As I mentioned earlier, our son graduated from college in May and will be starting medical school in the fall. In the meantime, he’s preparing to move out of our home and into an apartment. He lived on-campus during college, so this will be his first experience as a renter. We spent a couple of weeks touring every apartment complex within quick commute of his med school — and he soon realized that a student’s budget does not necessarily stretch to some of the higher-end amenities presented so temptingly by the most expensive options. Finally, he selected a nice, more modestly-priced place in a good location and reserved an apartment that will become available in a few weeks. Now he’s becoming aware of the expense of furnishing and stocking his new home. At this point, his only household furnishings are a raised-panel oak bookcase his dad made for his dorm room, a computer desk handed down from his second sister, and a used washer and dryer set he found on Craigslist last week. His older sister gave him a like-new set of dishes, we provided new pots and pans, and his aunt passed along a few kitchen utensils and a gently-used smoothie maker. We’ll make a discount store run for small kitchen items like a can opener and pizza cutter (two staples for a bachelor kitchen), and in the meantime he’s keeping an eye on the classified ads and accompanying me to estate sales in search of furniture. Being the youngest child, he has slim pickings from our extras — his older sisters already raided our storage room.

It has been rather amusing watching our son pricing new furniture for the first time in his young life (his excellent tastes lead him straight to the leather couches and mahogany tables his just-starting-out budget cannot cover). Remembering the hand-me-downs and garage-sale-specials that filled our first home, his dad and I smile in sympathy. Starting out isn’t easy and in many ways it’s scary — and yet, it’s exciting, too. So many possibilities lie ahead for him, so many adventures and choices.

This is why so many of my books feature women and men on the brink of change in their lives … new homes or jobs, new challenges and definitely new loves! Life is full of possibilities, and it’s fun for me to take my characters to a major fork in their life journey and follow along as they make their choice about which path to follow.

A HOME FOR THE M.D., my Harlequin Special Edition available in stores now, centers around such a choice for the heroine, Jacqui Handy, and the hero, Dr. Mitch Baker. Jacqui has been searching for a home of her own since her rootless, unsettled childhood, and she has settled happily in Little Rock, Arkansas. Yet now she finds herself falling for a man who is tempted by his own growing restlessness to take off for footloose adventures. Both Jacqui and Mitch are forced to determine what “home” means to them — and how much they are prepared to gamble in pursuit of their dreams. I hope you enjoy their exploration of all the possibilities open to them as they stand poised on the brink of change.

Don’t forget to enter the drawing on July 1! Details can be found by clicking the Enter to Win! tab above.

Copyright © 2011 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

My newest book, A HOME FOR THE M.D., is available in stores and on-line this week. It’s the second in the Doctors in the Family series, but it’s a stand-alone story, so it won’t be a problem if you missed the first one, THE M.D. NEXT DOOR (which should still be available from eHarlequin.com). For a synopsis of the story, click on the Books Available Now tab above.

You should notice something new about the cover of this book. Special Editions are now being published under the Harlequin imprint (formerly Silhouette Special Edition). I’ve always been extremely proud to be a Harlequin author and I’m pleased with their decision to consolidate all their lines under the long-respected Harlequin name. So look for A HOME FOR THE M.D. wherever Harlequin books are sold.

The final book in the Doctors in the Family series, DOCTORS IN THE WEDDING, will be published in January, 2012. I wrote most of that story while I was in Seattle, sitting at a cozy little desk in a University of Washington library. That book will mark a milestone in my writing career that I’ll reveal in a later post.

Now I’m brainstorming ideas for the following book. Coming up with new ideas is the fun part of my job. I tend to sit in my chair for several hours, staring into space while various possibilities float through my mind (and trying to convince my family that yes, I know it looks like I’m completely zoned out and lazy, but I’m really working!). Character names are very important to me. I can’t get to know the people in my story until I know their names. I skim through lists of baby names in books and on-line until certain names jump out and me and feel right for the still-vague personalities developing in my head. Naming my heroine and hero is always the first step in writing for me, and sometimes I change the names a couple of times before I find a “match” and can move on with the story.

Once I know the characters a bit, I start to outline their adventure. What do they do for a living? What do they want most in life — and what’s holding them back from having it? What have I recently heard, seen or read that inspires a new storyline? A song? A news article? A funny anecdote told by a friend or family member? Several years ago, someone gave me a shirt that read: “Careful, what you say may appear in my next book.” I’ve always gotten a laugh from that, because it’s so true. It’s rare that I use real events in my books, but often something I’ve been told plants a seed of an idea that grows into a full-blown scene. My friends and family are long accustomed to seeing me get distracted while scenarios buzz through my head. “There she goes again telling stories to herself.” I’m so fortunate that I’ve been able to share those stories  through my books.

So, back to work. There’s an occupational therapist named Kim who’s tapping at my shoulder, whispering suggestions into my ear. No one but me can see her just yet, but I hope to introduce her to you sometime next year. In the meantime — be careful what you say around any writers you happen to know!

After being away just over two months helping my daughter, I returned home from Seattle on the evening of May 5, where I was greeted at the airport by my husband and son. I have to admit it was a disorienting drive home. I left in winter and returned to the heat of an early Arkansas summer (though the moderate temperatures have been absolutely perfect for the past few days). All during the drive home, I saw signs of the stormy spring I’d missed — mud lines on the foliage where flood waters had risen, huge trees uprooted by tornadoes, scraps of insulation still caught in treetops from the houses that were hit on the Little Rock Air Force Base, which is less than a mile from our home. The tornado that hit the base went directly over our rooftop, depositing debris in our yard. My husband said he heard the twister go over, but fortunately we sustained no damage. Several in the storm’s path the next time it touched down were not so fortunate. The nearby town of Vilonia was hit hard, and lives were tragically lost.

The day after I arrived home, my husband and I made the forty-minute drive to the University of Central Arkansas in Conway for our son David’s presentation of his UCA Honors College senior thesis, followed by the Honors College banquet honoring the graduating seniors. We returned to Conway again the next day for the graduation, itself. More disorientation — my youngest child is now a college graduate. He will begin medical school in the fall, and is even now beginning the search for an apartment. The nest will truly be empty.

Immediately following the graduation activities I had to get back to work, finishing and polishing a book that was due for Special Edition (more about that in the next post). Along with laundry and grocery shopping and dusting (my husband kept the house tidy and vacuumed while I was gone, but dusting is not his strong point) and other catch-up chores, I hardly had time to even look out a window. Needless to say, I feel like I’ve been running hard for the past few months!

So, after I finally delivered the book, folded the last clean towel and put away the dust cloth earlier this week, I realized to my surprise that May was already half over! Before it’s gone completely, I want to make sure you all know that May is National Stroke Awareness Month.

According to the American Stroke Association website, stroke is the number three cause of death and the number one cause of adult disability in the United States. Those of you who read this blog know that our older daughter suffered a stroke on October 30 of last year at the age of 30. Almost seven months later, she still has to use a power wheelchair for traveling more than about a hundred feet (her maximum distance with a walker at this point), and she has still not recovered the use of her right hand. She was extremely fortunate in many ways, especially in that she has no cognitive deficits, but she still has a long way to go toward full recovery. She is documenting her journey in a blog, mostly for the benefit of other young stroke survivors and their caregivers. I’ve put a link to her blog here.

Courtney had extremely low risk factors for stroke; no definitive cause has yet been determined for the clot that caused her attack. She was a healthy, slender, active nonsmoker who did not drink and had never done recreational drugs, and she seemed like the least likely candidate for an ischemic stroke. Still, it is important for everyone to be aware of the known risk factors and to minimize those risks as much as possible. Many of those risks can be modified or treated — by losing weight, quitting smoking and managing cholesterol, among other measures. Having seen what Courtney has been through, as well as all the other stroke survivors we’ve met during the past seven months, trust me, it’s worth the effort!

Courtney was at her apartment alone when she became aware that something was wrong. As a medical researcher, she knew some of the warning signs, yet even then she hesitated before calling for help, telling herself she couldn’t possibly be having a stroke. Looking in the mirror, she saw that her pupils were different sizes and one side of her face was drooping. We are all so grateful now that she took those signs seriously and called a friend immediately to take her to the hospital. Her heart rate crashed after she arrived at the emergency room. Had she still been at home alone, I don’t even want to think about what might have happened.

For Stroke Awareness Month, please familiarize yourself with the warning signs of stroke:

Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.

Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.

Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.

Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.

Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

Much more information is available at http://www.strokeassociation.org. I highly recommend you check out this great site.

The winner of the drawing for May was Robin Carroll-Mann of New Jersey. Congratulations, Robin!

I’ll be back at home next week, and I’ll make an announcement for the next contest along with an update on my next book  when I’ve settled back in. In the meantime, I hope you find a few moments of tranquility in this spring which has proven to be so stormy and dangerous across the country.

My thoughts and prayers are with all who have suffered from the tornadoes and floods of the past few weeks, both in my home state of Arkansas and across the midwest and the South.

I’ll admit I know very little about astrology, though I find it interesting. I’ve heard people joke that “Mercury must be in retrograde” whenever anything breaks down, but that didn’t mean much to me.

Since I arrived in Seattle with my daughter at the beginning of March, we’ve been hit with a series of mechanical malfunctions. Her car wouldn’t start the first day I tried to drive it, leading to her having to buy a new battery and a couple of belts. Her car tags were due and I had to take the car for an emissions test, which was never properly reported to the DMV, causing additional problems. The elevator in her apartment building broke down, stranding us in her apartment for several hours (while she’s recovering well, she’s not quite up to using the stairs yet after her stroke). My cell phone touch screen froze, so that I couldn’t make outgoing calls, forcing me to purchase a new one (fortunately, it was time for an upgrade!). Courtney’s printer stopped working, requiring yet another purchase. And then, two days ago, her two-year-old laptop made a funny popping sound, emitted a noxious odor and died without any warning. Because so much of her research work is computer based, she had to make a frantic trip to the big-box electronics store for yet another expensive purchase.

This latest failure had me shaking my head in bewilderment. “Mercury must be in retrograde,” I said, quoting my friends. And then, just for curiosity, I looked it up. Only to discover that it was, indeed. According to the site I visited, Mercury in retrograde causes problems with cars, computers and cell phones and interferes with other types of communication. Hmm.

Okay, I’m still a skeptic, but I have to admit I was very happy to read that today is the end of this particular planetary phase!

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Don’t forget to enter the drawing for two books from my backlist. Details are on the Enter to Win! tab above.   And watch for my next Special Edition, A HOME FOR THE M.D., coming in June!