New Books by Kait Nolan and TL Watson!

ew books!

Baby It's Cold Outside by Kait Nolan

An Eden's Ridge / Misfit Inn Novella

A runaway author

Ivy Blake is on a deadline. Actually, she’s past the deadline and desperate to find some peace, quiet, and inspiration to get her book back on track. She doesn’t plan on a Tennessee blizzard or the bear that causes her to crash.

A grumpy lumberjack

Harrison Wilkes isn’t actually a lumberjack, but he’s doing his best impression during this week away from real life. He needs to rest, recharge, and stay the hell away from people, while he makes some major life decisions. He doesn’t plan to be executing a snowbound rescue.

Is it getting hot in here?

When Winter Stormageddon traps Ivy and Harrison together, suddenly his one-man cabin feels more cramped than cozy. As more than the fireplace heats things up, Harrison’s starting to think the interruption to his solitude might be worth it. Will the grumpy lumberjack prove to be inspiration or distraction?

Last Call by TL Watson

Newly-single attorney Gwen Cooper’s list of things that make her happy is pretty simple:

1. her teenage sons
2. her stilettos
3. finally taking control of her own life.

While texting the first on the list to warn them she’s missed her flight home, she plows into a hot-shot movie star, has a lukewarm latte dumped down her blouse, and snaps the heel off item number two. When the actor shows up at the hotel bearing an apology of replacement Louboutins, she should be wondering how he got her room number. Instead, she’s simmering over his well-tailored suit and conjuring more sinful ways for him to make things up to her. And why not? The notorious bachelor is the perfect guy to kick off her post-divorce fantasies of no strings attached. Ever again.

Blake Donovan claimed Hollywood’s top spot by playing the self-centered bad boy his manager and publicist created. Lonely as it is, he’s long since accepted the image he portrays to the world. Until the gorgeous lawyer pegs the man behind the façade in minutes flat. After the hottest one night stand in history, he tracks her down in hopes of a repeat performance. And the encore has him craving far more than being tied up in her strings.

Blake will have to step into the role of a lifetime—himself—in order to convince Gwen that taking a chance on him won’t mean giving up on number three.

I've also started reading The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

Really like the way he sets things up, and then keeps raising the stakes, one chapter after another. I could learn from this... Which leads me to ROW80. Let's see how I'm doing:

enter handwritten edits to The Handful of Time (working title) and reread: done! Now I need to enter the latest round of edits
sidetrack -- drafting a new fun side project: ongoing (I'm also learning from this: I keep wanting to describe how they're looking at each other, all romance-like, but maybe it's actually obvious from the other stuff that's written, and doesn't need to be overdone...)
new knitting project: ongoing, mostly on weekends
queries for Druid's Moon and The Charm of Time: not yet
keep editing Mystery at Bertram's Hotel (working title) on paper: done! Now I need to enter the latest round of edits
back to school!: trying to come up with a good research question for the end-of-term essay

Have you tried mind mapping?

What tools and tricks do you use for brainstorming ideas?