Toto, we’re in Kansas

We’ve arrived. After weeks of living out of a suitcase and bedding down in five different places, we’re ready to move into our new home next week. I can’t wait. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I’m sick of eating out. I’m actually craving healthy food and that’s almost disturbing. Also, I gained five pounds (I had an official weigh-in of sorts this week), which really isn’t that bad considering my diet the last few weeks.

Thus far, I like Kansas. Yes, you’ve read that right, I like Kansas. It’s been a bit hot for my taste – in the 100s every day – and we’ve survived our first Tornado watch, but I can’t see much wrong with this place (yet). The gas is cheaper, the grass is greener, and they have three bookstores in town that I know of (boy, I’ve done a ton of reading since we left Hawaii). It’s really not all that flat around here either; we’re surrounded by the rolling Flint Hills and plenty of trees.

Once we move into our new house next week and a working Internet connection is established I’ll be back to a productive routine in no time. I promise I’ll answer e-mails and friend requests in a timely manner.

To those of you who’ve bought The Protector and wrote to tell me how much you’ve enjoyed reading the book, THANK YOU. I appreciate the chance you took on a debut author and I love that you found the time to drop me a line.

To those of you who asked about the next book (in the series), THANK YOU. As you may or may not know, I started working on the next book before my move, but my efforts stalled. Boy, I completely underestimated the complexity of this move. For some reason it was far more complicated to move back on the mainland than it was to move to Japan and Hawaii. I’ll be back to work on the next book once all the moving boxes are unpacked and the computer is hooked up (or at the end of next week).

I’m also in the process of finishing up my first ever Vampire-Shapeshifter short (remember Riley, the deaf weasel?).

Oh, I almost forgot, back in New York, I had lunch with Laura Baumbach. Thanks again, Laura. I had the greatest time, and hey, I hadn’t eaten at an Olive Garden in eight years. Laura is a great conversationalist, and I’m such a fan. Now I just have to wow her with my sexy vampire short.

Back to my just as sexy sophomore effort, THE STALKER. I received a few e-mails asking about The Dickens Challenge and where the chapters went that I had posted. If you’re interested in reading along as I write (at your own risk), please drop me a line with your e-mail address and I’ll make sure to included you in my list of beta readers. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll be reading a first draft, your favorite scene might not survive the final editing process and won’t see the inside of the finished book.

Ideally, I’d love to see THE STALKER in stores right after Christmas and the New Year, some time in January or February. Not for some nefarious reason, but just because Mason and Soren survive their first holidays together in this book.

Realistically, though, I’m a slow writer and there’s still plenty of work to be done once the book is written and Christmas is only 146 days away.

And there’s so much more reading to be done this year, too. I love reading. I’m a reader before I’m a writer. I can’t wait for BREAKING DAWN, the feverishly anticipated fourth installment in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga. And the movie in December!

And of course, I can’t wait to get my hands on ACHERON by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I love her Darkhunter universe. I’m especially partial to her Werehunters, and I’m wondering how long it will take her to incorporate a badass, leather-wearing were-weasel into one of her books.

I’m also highly anticipating the arrival of the men of Black’s Ops, Inc. Cindy Gerard’s new series will debut in October 08, November 08 and January 09.

And when does TRUEBLOOD start on HBO? We don’t have HBO that I know of, but I’d love to see the new series based on Charlaine Harris’s Sookie books.

Boy, I’ll be busy this year. Don’t forget to drop me a line with your e-mail address and I’ll keep you in the loop about upcoming chapters and the occasional personal appearance at the Coffeeshop Writers, a group of greatly talented ladies who’ve invited me to stop by and have a cup of coffee with them.

About leaving and getting there …

I understand there are people who’ve never had to organize a move across state lines :-) Sweet. This is my second Pacific crossing. I’ve also moved across the Atlantic once and from the Northeast to the South once.

If you think that moving with the military is easy, because they organize everything for you, you are mistaken. Yes, they will come and pack up our stuff. And yes, they will unpack at the destination. Sure, they will book tickets, but it’s never in your best interest to just let them do that (they have fundamental issues with the whole “straight line is the shortest route” phenomenon).

It looks like we’ll be leaving Hawaii in June, immediately after the kids are done with school. We’ll visit the in-laws on the East Coast for a short time and get to Kansas in time for school to start in August.

[This is a total bummer. My brother’s wedding and my 20th High School reunion are in the same week we need to be in Kansas.]

We’ll have to do all this flying and moving with two cats who need shots and health certificates and the right kind of weather to be permitted to take-off and land. I haven’t checked yet, but I’m sure the major airlines still have those stupid heat restrictions, which are a major pain in the butt if you have to move in the summer. We’ll also have to find lodging in Kansas that allows us to bring our animals (fat chance). Then we’ll be living in a hotel until we can find a house to rent AND until our household goods arrive from Hawaii.

[Before we leave Hawaii, we’ll have to set up meetings with Kansas realtors and landlords to start house hunting as soon as we get there. This is always a challenge: “can you not come into the office to sign this paperwork?”]

We’ll have to time the first shipment of household goods so that it arrives when we do. Mostly those are things we need immediately (which makes it difficult to live without them when you send them ahead eight to ten weeks in advance). The second shipment won’t leave Hawaii before we do, which means it will arrive in Kansas way, way after we do (mostly that’s all the furniture and the rest of the junk we own).

We’ll have to send the car ahead to make sure it will be there when we get there. As of right now I have no idea if the car is shipped all the way to Kansas or if the military will only ship it to the nearest port (LA or San Diego). While the car is en route, we’re either going to have to live with one car (the husband’s) or rent one. I hate to spend money on a rental car, but it will be difficult to do all the last minute stuff with just one car.

We’ll have to register the kids in school (hoping to get them in the right school district near our future residence). Of all the things that need to be done, this is the least complicated. I can have the Kansas Department of Education send me all the necessary forms, have everything filled out and done here and send it back to Kansas in time for official registration. This way I don’t have to worry about it when we first get there. Piece of cake.

We’ll have to reserve all lodging and air travel right after Christmas, because pet space is very limited and everyone’s moving in the summer. This can get surprisingly complicated. Why do they care how much my cat weighs?

[To make things easier on the kids we usually mail their favorite toys and things (whatever doesn’t fit in the suitcase they’re going to live out of) to the hotel. I think we mailed every single Barbie we owned the last time. This time we’re probably mailing fifty My Little Petshop pets and every single firetruck we own.]

Moving with the military is a challenging undertaking. It’s very frustrating, because the military hasn’t figured out yet that *I* am the one who makes all the phone calls and arrangements—they insists on talking to my husband, thinking he’s in charge! I have to be officially sanctioned to do stuff or in other words, we’re going to have to make sure I have half a dozen powers of attorney.

Boy, but I do love to move …

Orders!

We seem to have come down on orders. This time next year we could be in Fort Riley, Kansas. I say “seem to have come down,” because it’s very early still for orders, and in my experience that means they can and will change.

We’re trading dolphins, whales and lizards for bald eagles, wolves and elk.