Jumping in Puddles

I got home from picking my girlie up from preschool, and when she saw the puddles in our cul-de-sac left from the rain this morning, she begged me to let her and her sis jump in them. I hemmed and hawed--you know, typical mom stuff when you don't really want to deal with the mess. But I looked at her sweet face, and I said, "Yes."

I mean really, how hard is it to take off wet clothes, clean off wet shoes, and wipe up the floor where a few drips may land in the chaos?

My littlest hadn't ever experienced the joy that comes from jumping in puddles--let's face it, in Phoenix, puddles are few and far between. And the delight on her face made the extra work coming in from outside totally worth it.

A lesson to me: let them be kids just a little bit more. It won't last very long.

Showers of Books Giveaway Hop: Winners Announced

Welcome to the first giveaway hop I'm participating in! I love giveaway hops, and I hope you'll enjoy the ride. Thanks to One a Day YA and I Am a Reader, Not a Writer for hosting.

Enter to win a signed paperback of Bound (US only) or one of 3 ebooks of Bound (open internationally).

The first rafflecopter form is for the paperback. Scroll down for the ebook giveaway.

A Lack of Blogging

I'm in the middle of The Reaping, and it's consuming my creative energy. I thought writing a sequel would be breezy--the characters are already there, I have the basic story in my head, I know where this book ends--but it's not. It's been anything but easy.

For some reason already having characters doesn't help. I mean, there are new characters with new stories to create. Terra meets new allies and makes new enemies. And the story is just intense. I wrote Bound as a way to get out of the scary, intense world of The Burn, and it was welcome therapy. Now getting back into dystopian New America, I find I'm exhausted. Not in a bad way, but I don't have a lot of creative energy for other things.

So I apologize for the lack of blog posts lately. Good news, though. The Showers of Books giveaway hop starts Friday, so check back here Thursday evening (my giveaway post will be up early) for a chance to win a signed paperback or an ebook of Bound! How's that for making it up to you? :)