I am sitting in the kitchen of my new house, on the land that will become the Triple L. (That stands for Linda Lee Lael, my original name.)

It’s a beautiful place, and somewhat like camping out, since none of the furniture has arrived. Most importantly, my dogs and cats haven’t arrived–and without them, I’m just not myself. They will be here soon, though, and it will be a mother-and-dog (and cat) reunion. I feel joy just thinking about it.

In the meantime, I’m writing “McKettrick’s Luck”, the first in the new series for HQN. This is the story of Jesse McKettrick, directly descended from Jeb and Chloe, of “Secondhand Bride” fame. He lives in the house they built, on the mountain top, and the little school Jeb constructed for Chloe to teach in is still there. Wait till you meet Jesse’s lady, Cheyenne. She’s equal to loving, and being loved by, a card-carrying (card-playing) McKettrick. Jesse, you see, is a master poker player. Can Cheyenne beat him at his own game? You’d better believe it. It takes a hell of a woman to best a McKettrick man.

And also in the meantime, I’ve having my huge back yard fenced in, so the dogs and kitties can play safely there. They’ll love the grass, and be mystified by snow, being Arizona critters.

Good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, I’ll be back tomorrow.

It’s wonderful to be connected to you again.

I’m off to Spokane this morning, to close on the new house. There may or may not be a blog for the next few days.

I’m so excited about this move! It would be easy to be overwhelmed, though, with all there is to do. I’m going to pretend everything will be all right. That’s a new/old trick I’ve recently learned–in the 12-step programs, it’s called “Acting As If”. I’m doing some major acting-as-if these days.

Blessings to all of you. I will have a full report later.