There is so much I want to blog about, but I thought I should start with this.  I’ve been MIA recently because my father had a stroke.  He had an inoperable intracerebral hemorrhage deep in his basal ganglia. It was touch and go there for a while, and scared the bejesus out of my sister and myself.  However, he is doing much better now.  He is actually moving from the hospital to a rehab center possibly today or tomorrow.

He’s got a long road to recovery, but he’s in good spirits.  This type of stroke doesn’t kill brain cells, it merely suppresses them from the pressure of the bleed.  But once the blood in his brain is reabsorbed by his body, those cells can regain their function.  He currently has a very weak right arm and the right side of his face doesn’t work very well.  It’s hard for him to talk, so not only does he have physical therapists, he has a speech therapist and occupational therapist as well.  Whew!

I just visited him yesterday, and he was doing much better from when I saw him last on the 1st.  It will take time and he’ll never be back to 100%, but he’ll get some range of motion back.

As you can imagine, I’ve been frantically dealing with everything, from taking care of my dad to juggling the kids and my own family life with DH.  I came home early last week thinking he was on the mend only to turn around two hours later on the same day and race back down to Salem (an hour drive) because he’d taken a turn for the worse.  But thankfully, they were able to stabilize him and he’s much better now.  They are still very aggressive about keeping his blood pressure down as well as his blood sugar.  It’s been quite the roller-coaster.

But I’m very hopeful now, as he’s going into rehab.  He’s no longer at risk for a second stroke, he just needs some therapy to bounce back.

Aside from all that hoopla, I got my second edits for THE FALL OF JERICHO and it’s release date: July 23rd.  Woohoo!  Only thing I don’t have yet is the cover.

However, I DO have the cover for BLACK ANGEL, but I’ll post that in a new post.  It’s glorious!

I’m also about 80 pages away from finishing THE FALCON PRINCE!  I’m so excited.  The Falcon was the one prince I didn’t have a solid plot for, but he’s given me a great story to work with and a way to set up the Spider Prince’s book, which I’m also very anxious to write.  But I was the same way with the Scarab Prince.  Speaking of, I haven’t heard word about my submission on TSP, but my publisher is very busy herself with Canada Day and Independence Day and new releases and just one thing after another.  Patience is a virtue!  But it’s sure not fun!! 

Anyway, that’s my latest.  I’ll post my new cover.  But I wanted to keep everyone up to speed.  I’m back home now, finally, and through the craziness surrounding my dad, DH and I are in the middle of a remodel of our home theater, not to mention DH’s best friend and his son are coming to stay with us tomorrow to attend the wedding of another friend this Saturday.

GACK!  It’s batshit insane these days!  LOL

~~Becka

I recently guest blogged over at my friend Selena Blake’s blog, and she’s returned the favor.  We’re both yakking about some of our favorite heroes – COWBOYS!  Now, here’s Selena’s guest blog on my site.  Giddyup! 

~*~*~

Recently Becka stopped by my blog for a visit and she brought up one of my all time favorite subjects. Cowboys.

It’s no wonder I have a series in the works about…what else? Cowboys. I’ve been having so much fun meeting the five sinfully gorgeous brothers, asking them questions, learning what drives them.

There’s just something about those handsome men on horseback that makes a girl go…well, to tell the truth, a little wild. For someone who loves all her conveniences, and yes, hot water and high heels are a must, I have to admire someone who’s rugged and rough as the land. Perhaps it’s just my idea of what a cowboy should be, rather than what they are or who they were.

Nah.

I think for a man to ride the land, he must be in touch with the land. He must respect both the land and the animals that provide his lively hood. They ride beasts and stare down danger, brave the elements. Tell me you haven’t thought of taming one, at least once.

And seriously, what woman doesn’t love a man who knows his way around leather? Chaps? Yes, please!

Or how about the ropes? This guy could hog tie me any old time.

So here’s to all the cowboys out there. The ones in real life and the heroes in our stories. Do you have a favorite fictional cowboy? I want to hear all about him.

~Selena
http://www.selena-blake.com

The picture above is of myself (in the wedding dress) and one of my best friends from High School, Crystal Lynn House.  Yes, like Dr. House, but before his time.  It was taken on March 25th, 1995, the day I got married (obviously lol).  She was going to be one of my bride’s maids, but since my soon-to-be hubby only had his best man, I figured it might be weird to have two bridesmaids (my sis was Matron of Honor).  So, she showed up and gave me her support, and I have a few great pics.

In September of that same year, she got married as well, and I was her Matron of Honor.

(Forgive the crappy quality of the above picture, I took a picture of a print with my iPhone because my scanner isn’t hooked up to my computer.)

Her wedding dress was a light blue, in honor of her father who had passed away three years before.  His favorite color was blue, if I remember correctly.  He was quite the character.  LOVED westerns and cop movies, SO MUCH, that when we’d watch them on a sleep over, he’d have his GUN sitting in his lap.  lol  He was an avid Ham Radio operator, and taught Crystal much of what he knew.  His radio room was on the other side of her bedroom, and I’ll never forget hearing this while trying to fall asleep:

“N7VBK – N7 VICTOR BRAVO KILO!”

(I don’t know why the “N” was never identified whenever he said his ID. )

We used to camp out in her yard.  We used to ditch 5th period right after lunch as Seniors all the time.  We used to play on Prodigy back in the day, and even met this cool guy on some random bulletin board named Jim Goings.  He lived in California and we were in Nevada.  But that didn’t stop us (mainly me) from squealing every time we got an email from him.  (I didn’t have a computer of my own, you see.)

After he figured out a way to be with me and got up the gumption to marry me and whisk me off to Los Angeles, it was Crystal who watched out for my Dad after he had his first stroke.  She’d come by every now and again, make sure he was okay, and he was the first one she turned to when she had a dog she could no longer look after.  He took that dog in, and still has her after all these years.

We kept in touch off and on, mostly off, seen as how she never had an email she checked regularly.  Being married to a techy guy, that was kind of annoying for me, and the fact she moved a few times wasn’t the best way to keep in touch, either.  I’d get her phone number, only to have it change because she moved and I wouldn’t know until she called me.

I saw her last in 2005, right after I moved into the house I’m currently living in.  She and her husband were going to a Rolling Stones concert in Portland (I believe) and she wanted to hook up.  So she came out, met all four of my kids, saw my house, we had a great lunch, and promised to keep in touch.

Did we?  Nah.  She didn’t have an email, but she was going to get one, and as soon as she did, she would contact me.  But, alas, I didn’t hear a thing, and I had no idea where she was living.  I knew she was in Reno, but that was the extent of it.  I’d even been thinking last year that I should see if I could find her again, even if I have to find some of her family members and ask them.

But in January of this year, I got news about Crystal from mutual friend of ours in high school.  Crystal had passed away.  Not only that, she’d passed a month prior, in December.  As soon as I got over my shock and grief, I did some digging.  All her obit says in the Reno Gazette Journal was that she died of a “brief illness”.  All I can think of is she must have caught pnemonia.  She was always sickly, and had asthma pretty bad.  Whenever she got sick, SHE GOT SICK.  If that’s not the reason, I don’t know what took her.

She passed a year ago today, on December 7th, 2008.  That was the day after my baby shower for Sophie.  And for the life of me, I cannot remember what I was doing on that day.

When I went back to Nevada this summer in June for a death in my family, I had a fleeting thought of seeing if I could find her grave.  But we didn’t have time, I had my infant with me, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to take the time to go on a hunt for it.  But both times I rolled through Reno, once to go to Carson City, and once leaving, I thought of her.

So today, I’m posting in honor of one of the best friends I’ve ever had, to celebrate her life on the anniversary of her death.  She’s the reason I’m with my husband.  That, in and of itself, is the best gift anyone could give.  Because he gave me a family, he gave me the ability to stay home with my kids, and he gave me the opportunity to write my books.  Everything I have has fallen into place because of Crystal House.

And so, to celebrate her, I want to share some of my favorite memories.

We used to go to our local Smith’s (a grocery store) and sit on the bench outside, just to people-watch.  It was fun, we had a lot of laughs and talks on that bench.

Our Junior year History teacher, every time he saw her in the halls, would yell out at the top of his lungs: “CRYSTAL!  HOW’S YOUR HOUSE?”

We both had our first (and last) experiences on a Ouija Board together.  Creepy!

First time I ever heard Toby Mac was when he was in DC Talk, booming JESUS FREAK! out her stereo speakers.

I used to pick her up for school all the time (I was the oldest in our friend group and the only one with a car) and we listened to Keith Green every morning.  She always laughed because she said he sounded like he was yawning when he sang.

She was so shy, but she was so cute!  All the boys loved her, and one day, while in her bathing suit to get some sun in her yard, her neighbor cried, “Lord, have mercy!”

She and I were walking past the local Domino’s Pizza, and it just so happened my future-DH worked there after he’d moved to CCNV to be with me.  When we walked in, his boss was red in the face.  I asked him what was wrong, and Jim said he’d tell me later.  Come to find out, he was whistling at us as we walked by (before we’d walked in), talking all kinds of “Look at those fine laaadaaays!” only to find out I was his employee’s girlfriend and he was EXTREMELY embarrassed.  LOL

She took three shots of tequila before walking down the aisle at her wedding.  She was so nervous!  I’m surprised she COULD walk down the aisle. 

The girl could pack away an entire large pizza all by herself in one sitting.  I don’t know where she put it all, she was as thin as a rail and I was always so jealous of her for it!

I love you, Crystal.  I owe you so much!  Some of my favorite memories are with you, and I’ll never forget the profound impact you had on the course of my life.  The Good Lord brings friends into your life, and sometimes, He takes them away.  However, I have hope, because friends are friends forever, if the Lord’s the Lord of them.  I’ll see you again.  And I’ll pray for your daughter, for your sisters, and for the rest of your family, so they can have strength to carry on in your absence.

Always, my friend.

~~Becka

Vampire Oracle: TOMB

My contribution to Cobblestone Press’s Vampire Oracle series, entitled TOMB, is now in print!    Go find your copy at:

http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/vampireoracle4.html

I’m excited to see this one finally in print with a few of the other stories in the series.  The entire series is 25 novellas long, with a total of FIVE print books all together to tell the entire thing, of which my story is #20.  By all means, you do NOT have to read the entire series to understand what’s going on, but just be aware each book is connected with the same story hook, a “tarot” card of sorts that helps the vampires find their true loves.

You can find out more information such as blurb and an excerpt on this page:

http://www.rebeccagoings.com/2008/10/tomb/

YAY!

~~Becka

I want to blog but have nothing of interest to say.  Therefore, you might be in for a post of random ramblings.

This past weekend, DH and I and a couple of friends painted our house from a hideous green to a more friendly “sandstone” color with bright white trim.  You can see the before/after pics on my hubby’s blog at www.jimgoings.com.  It’s really a dramatic difference and we’ve even been complimented by a few of our neighbors.  It just blended in too well with the two giant trees in our front yard and our house didn’t stand out at all.  Now, it’s more cheerful and cleaner-looking.

After that, since the days have been beautiful here, we decided to take the kids to the beach for a fun day because DH took some days off of work.  We pack up, all excited to go, get there and realize it’s pretty chilly.  Well, it’s still morning, so it will probably heat up in the afternoon.  We get an early lunch and head on down to the beach.  Right as we get on the sand, a fog rolls in, reminiscent of the movie “The Mist” – great flick, btw, watch it in B&W.  Anyhow, we’re literally sitting on the sand and cannot see the buildings behind us, nor can we see the surf in front of us.  It’s like we’re lost in some kind of limbo reality.  We’d see other beach-goers walk off into the mist and we’d chuckle because it was JUST LIKE the movie.  LOL  Every now and again it would clear and you could vaguely make out the waves, but then it would roll in again.

Baby was cranky and cold and the kids made the best of it with their buckets, but they were disappointed at the lack of sunshine.  We packed it in early and left, disappointed that less than a mile or two from the beach the fog lifted and it was a beautiful blue sky.

Yesterday was my oldest daughter’s 10th birthday.  We took her out to dinner and her daddy took her on a shopping spree at Target.  She got some new clothes and two new books to read.  She was very excited.  We’re having a party for her on Sunday.  She’s hoping her best friend will return from Mexico in time to come over, but DH and I are sceptical.  It’s so cute, though, that my daughter’s best friend’s sisters want to hang out with our kids.  They are teenagers, from 15-17, yet they love hanging out with 10, 8, 7, & 6 year olds and frequently take them to the park.  So that’s very sweet of them.

I’ve gained a few pounds.  Boo hiss, I know.  About six pounds.  Yikes!  I really need to get my exercise on.  I took the kids on a walk yesterday to Payless Shoes because Miriam needed new ones and it’s close enough so we walked.  Since the weather has been beautimous lately, I think I’ll be spending more time outdoors.  We shall see if my plans come to fruition.  I’ve been enjoying the fact I no longer have to keep my blood sugar in check with medications.  I want to keep it that way.

Anyways…  That’s all for now!

~~Becka

So yesterday was shopping day.  I packed up all the kids and trekked out to the local Winco.  Normally, this store is packed, but if you go in the middle of the day on a weekday, you’ll encounter minimal crowds.  Anyhow, I’m pushing the cart, and my kids are trailing along behind me, one of them pushing Sophie’s carseat/stroller.  As you can imagine, one mommy + shopping cart + four kids + baby stroller = quite the parade.

In the cereal aisle, my kids reveal they have to go to the bathroom, so three of them go while one stays behind to push the stroller.  When the three come back, the other one leaves to go to the bathroom herself.  While she’s gone, we’re perusing the meat aisle when a woman approaches me.

“Are these all your kids?” she asks (a question I frequently get – I seriously doubt I’d take day care kids out with me shopping, but oh well.  )

“Yes,” I say.

“They’re very well behaved.  I want to congratulate you on that.”

“Thank you,” I say (a compliment DH and I frequently get since we don’t let our kids run amok yelling & screaming.)

She goes on to say, “You’ve really restored my faith in today’s family.”

“Wow,” I say, a little flustered.  “Thank you, they’re good kids.”

“Is today a day off of school or something like that?” she asks.

“Oh no, I homeschool them.”

The lady puts her hand on her chest and swoons (I kid you not lol) and says, “Thank you for that! How wonderful.”

I almost said, “You’re welcome,” but I thought it would be weird to accept thanks for schooling my own children.  Heh.  Therefore, I said, “Well, it was a decision their father and I made before we even had any kids.”

She moved like she wanted to hug me, but held herself back because I’m a total stranger to her.  At this point, my oldest daughter comes back from the bathroom and the lady’s eyes widen.  She says, “You have this one TOO?!?”

“Yup,” I say, “I have five kids!”

“You should be so proud.”

“Oh, I am,” I reply with a giant grin.

“Beautiful family.”

“Thank you so much!”

I’m telling you, folks, it doesn’t take a lot to have good kids these days.  We’ve all seen families in public who have visible problems with keeping their children in line or under control.  It seems this has become the rule rather than the exception.  And how sad is that?  My hubby and I have seriously thought about writing a book on parenting.  Our own skills come from a few sources, so I’m not sure how “fresh” our ideas would be, as we’ve employed others’ ideas.

Most of our knowledge in childrearing comes from two books called “Baby Wise” and “Child Wise”.  If you’re tearing your hair out with regards to your children, you might want to pick those up and give them a read.

Seriously, though, all of our friends are more than happy to babysit our kids if the need arises because they’re such a joy to watch.  Whenever we go into a restaurant, the patrons LITERALLY roll their eyes or sigh and look away because of the sheer numbers of kids tagging along behind us.  When these same people are ready to leave, more often than not they approach our table and comment on how well-behaved our children are.  For us, it’s a normal thing.  We go in, we sit down, we eat.  What’s so hard about that?  Apparently, today’s parents struggle with this.

No, DH and I are not “lucky” five times over.  We hear this so often, it actually makes us kind of angry at times.  It’s not luck, folks.  Anyone’s kids can be good kids.  It just takes commitment on behalf of the parent.  We are NOT lucky.  We’ve worked hard to have good kids.  And it shows.

People look at me and think I’m crazy for wanting to stay home and school my kids all day every day.  Well, when your child isn’t a little hellion, they’re an actual joy to be around!  Sure, we have our share of drama.  They’re still “kids” after all.  Hopefully, we’re teaching them the proper way to deal with these dramas rather than throwing themselves upon the floor of the local Safeway thrashing about like a fish out of water.  LOL

Simone, Levi, Hannah, Miriam

I love my kids.  And the best thing about all this?  My baby Sophie is an ANGEL.  No unnecessary squawking, sleeping through the night, and 1000 watt smiles.  It would seem she’s on the fast track to being another “luck of the draw”. 

Sophie

~~Becka

He is Risen

To one and all, rejoice, for our Savior is risen!  Happy Easter!  I hope you enjoy the following video.  I posted it for the song, mainly, as there isn’t really a “video”.  Keith Green was/is one of the pillars of Christian music.  I say “was” because he was killed in a plane crash in 1982, yet his music still vastly impacts people today.

You might be familiar with the song that’s simply called “Easter Song”, but if you haven’t heard Keith sing it, you haven’t heard it.  No one else captures the joy of the Resurrection quite like Keith Green.  So I hope you enjoy your holiday and enjoy the music.  Mr. Green was only 28 years old when he was taken up to Heaven.  But he was a genius on the piano and crammed more into his short life than you or I could ever dream.  I can’t wait to meet him one day. 

Happy Easter and praise the Lord!

~~Becka

My good friends Joleine and Michelle threw me and my other good friend Val a baby shower this past Saturday.  A good time was had by all, and both Val and I received some awesome fat loots.

DH and I decided to go out to the Dollar Tree tonight to buy new ornaments for our Christmas tree.  Yes, we’re on a budget since DH lost his job, so we can’t (or shouldn’t) buy the uber-expensive nice Christmas ornaments.  Believe it or not, Dollar Tree had some decent stuff.  In fact, I’ll probably go back when it’s time to fill up on stocking stuffers.