 7,436 feet. In fact, for years I only grew green ones, until I discovered the magic of Epsom Salts. Adding that magic to the soil, then using it to spray on the plants and put in the water later in the season helps the fruit ripen. Hurray! It really works wonderfully. I also have a greenhouse, which lengthens our very short growing season a little, too.

And Baby Bella is growing, too. I took this photo with my phone yesterday while she was visiting with her mom. At 9 weeks, she weighs almost 13 pounds. Her eyes are turning bluer like her mom's, and she is cooing and "talking." In fact, she was "talking" to me when I snapped this photo.

Everything is growing, including my proposal. After a couple of false starts, I've finally fleshed out the plot and should be sending it off to my agent soon. My working title is The Secret, and it is a sequel to my November release, The Gift.

Of course, Baby Bella is a true gift.

Happy reading and gardening, wherever you live.

Love,
~Deb

Emily Cotler: A Romance Novel for Michelle Obama (PHOTOS)

Emily Cotler: A Romance Novel for Michelle Obama (PHOTOS)

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Bella's Growing

And more beautiful every day. :)

Proud Grandma,
Deb Stover

First Review for THE GIFT

"This story had me totally absorbed. Several times I was so engrossed that when I heard a noise, I nearly jumped out of my skin. This book is vintage Deb Stover! I hope against hope that the next book will be Sam's. I'm sure he has quite a story to tell! For those readers who enjoy a tortured heroine, a hot cowboy rancher and a bit of woo woo in their stories, I suggest you run to your nearest bookstore when this one comes out and grab it up! Be forewarned, have plenty of time to read because you won't want to stop until you turn the last page!"
~Kathy Boswell, FRESH FICTION

Baby Bella Update

My new granddaughter is six weeks old now, and weighs over 10 pounds. She's a champion nurser, and her mother is following in her mother's footsteps with attachment style parenting and full-time nursing. I'm a major breastfeeding advocate, and even nursed my two adopted newborns, so I'm particularly proud of my daughter for getting Bella off to the best possible start in life. Her mother-in-law--the other proud Grandma!--is a lactation consultant, so she has lots of help. :) Neither of us are meddlers, though. At least I hope I'm not.... Ahem.

Latest photo, which was taken around July 1st, 2009 at age six weeks. She's a beauty, and her eyes are getting lighter. Mom's are blue like mine, and her dad's are gold--officially hazel, I suppose. Maybe we'll mix blue and gold and go green. :)

Here's Grandma's Little Doll:



Happy reading and writing!

~Deb