One Day Later ...

... I saw just ONE little butterfly on the way home from church yesterday, flapping across Highway 395. Headed east.

I guess the rest of them got where they were going?

Butterfly Launch Day?

When I was out driving today, I noticed a lot of small objects dive-bombing through the air. Too small for hummingbirds ... too big for mosquitoes ... yes, they were little butterflies, flitting down the road, narrowly missing my windshield.

I remember noticing this phenomenon last spring. It might have lasted about a week. But I swear, they weren't there yesterday!

The butterflies seem to come in little flurries -- or is it flocks? packs? gaggles? -- of about ten or so. At a guess, I'd say I was passing through at least a hundred butterflies per mile.

But where do they all go? If we had this many full-size butterflies veering through traffic, it would get pretty tough to see. It seemed like they might be traveling east. So is Victorville some kind of butterfly commuting hub?

PERFECT TARGET by Stephanie Newton

Don't you love it when something good happens to someone who totally deserves it?

It's good news for readers, too. Because today's the day PERFECT TARGET, Stephanie Newton's first novel, hits the shelves.

I have to admit to a certain amount of pride. And smugness. Yes, Steph is my friend. Yes, I've been reading her work for about five years now, before the rest of the world had a chance to get their mitts on it. A book's path from manuscript to store shelf can be a twisty-turny thing, as Steph will attest. But I knew it was just a matter of time before she'd be in print.

Man, I love being right.

PERFECT TARGET is an inspirational romantic suspense novel about a heroine who's survived years of being tormented by a stalker. Now it's starting again ... and this time, in addition to the menacing cards and gifts, dead bodies are turning up. Her neighbor, a sexy cop, is offering her protection ... but she's not so keen on strong, protective males after years of being cooped up with bodyguards. The story is a terrific blend of suspense and romantic tension, with a believable relationship and great characters to root for.

I highly recommend that you read PERFECT TARGET. Not just to prove I'm right ... but because you'll be missing out if you don't.

25 Random Things About Me

... or, why you may start thinking twice about reading my blog!

1. My favorite drink is milk with about 1/4 coffee added. Really.
2. Ever since I became a mom, happy endings in a movie turn me into a sniffling sap.
3. I can still get embarrassed remembering some stupid thing I said in first grade.
4. I can twitch my nose. Not as well as Elizabeth Montgomery in BEWITCHED, but I've tried.
5. My husband is a songwriter and musician, and I love the music he brings into our home.
6. I've been almost halfway done knitting a sweater for about 3 years.
7. I don't follow sports, but I still love baseball, thanks to all those Dodger games I watched with my mom.
8. I started writing a Dark Shadows script when I was ten.
9. My first (unfinished) book was a romantic vampire novel.
10. I'm half German on my mother's side.
11. I'm part Cherokee on my father's side, which he used to claim explains the red in my hair. Huh?
12. I love to read, but I buy books way too fast to keep up.
13. When I was eight years old, I wanted to marry Johnny Cash. (He was a lot younger then, too.)
14. I've gone parasailing.
15. I just finished using a can of baking powder that was dated May 1996.
16. Fall colors are my favorite.
17. I once pet (petted?) a full-grown, live tiger.
18. When I was a teen, I wanted to be Erma Bombeck when I grew up.
19. It freaks me out when people suck helium out of balloons.
20. I still think Cary Grant was the handsomest man ever invented.
21. Johnny Depp and Hugh Jackman, take heart. You're almost as good and you're not dead.
22. I used to think doing my very own laundry would be a thrill.
23. Before my boy was born, I wanted a girl.
24. Before my girl was born, I wanted another boy.
25. When I got the opposite of what I wanted, I was overjoyed both times.