Keeping Up With Kacey (@KaceyHammell) #Writing #Life #Summertime

Good morning everyone! And Happy Sunday. Mid July and this year's summer in Ontario, Canada has had it's ups and downs. With more rain than we've had in years, beach days for many have been few and far between. While my hay fields are loving the long drinks of water they're getting, I'm not as enthusiastic about it. It has to be dry longer than a day or two in order to get the fields cut and baled. Basically it's a cut one day, let it lie for a full day to fully dry out and then bale it. But with sporadic days of sun then rain, it's been a struggle. Plus the time frame of hubby's work schedule and mine are also interfering.

Speaking of which, I started a full time job outside the house recently and it's cutting into my writing. I'm doing my best but it's difficult to have the energy after a long, fast paced day and a quite physical job. I've resigned myself to weekend writing. But things are progressing well and I am somewhat managing. My online presence is dismal, but it's unavoidable these days. I've never been so grateful to sleep at the end of a day. Being a stay-at-home mom for fifteen years, I was busy and my days were always full, but I appreciate the writing time a lot more now, as well as my sleep. I could stay up until two in the morning and be up at 5:30 and go all day without needing a nap. Now, I'm in bed by nine p.m. and getting up at five a.m. is hard as hell. But we all do what we must. Adjust and adapt has always been a way of life for me. 

But I have bought myself a new car. Being on the road more now for the job and needing something a lot newer for five days a week, I splurged a bit and have a shiny new toy. I love it. So, SO comfortable! I haven't decided yet, but I may be driving it to a book signing in Kalamazoo, Michigan in October. I haven't looked at all my travel options as yet (and it's like a ten hour drive), but I know I'll have something more comfortable than my previous car, and more reliable, should I decide to drive all that way. 

And in writing news, I signed a contract about a week ago. Another story coming out in the fall with Evernight Publishing. It is the sequel to Stirring Up Dirty, and the 2nd in the Stirred by Love series, called, Stirring Up Glory. I loved writing this story a lot. Drew and Glory, whom everyone met in book one finally come to a head with their past and their ire toward one another. It's pretty intense, but oh, so yummy, too. *g*  I'm steadily working on two WIPs currently. One is a wolf shifter, the other is a suspense. I'm having fun with all the characters. It's a new thing for me, working on 2 stories at once, but I'm managing. The suspense has a firm deadline that must be met, but the wolves are demanding a lot of attention to. And a writer should never ignore the voices in their head. *g*

I also have a new member of the family. Meet, Toby, my "grandson", who belongs to my oldest son and his girlfriend. They are both on their way to college/university in Sept, and have added a bundle of joy -- of the four-legged kind thankfully -- to their lives. Toby is a handful, so very energetic that his "Grandma" can't keep up, but a lot of joy too. Peaches (my cockapoo) has warmed up to him some, but she misses her peace and quiet days. LOL

Until next month, hope you're reading some great stories and enjoying the long summer days. 

   

www.kaceyhammell.com

Author Life & Summer Loving (@KaceyHammell) #Summer #Canada #Writing #Fun

Good morning!

It's been a great summer already -- or at least June.  What's been happening around here? Well, look for sequels to come your way, readers! I've been busy on Canadian Muscle 2, and have an outline of Stirred by Love 2 as well. There are some other books in the works, I received rights back from a publisher, plus another story I want to revamp and share with everyone. It has been a crazy eight months for me -- health wise, personally and professionally -- but all is good. 

With Haidee, a "Hammell's Heroine"

In May I enjoyed a fun-filled few days in our nation's capital at the RTC 2016 Book Signing. I loved visiting with readers I'd met at the 2015 one, and new readers this year! Of course it was fantabulous seeing some of my street team/reader group there as well. These ladies are so inspiring and I can't wait to share all the exclusive excerpts and goodies with them as I write new stories.

With Shirley & Sharon, 2 "Hammell's Heroine" Members

And of course, my author pals who are just too amazing for mere words.

3 of the best authors I know and adore:
(L to R: Me, Jessica E Subject, Layna Pimental, Kali Willows)

With my college grad!

June has been a bit of bat-shit crazy!! LOL It really has. A lot of birthdays, my oldest child just turned 20 AND finished her Nursing course in college! Time has flown by. I have another graduation in a couple of weeks, my youngest son/child graduates from grade 8 as well. It boggles the mind how old THEY are. Not me, no not in the least, they get older not their mothers! *g*  The years have flown by so quickly, I'm not sure how to keep up...or hold that empty nest feeling away in the coming years. Locking them in their rooms would be too much right? Sigh. What's a mom to do? *g*

We don't have any huge plans for this summer. My older 2 kids are of course working, so will be a lot of days with the youngest and writing! That's all I hope to do, but I promised him some day trips here and there. We haven't figured out an itinerary yet but we'll see. We really enjoy leaving the "school days routine" out the window during the summer and fly by the seat of our pants. 

But lots to look forward to. New books, fun summer days and some great reading as well! Been too long since I spent a few days just pleasure reading. Time to get back to that as well.


Be sure to check out the "Author's Appearances" page. I have another book signing in September in London, Ontario. More info on that HERE.



Until next month,
Live, Love, Laugh.

Some days you can't be prouder of your kids

For anyone who knows or loves a child with special needs, you know how special it is to have them get up and do something out of their comfort zone. Then to watch then watch them excel at it...it's one of those heart swelling moments.

My daughter is what we lovingly call an "Aspie", meaning she has Asperger Syndrome. (It's a high functioning form of autism) Many of you might recognize recent stories about Odin, the young man in Peterborough who didn't have anyone rsvp to his birthday party and his mom asked for help to make it a special 13th for him. He too is an Aspie and I can't read enough about how wonderful the world made his special day. Tee is a bit older than him, she'll be 18 in a couple months. Like many mom's the idea of her going to college makes me want to wrap her in bubble wrap.  

Seneca College has an amazing behaviour science program at the King Campus. One of the courses offered focuses completely con Autism and other spectrum disorders. We met the instructor at a Ride for Autism event in the fall and she contacted me to ask if Tee would be willing to be a guest speaker in her class. (The majority of their interaction with kids are non-verbal elementary students.)

Dad gets camera credits, I'm behind the artwork. lol

In short it was an amazing couple of hours. Tee was so nervous and I wasn't certain if she would get overwhelmed and "shut down" but the students in the class made us all so comfortable. Our entire family went  because the class was excited to learn the perspective of not only Tee but her parents and sister. 

Tee did an incredible job. She answered all their questions and talked about her art work and her plans for the future. It was a moment when I realized how much she has matured and capable of doing things completely out of her normal routine. Ry is incredibly good at public speaking and between the both of them I think they showed that our family is just as (slightly) normal as everyone elses. Or as normal as any other family with a sense of humor as twisted as ours. 

That doesn't mean I'm not still going to fight to wrap her in bubble wrap before college but maybe I'll limit the amount to 2 or 3 layers. :) 

Available for Pre-Order!
    Release Date: April 14th, 2015

Unconditional Devotion (Peacock Terrace Apartments 1)

A devastating battle with depression destroyed Hannah Robinson’s once-victorious career as a defense attorney. The relentless dark cloud of despair that shrouds her brings Hannah to question whether she can fight to go on any longer. That is until what had been an unexpected request from her neighbors leads to new-found joy that breathes new life into her dreary existence. 

Passion and seduction sizzles for Hannah and her dynamic neighbors, but as fate would have it, they will need far more than erotic satisfaction from her, despite her struggle with mental illness. 

As close as brothers since their days in the same neglectful foster home, Craig Ledet and Daniel Mire’s friendship stood the test of time. Their bond was fortified upon the arrival of a child neither of them knew about before. Blissful with the creation of an instant family, they are soon scourged by a vicious trail of events that leads them to court, extortion and kidnapping. 
Unconditional Devotion (Peacock Terrace Apartments Book 1)

Do you have plans for April 17 & 18th? Don't miss out on the first annual Romancing the Capital Conference in Ottawa, Ontario. There are only a handful of tickets left for what is going to be an amazing weekend!!

http://orc.evelanglais.com/

  

Kacey Hammell Happenings ... Life, Writing, Target, #FREE Ebook.

Good morning everyone! I hope you had a great start to the new year. 2015 is going to be exciting and a lot of fun. At least in my mind it will be. 

Not a lot going on in the Hammell household so far. All of us had a terrible stomach flu which took us all by surprise, and it was a very long week. Kids returned to school with moans and groans. Oldest son in high school is starting exams next week, which he wants to get done and over with, but the studying part takes him away from all the fun stuff. The life of a teen, right? LOL My daughter is in her 2nd semester of RPN course in college, and has clinical 2 days a week. She's enjoying it but I have to say I admire her a lot. Some of the stories she tells, which isn't a lot because of privacy, but I am not sure I'd have the knack for doing everything she does.

As far as writing goes, I'm currently working on Candy's story -- whom you all met in DARE -- and it's set in St. Albert, Alberta. My aunt and uncle lived there for a few years before coming back closer to Ontario and while I've never visited, they loved it immensely. I'm having fun writing the story. Candy is a bit of a handful -- she was in DARE too if you recall -- but I am sure I'll get her whipped into some shape before I write The End. Either that or I'll be bald from tearing my hair out over her. LOL

Bit of an uproar going on in Canada atm. Target is closing all its locations. This irks me. Never shopped there and never will. They had promised to put a store in Belleville, town closest to me. All employees of Zellers at the time were promised to have a spot in the new Target. However, we ended up not getting a store after all, and now they're closing all the Targets they did bring into Canada. I've never thought it was a great idea to begin with, I mean who can really compete with Wal-Mart, and my heart goes out to the near 200,000 CDNs going to be out of work. It's a sad and terrible situation. 

Reminder to all:
I have a FREE title currently available. And with 69 Mustang being FREE, you can get book 1 & 2 (Mustang Maddy) both for $0.99!

69 Mustang Links
Mustang Maddy Links

Until next month, enjoy and embrace everything and everyone around you.