Chatting tonight--you don't want to miss it!!

Hop on over to NovelTalk tonight--that's where the best party will be. 9:00, Internet-willing. We always have a blast.

They're cutting down trees in my back yard. It's amazing how you can get attached to the little green things. I mean, it's better that they not grow into power lines. I get it. But I love watching the leaves rustle in the breeze. The colors changing in the fall and the beautiful buds and blooms every spring. Watching them go is another kind of change--and change is good, right?

Never my strong suit--accepting what has to go and staying open to what will fill the void left behind. And I've been so blessed over the years, with the good things always waiting for me to see them for what they are. I guess that's why my characters struggle with the same issue so often. A girl needs as much affirmation as she can get ;o)

I've pulled a great scene from All-American Father for you today. If you don't have your copy yet, go out and grab one either on eHarlquin or at your local store--I'm down to just a few copies on amazon...it's lovely to be sold out. In this scene, the hero, an ex-college all-american football star, has hit rock bottom as a single father and is talking with a group of other single parents (all women, tee-hee) about the hole he's sunk into...only to realize he hasn't failed as much as he's forgotten that the one thing he can control is how he starts over. I LOVE this single parents series... it's great for us all to be reminded that the real power is in doing the best we can and never forgetting that that's always going to be enough--as long as we keep the people we love close and fight together.

Sigh...see, I'm feeling better about the trees already ;o)

Tell us what wondeful things have come into you life, because of changes that challenged you to look beyond now and grab for tomorrow!!!

I have prizes to give away and new goodies to tease you with.

First, the prizes:

Two days of $5 Borders Gift certificates go to friends in my address book--

Alice Anderson and Heather Hughs, you're my newsletter winners!!!

And for yesterday's blog party prizes--

Anne, who posted at 5:26 pm, the Golf Girl makeup case and bath goodies are yours, and

Linda H (readingissomuchfun), who posted at 12:32 pm, the Coach keychain is yours!!!

And a few more lovely things to brighten someone's spring day, before we get to the AAF excerpt...

This great Coach umbrella got lots of oohs and ahhhs when I first showed it off out here. Can't wait for it to find someone fun to hang out with ;o)

And one more XOXO shoulder bag, because giving away one just wasn't enough ;o)

Okay, here's a look at how Derrick Cavenaugh finally accepts the change in his life...tell us your story...

------------------

Weddings and sister switches and back-to-school meetings with teachers...

The three women at the cozy bistro table seemed to Derrick to be as close as sisters.

Margo Evans and Nora Clark he'd met once before, the time he'd stopped by hunting for Bailey. It sounded like Nora had not too long ago rolled off a stint at impersonating her sister, and she was now engaged to another local, ex-sports personality, skier Eric Morgan. And all another woman, Rosie Dewitt, could talk about was the local political scene.

The non-stop mom chatter he'd expected was a no-show.

So was Bailey, who'd bailed on her shift just a few minutes before he'd arrived.

"Derrick, I heard you made it to the Western homecoming game the other night," Nora said, all eyes swinging toward him as she spoke. "People were wondering when they'd get to see more of you."

"Yeah, it's been a crazy year." Not only did he barely know anyone at the table, he barely knew anyone in town. "The girls and I haven't had much of a chance to enjoy the city."

"That's right," Margo said. "You only moved here your junior and senior year of high school."

"For football, yeah."

"So, you're kind of starting over, figuring out what San Francisco has to offer."

"Sort of." Except he seldom saw the outside of his office building during daylight hours. That kind of put a damper on figuring out much of anything that didn't involve work.

Everyone nodded silently.

Waited for him to say more.

Sipped their coffee.

"I should probably go." He started to stand. Margo's hand covered his, her concerned expression inviting him to sit back down.

"I realize how uncomfortable this must be for you," she said. "But Selena's mentioned how hard you're trying to make things work for you and your girls. Is there something we can do to help?"

"I'm sorry that I barged in on your evening," was his non-response. Everyone had been more than friendly, but... "I think this was a bad idea."

"Social coma," Rosie said.

The other women nodded in agreement.

"What?" he asked.

"What you get sucked into," Nora explained. "When you first become a single parent and have to do everything by yourself. It's like the rest of the world has to cease to exist for a while, just so you can survive. Then one day, you poke your head back out of your own problems, and you realize that years have gone by without you even noticing. It's like coming out of some kind of coma."

"You've been drowning alone for so long," Margo agreed, "you forget there's a whole bunch of us out here going through the exact same thing. Once you've been there, you start noticing the signals."

He was giving off signals?

"Don't feel too bad, we've all done it," Rosie assured him. "Well, everyone but Selena. But she's like Superwoman. Nothing gets to her."

And he was a successful, driven man.

Nothing was supposed to get to him, either.

Except, drowning was exactly the right word. Work, his ex, his girls, the feelings for Bailey he couldn't stop, but had totally bungled... Life had sucked him under, and he was pulling everyone he cared about down with him.

He sounded like a teaser for the next Oprah show.

"If there was a single-parent play book," Margo said, after several minutes had ticked by. "Feeling completely ill-equipped for the job would be the first chapter, or section, or whatever...."

And that's when it finally struck him, how hard these women were trying to reach him on a guy level.

"The first pattern," he chuckled. "Play books are all about patterns that you practice over and over again, until you know them by heart. Then when you're in a game, you piece the patterns together into plays, depending on what the other team's doing."

He had everyone's attention, but not the kind of female attention he usually attracted. He wasn't a local celebrity to these women. He was another struggling parent they wanted to get to know and understand, and maybe even help.

He was a friend.

"So, being a single parent is like football?" Now that, he could get into.

"You mean like there's one major problem after another hurtling at you, while all you care about is making it down the field?" Nora seemed to be the analytical one of the bunch. She contemplated her analogy, her eyes losing focus for a second. "Sounds about right."

"The touchdowns can be a whole lot of fun, though." Margo's eyes sparkled. Her latest end-zone, according to Selena, had been her surprise wedding last month to her not-so-silent business partner, Robert.

"I like the victory dancing, when you've survived another school year," Rosie chimed in. "Or the first time you manage not to burn breakfast while you pack lunch, answer last-minute homework questions, and finish your boss' latest must-have project, all before the sun's come up. Too bad single parents don't get cheerleaders."

Derrick grunted.

Cheerleaders he could live the rest of his life without.

All he wanted was to make one damn decision that didn't cost the people he cared about more than it helped them.

He sized up the women trying so hard to make him feel welcome, after he'd basically blown their group off for months.

Throw the ball, DC. How many times had his dad said that, when Derrick first started playing football? Nothing's ever going to happen for your team, if you're too afraid to throw the ball.

"So when you've lost the game..." He clenched hands on top of the table. "And, I mean you've had your ass handed to you, and had to be carried off the field... What do you do then?"

He expected pity when he finally looked up. The same shock he himself felt, given how completely he'd failed at anything that really mattered.

Instead, there were more nods of understanding.

Nora even shrugged.

"I usually make myself a cup of hot chocolate," she said. "Get a good night's sleep, and start over the next day."

Not the omniscient answer he'd been hoping for from a table full of experts.

"So what you're saying is..."

"Get used to screwing up." Rosiesmiled. "And welcome to the club."