December is creeping towards us! And yes, I’m partially excited and partially stunned that it’s here so fast this year. Had my annual shopping day with Sis and knocked out most of what I needed to get and got some family time. Niece came and brought some great roommates which was fun since I’m an empty nester now. With the kids grown it’s different this year, having several different Christmas Days, but that just spreads the fun around.

And there is that new baby – Homecoming – which will be released December 3.

Thought I’d share a little excerpt with you in anticipation. This is from Matt’s point of view –

Matt opened the door to the guest house. It had certainly been an interesting day. Ashley Winsted was not what he had expected. He’d been surprised to learn she planned to clean out the house on her own. She hadn’t been home since she left for school according to Aunt Clara. His aunt hadn’t found any of it odd. Maybe after his short time with Mrs. Winsted, he shouldn’t either. The woman had the maternal instincts of a lamp and about as much warmth, with the bulb off.

Ashley had jumped right in. He really had been impressed with the amount of trash the woman had thrown out of one room. He’d itched to do it himself, but he had no right.

The small guest house he inhabited was neat and uncluttered. But only because he had scooped everything up and hidden it in a cabinet. That, or knock something over every time he moved. Mrs. Winsted had never come out here—he wasn’t a guest, merely a part of the “help.” Her attitude had reflected such on a daily basis.

He was a little curious himself as to why he had stayed after Aunt Clara’s sudden death. Yes, it seemed wrong to leave the old woman alone, but it felt like he’d been waiting for something.

Matt had fallen in love with the house at first sight, and the town as he’d become familiar with the place. He’d grown up in a modern suburb of Cincinnati with little character. Everyone had left each morning to go to work, returning after dark. On Saturdays, the people waved as they did yard work, but no small town feeling existed. People didn’t live there long. After school he’d moved to New York with a job offer and he had to admit, done very well financially. But it hadn’t been home.

This was the kind of place he’d always wanted to live. People sat on their porches and waved as people walked by. Doors were still left unlocked at night. Maybe a fantasy and places like this didn’t really exist. Maybe he’d been waiting for Ashley to come home, clean out the place, and put it up for sale.

His eyes fell on the easy chair he claimed as his own. It did feel like home here. He shrugged it off and headed for the shower.

Roommates?  Really, I’ve been married forever, but these girls came first. I went off to college leaving home for the first time, from a town of roughly 3,000 people to a campus with 8,000 students – that didn’t count the staff and faculty.  Talk about overwhelmed.

But I found Bette on the second day and she kept me afloat. The others joined in later but now 40 years – yeah, that’s what I said – 40 years later we’re still together.

They were here again this weekend and this time with Sandy bearing down on the northeast I got to keep Bette longer. No reason to go north and sit alone in the dark. Hubby is used to them, kinda like in-laws and just goes with the flow. They were in the family before he was, after all.

It was nice to run some ideas past them. I know I’ll get honestly from this bunch and just relax into the family-ness of it all.  We really are each other’s families, more now as we grow older and become the heads of our families in every way.

A couple of them read Homecoming for me to work out the kinks, so I know the feeling of it is real.  Coming out December 3 – check out a snippet

Homecoming –

Ashley trailed him up the stairs, obviously torn between eagerness and fear. Matt reached for the doorknob but stopped at the last minute and stepped back. She looked at him questioningly.

“It’s your princess room, or will be, you should open it.”

Okay, now fear definitely grew as the top emotion. He could feel it coming off her in waves, but he stood by as she squared her shoulders and opened the door.

Well, she’d been right about using the place as an attic. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere. But the piles of stuff caught even him off guard.

“Man, you called it.” He stepped into the room and brushed some of the webs aside. He moved cautiously toward the window and moved the curtain. It shredded in his hands. “Damn, I’m sorry.”

“No problem. Not my style anyway.”

He only nodded and levered the window open, then moved to the next one. Once all four of the windows creating the bay were wide open he turned back. “Do you want me to haul this stuff downstairs or go through it here?”

“Here. But I think we’re going to need another box of trash bags.”

“Yeah, you think? I’ll go get them and a broom. Will you be okay?”

She nodded. He headed for the door, but her hand brushed his arm. “Thank you.”

He winked at her and kept moving. Jesus, what had she gone through?

Returning he brought the broom, trash bags, wet wipes, rags and a stool for her to sit. This would take a while, maybe a lifetime.

He tied a rag around the broom and used it to bring down the webs around the ceiling. No need to sweep yet, and no room.

Ashley pulled open the closest box. The cardboard had dried out and the tape no longer stuck, so it wasn’t hard. “Jesus.”

“What?”

“These are my grandparents canceled checks.”

“From when?”

“1947 on this one.”

“19 . . . ” His voice trailed off. She was serious. She held one up for him to see. “Do you need a shredder?”

“This bank went out of business before I was born. Do you think there’s anything that would bite me in this box?”

“I don’t think so, but give me a minute.” He took the broom handle and shoved the stacks of checks around. “It’s all checks. I swear, I never—”

“This can go to the curb, if we can get it downstairs without the box ripping.”

“Let’s put it in a bag anyway. You don’t want checks floating around town.”

“No, you’re right.” She shook her head and helped him shove the box into the bag. He tied it tightly and headed for the stairs.

“Wait for me.” He turned before he started down the stairs.

“I can—”

“Wait anyway.”

Had the best time at Moonlight and Magnolias.  My heartiest thanks to the Georgia Romance Writers for such a well-run and professional conference.  I met so many writers, both published and aspiring and they were all so incredibly supportive and helpful.

And it wasn’t just because I won two (2!!) baskets . . .

My thanks also to all the presenters – you were Fabulous!

It’s not too early to start that Christmas list – Homecoming will be out December 3.  If Santa comes through with the Kindle or Nook, you’d be all set!

More on the Homecoming page!