Let The Summer Madness Begin!

Hi, Y'all,
We're back from summer hiatus, and as Founding Mama, it's my job to get this summer thing started with a bang. I hope you had a lovely Fourth of July. I enjoyed a very small cookout at my home in Middle of Nowhere, North Carolina, attended by a total of eight people, myself included. What can I say, I like my summer gatherings as laid back and low-key as possible.
I wish I could say I've eased into summer, with a cool lemonade in one hand, and a notebook and pen in the other. This, unfortunately, is not the case. My six year old is out of school, and even though I've been dealing with my three year old all school year, the two of them together is too much, honey! My son is now co-signing his little sister's foolishness. She can't reach something she's not supposed to have? He gets it for her. She can quite open the door to the room she's not allowed in? Her brother rips it open with his super strength. Lordy, lordy. They are really putting a damper on my summer writing mojo.
Still, I will have respite, in a way. In about a week, I'm leaving for the Romance Writer's of America national conference. It's being held in Atlanta this year, the closest it's been to me in years, so I coughed up the registration fee. I intend to do as much networking and learning as I can, without damaging my fragile sanity. I've scheduled daily "decompression" breaks into my trip, so I can sit myself down, take a breath, and chill before I start hyperventilating in that fancy hotel. I also plan to get with some other writers I don't get to see that often, including Wayne Jordan and Beverly Jenkins, and I'm pitching to an agent as well. It will be a busy week, but I need this time to get away from my darling little ragamuffins and focus on my writing. Writing is, after all, what keeps me from having an epic, nuclear level meltdown. When you realize your babies have painted your walls with craft paint, or spilled straight pins all over the floor, you need a little something to take the edge off.
Well, that's it for now. At the time of this writing, I'm in the process of making another deal with Ellora's Cave, but it's not finalized so I'll tell you about it in my next post. In the meantime, don't forget my next release, Freedom's Embrace, drops August 1, and it's already up for pre-order at Amazon and BN. Thanks for all the love, and I'll see you on the flip-side.

Until Next Time,
Kianna