Here I am with Teresa Medeiros, whom I’m guessing I’ve known more than 10 years now though we don’t get the opportunity to talk very often. So it was nice to take the opportunity to catch up.

And here are some of the other fabulous authors in our area. From left: Susan Crandall, Molly Harper, fellow Harlequin American author Laura Bradford, and fellow MCRW member Bente Gallagher.

Hopefully I’ll be invited back next year and feel, oh, a million percent better than I did this time.

So, what have I been doing? I had to do revisions to Elly: Cowgirl Bride, which is due out in October as part of a six-book, multi-author continuity series. When I finished those and turned them in, I had to read like a mad woman to finish judging the RITA contest for RWA. I had some good books in my packet, one of which I enjoyed so much that I went out and bought the sequel. This week is a massive catch-up week including exciting things like getting all my business taxes stuff in order so hubby can do our taxes. Oh, will the fun never end!

I do have some good news to share. Last week, I sold my first eHarlequin online read! We’re still working out the details, but it’s going to be a weekly serial connected to the continuity series I mentioned above. It starts on eHarlequin’s Web site at the end of May and runs for eight weekly installments.

For those of you in or near Bowling Green, Kentucky, I just put some details on the homepage of this site, over in the Appearances sidebar, about my attendance at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest on April 17. Hope to see some of you there.

The first stop was my hometown in Kentucky, where I had a book signing at the local library for my two newest books. Before the signing, however, it was annual Take Mom to the Cemeteries Day. We drive to several cemeteries in two counties to place flowers on the graves of family members. OMG, it was hot! I think I heard the grass screaming for mercy. Prior to heading out on our excursion, I sold a couple of books to my mom’s next-door neighbor, a very sweet lady who is 90 and is constantly on the go. I caught her on her Red Hat Society day, so she was dressed all in red and purple. Make note that this transaction took place around 2 p.m. That will matter later in this story.

After returning from traipsing over two counties, it was freshen up and change time. Then off to the library. This lovely flower arrangement from high school friend Kim and her mom, Tammy, who has a floral shop in town, was waiting for me. Isn’t it pretty?

Kim wasn’t able to make the signing, but Tammy did. I probably hadn’t seen her in 20 years and she looked the same! Kind of like Kim does. I, um, do not look like I did on graduation night.

During the signing, my cousin, Debbie, told me she had stayed up until 1 in the morning to finish my latest Harlequin American, Her Very Own Family. To which I said, “Yes! I’ve done my job.”

After signing books and chatting with friends and family, I took Mom back home. Helen poked her head out her door and said she’d already finished reading Her Very Own Family and really liked it. It was about 7 or 7:30 p.m. at this point. She also said she was getting ready to go back inside and start reading my YA novel, Heartbreak River. Did I mention that Helen is cool?

I drove to a town about an hour away next to the interstate so I could just hop on I-24 in the morning and head farther north.

Illinois is tall. The next day, I got a bit of a late start but I was still able to cover most of the Illinois miles. I even got a totally out-of-the-blue story idea that I was excited to get down before I forgot it. I also saw the oddest thing — a police officer had someone pulled off to the side of the road (wasn’t the interstate at this point; I took a little scenic detour). When I came up alongside them, it was a team of mules pulling a covered wagon with “Jesus Saves” written on the canopy. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why he was pulled over. I seriously doubt the mules were speeding.

In the northern part of the state, you start seeing wind farms with lots of enormous windmills like these. They’re oddly mesmerizing. If you’ve ever passed a truck on the interstate hauling just one of the blades for these things, you know how huge they are.

I also had a chuckle and had to take a picture at the rest area where I stopped at one point. It was called Willow Creek Rest Area. The original title for Her Very Own Family was The Willow Creek Cafe.

I stopped for the night in Rochelle, Illinois. I even got there early enough to go for a walk in the lovely, shaded neighborhood next to the hotel. Although I did get chilly. Remember the hot trek through all the cemeteries the day before? It had been about 90 degrees then. When I went for my walk to get out the driving kicks in Rochelle? 60 degrees.

Curious when I got back to my hotel, I logged on to Weather.com to check the temps in Wisconsin. When I saw they were going to be in the 40s at night and I’d only brought summer clothes, I e-mailed my agent and said, “I’m going to freeze to death!” Okay, obviously I didn’t since I’m typing this, but there were some shivering moments ahead. Come back for those moments and the rest of the story.

Anyway, I took part in a group book signing with five of my RWA chaptermates at Sherlock’s Books in Lebanon, Tennessee yesterday. Here are a few snapshots.

Marie-Nicole Ryan, left, and Ramona Richards

Sandra Thomas Wales and Shannon Dauphin

Jody Wallace and me

I’m taking part in a group book signing at Sherlock’s Books in Lebanon, Tennessee. Swing by if you’re in the area. We’d love to see friendly faces.