Anyone wanting to get your little darling into this sport, let me break down the costs in real-life figures:

Group Lessons = 6 weeks for $75 (not including $15 annual membership to NATIONAL organization), 55 minutes

Synchro Lessons = $200/year (goes HIGHER in a competition year, with gas, travel, hotels, meals & competition fees)

Private Lessons = $20-$35/hour (and UP)

Costumes = $60/apiece (and UP) we joke about “a $ a sequin” which isn’t funny but might be true…

Flesh-colored body suits (extra insulation beneath a revealing outer costume) = $30-45/apiece

Mondors (those funny flesh-colored tights that go OVER the boots) = $20/pair (buy needle & flesh-colored thread to sew up the little holes in the practice pairs – keep one pair IN THE BAG until 2 seconds before a public performance and MAYBE they’ll stay intact until the music stops!)

Skates = $80 & up (used) and $150 & up (new) Another skating mom who’s daughter competed in the big leagues told me she once bought a pair of BOOTS for $1200 and they DIDN’T come with blades, she had to buy those separately. The guy at Goal Line and I had a huge argument about Tami’s newest pair of new skates. He was trying to convince me to buy the $350.00 top-of-the-line Jacksons on my middle-of-the-road $150.00 budget. He tried to convince me I was hampering my daughter’s progress. I wasn’t buying it. When she’s ready for Badger State Games and the Regionals, I’ll splurge on more expensive eqiupment. For now, on a weekend skater, we compromise. My family still has to eat.

Skate sharpening = $10-$15/pair each time

“Punching” (the act of expanding a specific spot on a skate that’s too tight, invaluable when you’re trying to eek a couple more weeks out of a pair your growing daughter is outgrowing) = $5/spot

Miscellaneous expenses = gloves, hair scrunchies, hair spray (to remove static cling from gauze & mesh parts of costumes), glitter spray/gel, makeup, sewing kit, scissors, first aid kit, flesh-colored tape (to cover itchy parts of inside costume), extra boot laces, long thin socks to wear under skates, cosmetic pads to cover blister-prone spots (they also make this gel-lined ankle wrap to cushion sore spots also)

Things to consider that the DON’T tell you:

Communication is important – like sending an email if something gets cancelled so you don’t drive all the way somewhere for nothing!

If there’s an ice scheduling conflict between figure skaters and hockey players, the figure skaters lose and you go home (at least in MY town, hockey is king)

Carpooling & hotel roommates are strongly encouraged by the real moms

Competition is only good when the girls are READY – no one wants to look stupid and come in dead last. It’s okay to skip a year or  a competition. It’s okay to never compete at all. Progression and friendships are more important than medals. Let your daughter lead the way, don’t push her. Anyone see Dance Moms??? I do NOT want to ever be THAT MOM…

It should be about athletic achienvement and artistry and encouragement. Something to look forward to. If it becomes a chore, if it becomes about winning and beating everyone else, you might want to reevaluate things. These girls don’t just skate together, they go to school together, run into each other at the mall. You want them to bond, to go to the movies together, to have parties and sleepovers together. They’re still little girls growing up, worried about when to wear makeup and jewelry, picking out the right clothes, talking to the wrong boy. They have homework and projects and siblings and family stuff going on. They don’t need more pressure. Skating should be affirming and a challenge but never an obstacle.

Anyone with a kid in extracirricular sports, insert yours here and do an evaluation of cost, benefits and priorities. It’s not cheap. Do as much as you can, but remember that balance is the key. Don’t go overboard. You want your kids to have fond memories.

I’m not a big mystery reader, but I LOVE Merline Lovelace’s romance novels and I LOVE her characters. Esp. her military heroines. This auther was in the service, so she knows of what she writes. I love snarky heroine first-person POVs. I want the snorts and the eye-rolling and irreverence. So I thought I’d try her “other” genre.

THIS BOOK HAD IT IN SPADES. (Pun intended)

USAF Lt. Samantha Spade is NOT a gung-ho career-military type. She has authority issues, which makes for a rocky life in the military, and gets her banished to the backside of beyond. What saves her is her brains, and she leads of team of techno-geek misfits testing possibly beneficial new technologies for military applications. EEEK is featured in this book – an Ergonomic Exoskeletal Extension, which is just a fancy word for a robotic suit you put on and take off that enhances human abilities.

Samantha is taking the suit for a jaunt out in the TX desert when she steps into murder and mayhem and government conspiracies – literally. Soon everyone and their cousin is involved in the investigations, and jurisdictional turf wars between several government agencies ensues. It’s enough to give a poor lieutenant a major headache.

Her partner in crime-solving is US Customs & Border Patrol agent Jeff Mitchell. They have a definitely unprofessional attraction, but don’t let it get in their way…much. Both of them have relationship and commitment issues, both of them acknowledge that it has NO place in the workplace. But they’re only human, and it’s there. Adds a nice layer of subtext throughout every exchange.

The infighting and lies and coverups keep you turning the pages. Sometimes you want to laugh at Sam, and sometimes you want to shake her. Writer’s done a good job if her characters come across as real people. Samantha Spade is one of those characters you can stick with in a series – I have Catch Her If You Can to read next!

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I reread Brianna just prior to reading this book, just to catch up with everything that was going on, and I almost wish I hadn’t. Then maybe I wouldn’t have had the two issues I DID have with Sheala. Judy Mays does excellent world-building, and her characters are multi-faceted. I loved Brianna, and Sheala was an interesting read with lots going on. But it could have been better. It could have been deeper.

In Sheala, Sheala and Marljas just got LOST in the cast of characters. This was supposed to be THEIR book, THEIR story. I wanted JUST her POV and his POV. Everyone else should have taken a backseat, a supporting role. NO ONE ELSE should have had a POV in this book. Shaela’s situation was terrible, and I wanted to see how Marljas’ love & devotion helped her heal, and helped them come together as a couple and move towards their HEA. I wanted their thoughts, their emotions, their hopes and fears and dreams and yearnings. Their sorrow and regret. Their rage. The stage was cluttered with too many characters having a say, and depth suffered for it.

The other thing I noticed was entire CHUNKS of narrative were cut from the end of Brianna and pasted into the beginning of Sheala. That made me angry, b/c Judy mays is better than that. It felt like a cop-out. I wanted those self-same scene rewritten from Shaela’s and Marljas’ perspective, to really take hold of the inciting incident (a tragedy) and then allow them to start moving forward. Marljas kills one of the villains with his bare claws, and someone else finds the shredded body. I NEEDED that scene to be in Marljas’ POV. I wanted his rage, his sorrow and outrage, his regret that he wasn’t able to get to Sheala in time. It wouldn’t have been an easy scene to write, but it would have been SO much more powerful.

I look forward to more books in this series. I would LOVE to see a book for Ban. That boy has a LOT going on in his life, lots of issues. An assassin with a playboy face, the black sheep of the family. HE could be really interesting to flesh out and give the spotlight to…

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With his ADHD, he’s not the kind of kid who does well sitting in a classroom having a teacher yap at him all day. When Josh & I took a tour, there are only like 6 classrooms and a lounge. Each student has their own Dilbert cubicle and their own computer. There were only 49 students this year – six in graduating class. The teacher who showed us around took us into a room with lots of strange items in it, asked Josh if he knew what a Tesla coil was. When Josh said yes he took him over to a copper-wire wrapped contraption and said, “You want to meet the kid who built this?” Turns out it actually worked.

They learn hands-on. Classes multi-task. Like they learn the science of friction, resistance (and probably gravity) by skiing. We never got to mix PE & science! They do a lot of technical reporting & writing, which counts towards English. Their scores in standardized tests are WAY above the state average, even our district average. They use Rosetta for foreign language and have 2 hours of math a day. They get to choose their own science projects to do – like making Tesla coils. Josh wants to design computer games – they’ll probably teach him the basics. Maybe he can build his own computer.

They also do community service and have internships with local Wausau businesses in various engineering and technical fields that the kids might someday be working in. I can see Josh volunteering in the computer room of the Boys & Girls Club, and going on to a summer apprentice program with some design company.

Kids now have options for learning, and can gear what they do now towards what they want to do later. It’s up to us parents to listen to our kids, know what their strengths and weaknesses are, and be an advocate for them – help them find the best path for them to achieve their dreams. Most of all, keep an open mind, open ears and eyes.

As a Navy brat and Tricare employee in real life, I have the utmost respect and admiration for our military. (Yes I’m one of those – I LOVE a guy in uniform!) Only thing better than a guy in uniform is a girl in uniform…and veterans who write romance? Too cool! So I picked up this Cindy Dees book from the trade shelf at work and it sounded interesting. Admit it, ladies – special forces guys are HOT! And I like smart heroines – I HATE damsels-in-distress. The scenario is Armageddon w/a twist – meteorite scheduled to slam into Nowhere, Siberia…which just happens to be the secret location of a doomsday device. Suddenly it’s not about barbequed bunnies anymore but the whole human race. Racing clock, international relations, embassies and spies, secret government installations in the desert… Ms. Dees packs a LOT in 217 pages!

The character chemistry was smokin’ hot. I was hooked with “I know better than to walk away from your kind of fire, chere.” (Yes, Carter’s from NAWLINS) Good-old-boy goes to MIT? More to this guy than your average grunt-with-a-gun. Lily’s brilliant but shy and not used to any excitement – she lives in a lab w/math equations and chalkboards. Her idea of getting out of the lab is teaching bored college students in a classroom. She’s in way over her head, but she holds her own. These two are great together.

Very fun book!

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I don’t read a lot of mysteries – I write fantasy romance and normally I read one of those two genres, but I found this on the “trade” shelf at work and thought I’d check it out. I am SO glad I did! This is not just a mystery book – this is a PEOPLE book, with complex true-to-life issues. Sheriff Brady runs the gambit from single-mom-working mom-woman boss ordering armed men around-dating after husband’s death-what do in laws think of THAT? She has ISSUES – we all can relate to any of those!

Put on top of that a serial killer (and a profiler insisting it’s a KID – well, barely adult ex-teen), a town’s lack of faith in a woman sheriff, and a best friend w/a toddler in a desperate need of a heart transplant…

This is a multi-faceted book, with “real people” characters I LOVED. There’s so much gray – no black and white for this author! There are so many things that AREN’T right-or-wrong, there are no easy answers and no easy fixes. No matter who wins, someone loses. Just like real life.

This was book six, and I haven’t read the first five. No problem to follow this story line, but the history is condensed in such a way I probably won’t read the first five now, since I know what’s happened thus far. I WILL read future books in the series though!

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The deal with contests is, you have to FINAL to get in from of that agent/editor judge. Which means you have to make it through the first round of judging by your peers–other authors who have been in your shoes and now man that magical gateway. The first round judges are former contest winners, experienced judges and published authors. I once got judged by Suzanne Brockmann! (Very scary, cool moment…) They not only comment, critique, ask questions & make suggestions but also assign numbered scores and rankings–top three go on to Agent/Editor So-and-So and everyone else goes back to the revisions board.

I’ve never had a contest that wasn’t worth the $$$ critique. It was always interesting to see who picked up on what. So I submitted, and revised, and practiced and learned. And I finally had a slew of requests, as many “no thanks” but at last…a contract offer from Samhain for Duality. And then Hedda’s Sword. And so I hung up my “diva” award and became a published author.

And then a really weird thing happened. I got asked to JUDGE a contest. Huh? Me? What did I know? (According to some emails from my beloved-but-tough editor, some days not so much!) How could I possibly judge someone else’s work? The coordinator was merciless. “You READ, right?” Well, yeah. “You write ROMANCE, right?” Uh-huh. “You have opinions, right?” Umm…maybe? Okay, yeah. “Well then, READ THIS AND SAY WHAT YOU THINK!”

My family will tell you I have opinions about everything. My friends will say I’m not exactly shy. But, to me judging isn’t just telling a writer what you think of her work. THAT’S a critique. (I do those, too.) To me, judges are the guardians of that magical gateway. It’s a big deal to have a major publishing player as the final judge–for most serious contestants, that’s the draw. They want a shot for so-and-so to see how brilliant their stuff is. I know, I was at the head of the “stalking-Leah-Hultenschmidt” camp once upon a time. But those first round judges are the gatekeepers. They block the not-ready and advance the truly-ready so those final judges really do get to see those brilliant stellar masterpieces. I did a stint as a coordinator and I loved hearing my final judge say, “these are really GOOD” and do THREE requests, two partials and a full.

And so it’s a juggling act of critiquing enough to help the author get better, assigning scores to weed out the “there” from the “not quite there yet.” Most contests have three or four first round judges. The lowest score is dropped and not considered, so if you score too low, you’re the one who gets tossed and everyone else’s scores get added together and averaged. Top three scores advance. There are no such things as perfect manuscripts. There’s always strong points and weak points. What I HATED as a contestant were the ones who said, “I love it – it’s perfect.” Liars! No such thing as perfect, and not getting feedback is very frustrating. So the feedback and rationale are crucial. What works and why. What didn’t work and why. Mention what you loved. Mention what stopped you or made you scratch your head. Try to be kind–honest but not mean.

It takes courage to put your stuff out there for someone else to critique and judge. Rejection stings. Having someone NOT like your baby, your blood sweat and tears, can be hard. As a judge you influence, encourage, educate and lead. Have to remember how it was when you first started out. When you were still learning POV and GMC. What’s cool is when you get the same entrant in two different contests and can see suggestions you made in the first time around were followed and you can see the changes the next time around. (Of course the ethical thing to do is to tell the coordinator you’ve got an entry you can’t judge and give it to someone else, but I always READ it, I just didn’t judge it.) Some people have no qualms about judging the same entry over and over, but I always tried NOT to. I figured, they already GOT my opinion, so better to get someone else’s viewpoint.

Judging to me is a moral obligation, a way to return to the industry medium that got me where I am today. I hope to see some of the stories I’ve   enjoyed in print somewhere someday, and I hope my feedback does help. I’m a tough judge, but I think I’m fair. Contests you get feedback. In the regular submission prcess you usually get a form rejection; you know they didn’t like it but they don’t say why. You can’t fix what you don;t know is wrong. Teach and guide–highlight examples of what works (and why) and what doesn’t (and why). Strengths & weaknesses both.

It’s time consuming and there are times when you’re hated as well and loved. The process of code letters and numbers in lieu of names is there for a reason. I’ve cut back on judging b/c of time constraints but there are still a few here and there. I still get excited to open that email & check out the new entries, find those diamonds-in-the-rough (right before I mark it as a cliche! <LOL>) Contests are all about the possibilities, the passion.

1.) To read a book a week and review it on Goodreads. Last year’s reading goal was 100 books, impossible w/my schedule. A book a week is much more attainable. My Goodreads account has a lot of people following my reviews – and I’ve let them down. I vow to do better in that regard. I am already working on J.A Jance’s “Rattlesnake Crossing.”

2.) To got on Twtter daily with an update of either life or writing origin. Again, have been slacking and have lost a couple of folllowers who probably thought I died or something!

3.) To write DAILY. I am working on 2 manuscripts and will alternate days. I work on Marek Sn/T/Th and Dax M/W/F. I give myself Saturdays as an off day – running, skating, shopping, whatnot.

4.) To blog weekly. I plan on doing a personal piece on Sunday and a writing-related piece on Wednesday – a regular schedule.

5.) To attend one writer’s conference and enter one writing contest a year. Thinking of entering Marek in the Sandy, since they’re opening it up to published authors this year…

6.) To call my mother every week.

The hero Daq Aryk is a man with a dream—a warrior prince who dreams of peace. He loves his children, his people and his land. He’s tired of his people being cold & hungry, of warriors dying young and illness taking its toll. They’ve been professional raiders for generations but Aryk has a vision of their children growing up to other career options. The problem is old habits die hard. His own people can’t see themselves doing anything else. Even Aryk’s best friend Valkyn accuses Aryk of turning his back on their fathers. The outside nations are clearly skeptical of a message of peace coming from a riever leader.

The only ones to give him a shot are the elves in Poshnari-Unai. King Loren assigns his best warrior Verdeen to accompany Aryk back to Isadorikja as a helper and witness. Part bodyguard, part counselor and part spy. Aryk has enough on his plate with stubborn clansmen and skeptical neighbors. The last thing he needs is a beautiful cadet with no real battle experience. She’s a distraction he can’t afford. Even though she makes him burn with desire, he has to focus on the mission. He’s got to no time to think of his own needs. With everything he’s got against him it would be so easy to give it up, to just continue things as they are. Unpopular leaders can be replaced. He takes a big risk following his dream but sometimes a dream is all a man has.

Ask Martin Luther King, Jr.

How many things have changed in history because someone stood up and said, “You know what? This is wrong. I think we can do better.” A dream can make change happen. Everyone has dreams. What they do about them is what defines who and what they are, and can define the future for everyone else. We have to believe in the power of the possibilities of their dreams. Words like “can’t” and “never” should never enter your vocabulary. Dreams can inspire change. Dreams can affect change. Don’t laugh at the dreamers—embrace them. Join them. Become them.

I’ve always loved to write—I was writing horse stories when I was six, and I was the only kid in school who got a maximum word count in school. I always dreamed of being a published author and even though the odds were against me (I got a LOT of rejections when I was first starting out) I never gave up on my dream. RIEVER’S HEART is Book 5 of the Guardians of Light series for Samhain Publishing! Can’t have Book 5 without Book 1. What if I’d given up? Quit? Never give up. Ever. No matter what other people say, you have to believe in yourself. Don’t ever listen to the naysayers. I hope Aryk’s and Verdeen’s story can inspire you to keep your own dreams alive.

Verdeen was born to high parental expectations. Her parents were so proud when she became lady’s maid to the queen, Dara, in Duality. They though “queen” but she saw “lady’s maid” and it wasn’t enough for her. Dara asked what she wanted and Verdeen was honest and told her. So Dara helped her enter the military academy—first female to do so in generations. Her parents were…disappointed. I used to be a waitress, and living off tips getting pinched by drunk businessmen was not where I saw for the rest of my life either. So I went back to college—and became the only vet tech in a family of nurses.

We’re both black sheep, following our own dreams instead of that of others’.

Verdeen and I are both tomboys. We’re both bookworms, both inclined to “look it up” when we have a question. I’m terrible about never wanting to stop research to actually WRITE. There’s so much interesting stuff to learn! But she and I both learned that sometimes, there’s no substitute for actually getting out there and LIVING life instead of just reading about it! Research is also EXPERIENCE. (And we both love to read just for fun, too.)

We’re both major horse lovers. I’ve always had Arabians and have two half-Arab mares now. Temptation Fyre N Ice (aka Sassy) is a gray 7-year-old Morab and Moonlight is a white 20-year-old half-Welsh pony who technically belongs to my daughter Tami. Verdeen’s always dreamed of having an elven war mare select her to partner in becoming a full elven ranger—those beautiful, glowing white, sentient war mares. Only when she graduates from the military academy, Verdeen DOESN’T get her war mare. None of them choose her. For me, I just had to buy one. Verdeen
doesn’t have that luxury and her disappointment is crushing. What to do when the one thing you want most in the world is denied you? How to come up with Plan B? I’ve also had to deal with disappointments and roads not taken.

Sometimes it’s not about what you want. It’s about what you need.

I’ve started gaming on Dragons of Atlantis with my son, but because I never do anything halfway I’m now second in command in our mutual alliance. I’m basically the go-between between the overlord and the rest of the tribe. I’m counselor, resource allocator and diplomat. I also fight when necessary to protect what’s ours and defend my fellow alliance members. Verdeen is assigned by King Loren to accompany the human riever Daq Aryk back to his kingdom of Isadorikja and help him unite his warring clans into a single cohesive nation. She also is a go-between between Loren and Aryk. Part counselor, part spy. But she’s also right there to guard his back and defend him when threatened. Diplomacy when
you can, war when that fails, diplomacy again when the war is over.

Always have a plan, and a backup plan, and a backup to the backup. Turn disappointment into triumph. See a failure as a new opportunity.

We both struggle to balance “warrior and woman.” Career vs. family. Time constraints. Choosing one thing means NOT choosing another. Time management and prioritizing. Coming to grips with the realization that you can’t do everything. Recognizing that every day you set an example, both good and bad. Learning to accept that your best is all there is, but it’s always enough. If you can look yourself in the eye in the mirror every night then you have nothing to apologize for.

We’ve both faced our fears. Verdeen had to climb a mountain, face her fear of falling. I’ve gone rappelling and faced my own fears of heights and falling. We both trusted the person holding the other end of the rope (belaying) not to let us die. Sometimes it’s out of your hands and in the hands of another. Sometimes you just gotta check that rope and step over the edge.

Both of us have dealt with the insecurity of wanting another’s approval, not getting it and slowly coming to the painful realization that we can’t please everyone all the time. You have to be secure within yourself. You can’t let others’ opinions dictate who and what you are.

The best characters are like real people with the triviality burned away. They’re multi-faceted. They have insecurities, weaknesses, moments they’re not proud of and things they want to do over. But they’ve got a good heart, learn from their mistakes and always try to do the right thing.

Learn and grow. Be open to change. Be able to adapt. Celebrate life’s triumphs both great and small.

I loved hanging out with Verdeen, seeing how much she’s grown between Duality and Riever’s Heart AND how much she’s grown from the beginning of Riever’s Heart to the end. I hope you all find some part of her and her story to relate to your own life.