Tuesday News

With the July release of Firefighter Daddy, the past month has been a whirlwind of book signings and guest blog appearances. Exhausting, but so much fun!

Here’s a photo taken at the multi-author signing I took part in last Saturday.

[l. to r.: Golden Heart winner Jacqui Nelson with a copy of Firefighter Daddy in her hot little hands, Chelsea Bowles, me in my I “heart” SF T-shirt, and fellow author Susan Lyons/Fox]

I love the little gems that pop up on the Internet. Here's Firefighter Daddy listed in the Firefighter Gifts section of the United Firefighter website!

I’ve had to switch gears this week to work on the page proofs of my January 2011 release, The Wedding Bargain. I really love the characters in this story and I sure hope readers will, too.

Speaking of great stories, today you’ll find four new Harlequin American Romances on bookstore shelves.

Baby Bombshell
by Lisa Ruff

Dusty: Wild Cowboy
by Cathy McDavid
Third in the must-read The Codys: The First Family of Rodeo miniseries!

The Mommy Proposal
by Cathy Gillen Thacker

His Hired Baby
by Jacqueline Diamond

Check out the covers at eHarlequin.com. Happy reading!

Until next time,

Lee

This Week's News

I'm doing one last book signing tomorrow so if you'd like an autographed copy of Firefighter Daddy, please drop by!

Saturday, August 7
1 to 4 pm
Coles Books, Tillicum Mall
Victoria, BC

This will be a multi-author signing and I'll be joined by Sharon Ashwood, Mimi Barbour, Bonnie Edwards and Susan Lyons.

We're holding an instant win draw and everyone who stops at our table will win candy or a fun little prize. Those who buy books will also be eligible for the grand prize draw for a beautiful travel tote bag filled with goodies.

The page proofs for The Wedding Bargain are here so that's what will be keeping me busy for the next few days.

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News

Two book signings down, one to go! Here are the details about my next and last signing of the summer:

Saturday, August 7
1 to 4 pm
Coles Books, Tillicum Mall
Victoria, BC

This will be a multi-author signing and I'll be joined by Sharon Ashwood, Mimi Barbour, Bonnie Edwards and Susan Lyons.

Any day now I expect to receive the page proofs for The Wedding Bargain, the sequel to Firefighter Daddy. And I discovered this week that it's already available for preorder on Amazon.com and Chapters.ca!

The Romance Writers of America's national conference is being held this week in Orlando, FL. I'm not attending this year, but I'm sending a special shout-out to this year's Rita and Golden Heart finalists!

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News

Revisions to The Wedding Bargain are coming along nicely, I’m happy to say.

Went to one of my favorite farmers’ markets on Saturday and came home with a bag of garden-fresh produce—baby salad greens, Swiss chard, and some delicious turnips that went into a pot of stew on Sunday—and tickets to the local Shakespeare festival’s production of The Taming of the Shrew in July. It’s one of my favorite Shakespeare plays and I’m really looking forward to it.

Six of my neighbors had garage sales on the weekend and from one of them I acquired a huge concrete urn for my patio. And it was FREE! Now I have to make a trip to the garden center to buy plants for it.

I didn’t participate in the sale but I had two boxes of books that were looking for new homes. I put them on a table at the end of the driveway with a “FREE BOOKS” sign, and all but eight disappeared.

Have I mentioned that I’m now on Facebook? I even have a Lee McKenzie - Contemporary Romance Author fan page. Now I just need some fans.

Oh, wait...

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News

I attended the Write On, Vancouver Conference this weekend. Great workshops and speakers, reconnected with old friends, made some new ones and, best of all, got to spend time with my Harlequin editor, Johanna Raisanen.

This week I’ll be busy with revisions to The Wedding Bargain and plans for the July 13th release of Firefighter Daddy.

On Sunday while I was still in Vancouver, I bought a butternut squash risotto cake a take-out deli counter. A delicious twist on risotto, which is something I make fairly often, so this month I’m going to post my favorite risotto recipes on Food for Thought Fridays.

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News

Lots going on this week.

First, thanks to my daughter's diligence, accompanied by a small amount of nagging and a lot of hand holding, I’m on Facebook. I have a regular page and a fan page where I’ll be posting info about upcoming events and other fun stuff. Feel free to "friend" me and "like" me!

Firefighter Daddy has received a 4-Star Review from Romantic Times Magazine, and I am a thrilled!

“As proud of her hippie roots as he is befuddled, Mitch and Rory are as different as night and day. McKenzie’s characters are warm and inviting and keep the reader entertained throughout...”

I’m attending the Write On, Vancouver conference this weekend. As you’ve probably guessed, it’s in Vancouver and I’m especially looking forward to meeting with my Harlequin editor, Johanna Raisanen.

Workwise, I’m busily revising The Wedding Bargain.

Oh, and perhaps the best news of all. The new housekeeper starts today. So all of the above and a clean house. Life is good.

Until next time,
Lee

This Week’s News

I’m deep into revisions of The Wedding Bargain (Harlequin American Romance, January 2011) right now, which partly accounts for my having been MIA for a bit. I thought the book was “done” when I submitted it, but my editor has made some wonderful suggestions that will make the story so much better. I’m excited!

Last Saturday’s foray into the farmers’ markets yielded a glorious bunch of fresh leeks that immediately went into a pot of leek and potato soup. Delicious. As the weeks pass, there'll be a greater variety of fruit and vegetables at the markets. Good things to come!

The official times for the Mother’s Day 10K Walk that my daughter and I participated in were finally posted. I finished in 1:25:47, shaving a little over two minutes off my time in the race I did two weeks earlier. Yay me!

On the home front, I have hired a housekeeper to come in twice a month. She starts next week and I can hardly wait! In addition to cleaning, she’s going to help with some decluttering. You might remember the ambitious office overhaul I embarked on last winter. Well...I did make some progress but then got stalled. Got started again this week and cleared out the storage closet, but there’s still much to do. Having someone to help will keep me motivated. I hope. I’ll keep you posted.

Until next time,
Lee

This Week's News

I have a title! THE WEDDING BARGAIN, my second book set in San Francisco, will be out in January 2011.

Thanks to all who dropped by to help me celebrate the 10K. Found out yesterday that I placed 39th out of 169 competitive walkers (28th out of the 127 women walkers).

Last Thursday I posted a link to the Hornby Island Eagle Cam. As of this morning, a hole has appeared on one of the eggs and peeping can be heard from within. Oh my gosh, we’re having a baby!

Until next time,
Lee