I’m posting about murder over at the Mid-Willamette Valley RWA blog today. Stop by and see how scary I am.

Today’s a hard day. We lost our 13 yr old pup – Pumpkin – yesterday. She’d been losing weight steadily for the last month. It was obvious when I came home from San Francisco that something was wrong, painfully obvious when the DH and I got home from Hawaii. We had her in and out at the vet’s, tried different things, but in the end, knew anything we were contemplating doing to prolong her life was for us and not her. She was in liver failure, the doctor suspected it was also cancer. Very hard decision to let her go, but we know it was for the best.

These are two of my favorite pictures of her, when she was younger and full of energy. And man, did that dog have energy! I have memories of letting her in the backyard and just seeing a blur of black and white as she ran back and forth. I’m going to miss her unique personality.

I’m heading off to try and work. Not sure how much I’ll get done today.

I think as writers we all have those days where we feel like we’re running around like crazy people, not doing what we should be doing, not making an impact. Writing’s such a solitary endeavor. Aside from the few conferences we attend, our interaction with other writers happen via the internet or email, brief phone conversations or monthly RWA meetings.

Today is not one of those days. Last night was my RWA chapter meeting, and I have to say, we had a great meeting. Great discussions, great turn-out, lots of excitement. As the president, I love it when things run smoothly. Our speaker ran a little long, and as a result, our business meeting was abbreviated, but that was just fine with me. The members were chatting about writing, and anytime we can get members excited about something in the industry, I’m happy. It was also a great meeting because I got to see two of my dearest friends – Intrigue author Alice Sharpe - who I have roomed with at Nationals the past few years (except for this year because she didn’t go!), and my VP, Lisa Catto - who is my other National roomie, and who also didn’t attend this year because she’s been in Italy the last month (I know, rough life, huh?) .

Wow, the last month feels like a whirlwind. Thankfully, though, I’m home now from all my trips, re-acclimating to real life (so sad!) and counting down the days until school starts up again (2 weeks…can you tell I’m excited!!!!)

The DH and I had a fabulous time in Hawaii. We stayed in a high-end condo in Waikoloa on the big island, which was absolutely beautiful. No view of the ocean, but it did have a wonderful view of the pool, was close to the King & Queen shopping centers, and was only a 5-10 min. walk to the beach. We didn’t “do” anything exciting other than lay on the beach, swim in the ocean, drink like fish and go out to eat. I’d wanted to go see the volcano – which became active again about three weeks ago – but when we learned it was a 3.5 hr. drive one way and another 1.5 hr. hike in to actually see the flow, we decided that was too much time away from our “relaxation” and opted to stay right where we were. The goal of the trip was to relax and recharge our batteries, and that’s exactly what we did.

Since the hubby asked me not to work on our week away, I took eight books with me – not out of the norm for me on vacation. How many did I read? Only two, and one novella on the flight home. (Both of Roxanne St. Claire’s newest Bullet Catcher Books and Cindy Gerard’s latest novella, Desert Heat – all three were great.) In all actuality, I was too stressed to read. You see, I’d printed out Stolen Fury for the DH to read on the beach, per his request. He’d read the first four chapters a while back, but not the entire book. So while he read, all comfy and kicked back in his beach chair, I pretty much sat chewing my nails (and drinking to stay sane). It was nerve-wracking! Especially because he kept putting the book down and heading off to swim. Now, you have to know my hubby. He’s not a swimmer. Not really. He likes the water, but swimming isn’t his favorite pasttime. So finally, at the end of my rope, I just asked what was up. Did he not like the book? Was it not holding his attention? What was the deal?!

His answer? “It’s hot! And we’re here with friends! I have to keep heading off to the water to cool down!”

Okay…that answer made me smile. The DH got brownie points for that one.

I would definitely go back to Waikoloa. The beaches are beautiful. Hapuna Beach up the road from us was white sand with that turquoise blue water you associate with the Caribbean. The Hilton Waikoloa resort was gorgeous and definitely a place we want to visit again with the kids. (It’s so big, they have a tram that travels from one end of the resort to the other!). And the weather was just perfect.

So here are a few pics from the trip…

Dinner at Roy’s in Waikoloa.

What I love most about Hawaii is that all the islands are different. Maui is completely different in landscape and lifestyle than the big island. Both are gorgeous in different ways. Next year I want to try Kauai, so if you know of any great places to stay, I’m all ears.

Okay…later this week I promise to post more pics from San Francisco. I have a whole bunch I didn’t get up before I left on vacation. As for me, I’m back to work on Stolen Seduction. My week away did wonders…I love this book! (Tomorrow I’ll probably hate it. LOL)

Have you been to Hawaii? What’s your favorite island or resort?

I was going to post pics from San Fran today but quickly realized if I posted all of them, this post would never end! So I’m going to do it in sections. These were all taken Wednesday night at the RWA Literacy Signing. 500 published authors all in one room. So much fun.

Me, Pocket author – and PRO mentor of the year (!!!) – Karin Tabke, Kendra Elliot and Joan Swan.