It's Been a While...

Hi there. Remember me? No? That's okay. Pull up a seat and maybe it'll all come back.

I haven't been around at all. Life's been... busy. I went back to school to (finally) finish my bachelor's degree. I'm majoring in History, minoring in English, at Rutgers University. It's been awesome. At least, my first semester was, last fall. I carried 15 credits and made Dean's List, thankyouverymuch.

This semester, however, has been different, to say the least. I'm carrying 15 credits again and I think I'm doing pretty well. But then COVID-19 swept through the land and now I'm remote schooling, which mostly sucks because I really do miss the classroom aspect of it. I miss the discussions and interactions mostly. My professors have done a great job of navigating such untested, uncharted waters, and all in all, I think my grades will be just fine. One more year and I'm done.

My family has been through some changes as well. Thing One graduated high school last year and is a freshman at college. Remote schooling as well, but also doing fantastic. Thing Two is finishing up 8th grade and will be a high school freshman next year, which is still a little unsettling to think about, now that I think about it.

We adopted this guy here in January. His name is Salem and he is a slinky boi... He's still really skittish, but settling in. I don't know his history, but my guess is he was an alley cat. He moves without a sound and is really good at hugging the walls and is fast as mercury...

Salem. He is always plotting.

He and Oreo play (at least, I hope it's playing) tag every night. Down the stairs. Up the stairs. They sound like the brothers in A Christmas Story when they're racing to get up the stairs to go to bed on Christmas Eve. But Salem is a lover as well, and will wrap all around your legs. Usually when you're trying to walk.

Oreo. I swear, she's not broken. She doesn't quite get how to cat...

We've also had a loss. A huge loss. On March 19, 2020, we said goodbye to our pupper Roxy. On Earth Day, 2009, she joined our family and coincidentally, it fell exactly the same as it did this year. She'd been diagnosed with two different types of cancer in 2017 and finally, it won. Words cannot possibly describe how much I miss her. This photo was one of the last ones I took of her. :( My house still seems freakishly quiet without her.

My Roxy-doo. I miss her beyond belief
8/1/2007 ~ 3/19/20

So, that's that. Here we are, under quarantine, waiting for the world to right itself. And it will. And hopefully we'll have learned something from it.

I don't know if I'll update again any time soon. It's been a rough couple of years, both personally and professionally. But never say never, right?

John S. McCain III 1936-2018

By now, you know Arizona Senator John S. McCain III lost his battle with cancer yesterday afternoon. He wasn't my senator and I am the last person anyone would even think of when the word Republican is mentioned, but his death hit me very hard. Harder than I thought it would.

We've all known for some time he was fighting an uphill battle and yet, when word came down Friday that he'd stopped treatment, it was still a shock when my husband told me last night, "John McCain died."

Politically speaking, I was McCain's polar opposite--a proud liberal who despises war and tax cuts for corporations, who hated seeing Obamacare gutted instead of seeing the parts that didn't work fixed. And yet, I respected McCain. He was a true patriot--a POW during Vietnam who lived with the reminders of his captivity and torture for the remainder of his life. Unlike the disgrace who currently occupies the White House, McCain didn't ask for deferments. He served his country for almost sixty years.

In 2008, when he ran for president, I was thisclose to voting for him, and I have never cast a vote for a Republican presidential candidate. But then, he chose the Talking Turnip from Alaska and I couldn't, in good conscience, vote for him after that. The thought of someone as stupid as Sarah Palin occupying the Oval Office chilled my blood. So, I voted for the man I felt was too young and too inexperienced. I don't regret that vote. Not one bit. But I do think McCain would have made a good president.

This one moment of the 2008 campaign is forever embedded in my mind:

In these days, when the occupant of the Oval Office seems to have difficulty with acting like an adult, never mind acting presidential, McCain reminds me of a time when civility still existed. He is the last of a dying breed--an honorable Republican--and our country is worse off for that.

Godspeed, Senator McCain, and thank you for your service. This country will miss you more than you could ever know.

It's Here!!

The Earl's Perfect Match is finally here! Woot!

Bennett Markham, Earl of Dunning, needs an heir, which means he needs to find a wife first. His only requirements are that his bride not be a fortune-hunter and absolutely cannot love him, now or ever.

Love is not in the cards for Markham men.

Elena Sebastiano is more than a little surprised when the Earl asks her to play matchmaker for him. They barely know each other, so how is she supposed to choose the perfect bride? Nonetheless, the challenge intrigues her.

But what's a woman to do when she wants the man for herself? Convince him no one will do but her...

Here are few reviews in case you were curious...

Editorial Reviews for THE EARL’S PERFECT MATCH by Kimberly Nee

“The Earl's Perfect Match by Kimberly Nee is a fantastic historical romance.  Ms. Nee has provided us with an amazing, well-written book and loaded it with outstanding, lovable characters.” –Deb D., Goodreads

“This was a fun, well-written Regency romance. Elena was lively and down to earth. She and Bennett had chemistry and I enjoyed reading their story. The secondary characters were entertaining also. I would recommend this book to others and would read more books by this author.” –Robin D., Goodreads

“This book has the perfect HEA!” –Erika C., NetGalley

“This was a beautiful romance that I could not put down! I even burned my dinner!” –Sheila R., NetGalley

So, what better way to celebrate than a contest, right?

Glad you agree, so here we go...

 It's really simple, since I like simple. :D 

When? July 23, 2018 – September 1, 2018
How? Like my FB author page and be entered to win an ebook copy

of The Earl’s Perfect Match. 




Other specifics: Three winners will be chosen at random, and one winner will be chosen at random to
receive the entire set of Sebastiano novels (4 books, total) in ebook format.

 

Now, I like giving stuff away, so what are you waiting for? Go! You won't regret it. :D




You can find it at Entangled Publishing  and on Amazon!

The Countdown Has Begun

Okay, well technically it began on July 1, but who's counting?

I'm looking so forward to this book's release, because when Samhain folded, there was no guarantee this (or any of my Samhain titles, really) would be given new life. I'd gotten the rights reverted to The Earl's Perfect Match waaaay back when Samhain made the "We're closing our doors" announcement the first time. It had already gone through first edits, but not final ones (although it did have a cover already and I loved working with my editor, Laura. I miss her, :() so it met the criteria for outright reversions. The other books were up in the air, with a lot of breath-holding for me, as well as other authors, I'm sure, as to whether or not those rights would come back to me. Fortunately, my titles came back to me free and clear when Samhain shut their doors permanently. It was relatively painless, even if it did hurt to see Samhain go. I had a great experience writing for them, so, I left with relief that my books were mine once more, and on good terms. I've been through a few publisher implosions. This one wasn't bad. No fighting. No threats. Just reversion of rights and when they came back, I already had the offer from Entangled to rehome the first three books.

But this story... Elena and Bennett are two of my favorite characters. I wrote the first draft during a rough time. My mother had been sick and passed in June of 2013, I was worn down from dealing with her--cancer is a bitch, it really is, and when it spreads to your brain, it changes you. My brother and I were the ones dealing with her funeral, and her estate and the one bank who STILL refuses to close her checking account. WTF is THAT about? Anyway, there was a lot of stress in my life and watching Elena and Bennett's story unfold helped me deal with it. I think you can tell I enjoyed writing it. It shows through in some of the more humorous scenes.

So, anyway, only three weeks until it releases and I'm thinking about a giveway. I'm not sure really what I'm doing yet, so when I decide, it'll probably run through august as well, since I'm getting a late jump on this. Time flew by on me and the release date kind of snuck up on me, so here we are.

I'll post more on my Facebook page when I have the details worked out, so hop on over there and give it a like, if you're so inclined. See you there!

So Much Adulting

Damn... I go away for a while (okay, a loooong while) and when I come back, my blog needs yooooge renovations. So, here I am, adulting like a boss as I move things around, sweep up and toss broken links, delete blogs that haven't been updated in literally years, fiddle with fonts and colors, and even rename the whole place. Whew. I need a nap. Or a drink. Yes, a drink will do nicely.

So, here we are, a nice, freshly cleaned and polished blog, I feel quite accomplished, even if it's really kinda my own fault the place went to ruin. I had pages up to books that aren't even available any longer. There were links that led to dead ends. And I discovered that, while I was gone, Blogger added some really cool things as well, so I can probably use this in place of my website. At least, for now anyway.

I really didn't mean to spend an entire afternoon doing this. I had no idea it was this out of whack. But at the same time, I don't really mind it. It's fun to play around with layout and font and colors and all that stuff. I just don't want to have to do it again for a long time.

So, if you're so moved, let me know what you think. What works, what doesn't work? What you like, what you don't like? Things like that.

In the meanwhile, here is the newest member of our family. Meet Oreo, the tuxedo we adopted last month.

 The mustache!

Do not be fooled, human. I could kill you if I wish...

Getting Back into the Swing

Yes... I'm back (again) and yes, I've been a bad blogger (again) and once more, I'm going to promise to be better about it (again.) So, keep your fingers crossed.

Anyway, here I am, trying to get back into the swing of everything. I've been a busy little bee, working on edits for my upcoming release, The Earl's Perfect Match, which is Elena Sebastiano's story and is coming from Entangled Publishing on July 23rd. Look! New cover art!

Lovely, isn't it? My cover artist rocks!

Anyway, I just turned in copyedits for this, and now I'm sorta starting to get excited about the release. Yay!

I've been working on a sooper seekrit project as well. I'll have news on that very soon, or so I hope. :D

I have a Facebook page, if you're at all interested. Pop by and check it out and like me. Otherwise, I'll cry. :(

I'm working on other books as well, in several different genres. Changes is good for the soul, right? Anyway, it's been interesting, forcing myself out of my comfort zone. Interesting and challenging.

And, let's see... Thing 1 goes for her license next week. I'm not the least bit nervous about her driving at all, Nope, not me. Not one little bit.

Yeah, totally lying on that. I'm trying REAL hard not to think about it. I sleep better that way.

If you're not following the Faleena Hopkins debacle, you really should. It's fascinating in a train-wreck kind of way. 

Okay, so that's a quick update. And another promise to try to be better at this. Bear with me. Change is good for the soul, but hard and lazy is soooo much easier!

It's Been a While

But so what else is new? Anyway, I'm back again and some things have changed. My Sebastiano series was picked up by Entangled Publishing, which is good. My Musa books remain homeless, but that's okay as well. I'm doing massive rewrites, and basically turning them into new books. A new family. New location. Who knows what will happen then?

I took down my website. The provider's fee was astronomical, especially for what they provided, so I'm looking around for a new host. It might take some time, but when I've got it up and running again, I'll let you know.

I'm still alive. Still writing. That sort of thing. I do have a new title coming out this summer, from Entangled. It's the fourth book of my Sebastiano series--Where There is Desire. It's Elena Sebastiano's story, set in England, on the country estate of an earl who also just happens to be in search of a wife. I should have new cover art coming soon, so that's something to look forward to, right?

And that's about it. So, until next time...