Amanda only had school on Monday, and then it was a 2 hr. delay. Ohio allows 5 calamity days. Amanda’s public school was closed a week after the severe wind storm in September. They were closed four days just this week plus missed another day earlier in the winter.

I was afraid Amanda would be disappointed again on Thursday night when the school system announced there would be no school on Friday. But instead she surprised me with her smile and optimistic outlook. She said, “There’s always Monday.”

I haven’t told her we might get snow again on Sunday evening. The weather forecast could change. I’m thankful that we still have electricity. So many people in our county are without electricity and I’m happy that all our kids have power in their homes.

I am going to post a new blog contest on Sunday so be sure to check back on February 1st. March is small publisher month so I want to get an early start on giving away a fantastic book by a Samhain author. I’ll also be giving away other ebooks in March!

Amanda and I did go to our local library (it had been closed this week, too) this afternoon. The librarian told me that my books are always getting checked out, and I should be proud that people are reading my books. Wow - that was nice to hear.

WHAT I’M READING NOW: DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark.

I enjoyed walking thru the snow and snapping photos. One is of the playhouse my husband built years ago for our children. I did hear crackling all around me. My husband told me to be careful that limbs are breaking. Today there’s more snow covering the ice coated branches. We got another half inch this morning.

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

No one had school around here this morning. Even some colleges were closed. Amanda was pretty sad because she loves going to school. We have 4 inches of snow presently, but now we have sleet and freezing rain until 4 a.m. Then it changes to snow again and should have another additional 6 inches of snow by tomorrow. I told Amanda she has plenty of time to study her spelling words and do her homework. She has some board games we can play, too.

Amanda’s school just called and they already cancelled for tomorrow. I’m glad because they called this morning at 4:30. We have an automatic phone system that calls when there are any school announcements. My daughter’s college called her at 5:00 a.m. for the same reason and she didn’t even have any classes today.

I took a picture this morning. We have the nicest neighbor, Mr. Adams. He came over and used his plow to clear our driveway. He always does the driveways for us and our other neighbors whenever we get lots of snow.

I did hear from the agent of The Knight Agency. She read my partial but decided to pass on my MARRYING MALLORY story. I’m going to submit it on my own to publishers and hopefully, will have terrific news to share soon. I decided not to try another agent. I’m anxious to have a new release.

I wasn’t tagged but saw this on Allie’s blog.

Rules: link back to the person who tagged you, name six things that make you happy then tag six more bloggers and let them know, then notify the person who tagged you when your list is complete.

6 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Warm weather and sunshine. (I can’t wait until spring - tired of cold temperatures.)

2. When I don’t have to cook - love to go out to eat in a restaurant. (We are driving today to see our daughter at college and then going to take her out for lunch. Woohoo!)

3. When writing goes well, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

4. The weekday mornings when Sara is ready for the bus ahead of schedule. She’s not a morning person so is a challenge to get her out the door before 7.

5. Getting emails from readers telling me how much they enjoy my books!

6. My family. I feel blessed that my husband and children are in my life!

Like Allie, I’m not going to tag anyone in particular, but if you’d like to post your 6 happy thoughts, let me know!

Adelle Lauden will be having an author chat this Friday evening from 6 til 9pm est at Amethyst Winters & Company Yahoo Group. She’s having a drawing for a signed copy of her award-winning book, IRON HORSE RIDER!

Blurb for Iron Horse Rider:

After losing his wife in a terrible motorcycle accident, Shane flees from everything and everyone that reminds him of Kelly. He discovers solace in a summer Micmac camp, and with the aid of Chief Gray Owl and the beautiful Tia, Shane’s heart begins to heal.

However, even paradise can turn chaotic. To save Tia from the man she fears, Shane is sent on a quest. Throughout his journey, he learns that sometimes friendship comes from the most unusual circumstances, that love never dies, and anything’s possible when you’re riding in the wind.

Adelle’s Bio

Adelle Laudan lives with her family in a small town in Southern Ontario. Writing has always been her great escape, ‘a place where being hearing impaired is not a barrier.’ Ever since she was a little girl, she’s written down her thoughts. It wasn’t until a year ago she dipped her toe into the publishing pool. Today, she has several published works and has been noted as being an author who writes with a heart rendering depth of emotion. One of her readers says that “Adelle Laudan puts the reader through a roller-coaster ride of emotions. By the time you’ve finished, you’ve gone through anger, sadness, laughter and more.”

When Adelle isn’t writing or doing the mom thing, you will find her in the wind with friends. Since the first time she heard the rumble of a motorcycle, she was hooked. Today, riding is a big part of who she is. Her writing reflects this love and the many twists and turns her life has taken. Her dream is to change the image of bikers…one book at a time.

You can keep updated on what titles Adelle Laudan has coming next by visiting her website at http://adellelaudan.com. While you’re there, sign up for her quarterly newsletter. Adelle would love for you to befriend her at MySpace http://myspace.com/adellelaudan.

My friend, Lula Thomas/Miss Mae, told me about this wonderful opportunity for writers.

Class Act Books would like to receive the following submissions:

Christmas for 2009! - Ahh, yes, the holidays have just passed us by, but Class Act Books is looking ahead and we want to have some hot, loving romances based on the Christmas Holiday Season of 2009! Make those stories full of loving romance with a Holiday theme, we would like to see regular romance and some erotica romance or sensual romance in these submissions.

Please have the Christmas 2009 submissions in by June 15th 2009, if you are an author with Class Act or Steam Heat Books we will take a partial with the promise to complete the novel by August 1st, 2009, all other submissions must be completed novels. Please follow the guidelines on:

http://classactbooks.com/submissions.html

Publications will begin in November and run through December for these stories.

Westerns - There will never be enough Westerns in the book world for Class Act Books. We want those cowpokes steamy, sexy and darn hot, so full of lov’n that it burns the pages! So put on those Stetsons and start writing a cowboy themed romance or erotica romance, it can be set in modern times or historic, regardless of the timeframe make those heroes shine like the badge of a Texas Ranger Come on authors, write yourself and Class Act Books a rip roaring, hot loving WESTERN!

All submission for the Westerns will be in by July 15th 2009. Full novels will be required unless you are a proven author with Class Act Books and we accept a partial from you with the full novel due on October 15th 2009.

Please following the submission guidelines: http://classactbooks.com/submissions.html

Publication for these stories will begin in 2010.

Authors may post this call to their writer/author groups with Class Act Books permission.

Thank you,
Class Act Books
www.classactbooks.com