Well its official I’m in edit mode. I heard from my editor yesterday and we went over how we are going to do my edits. It was quite easy actually. We both agreed on the same process, chapter per chapter. I received my first batch of edits yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to go over them. However I’m expecting it to be extensive since my writing has grown tremendously since DEADLY SECRETS (formerly NUTS ABOUT YOU) was accepted by LBF Books over 2 and a half years ago.

We also discussed the length of time this edit would take to get done. She said we should be done within 2 weeks to a month. I’m hoping she’s right because editing isn’t my favourite thing. I prefer to write the book, I find it more freeing and less limiting, when I edit I feel as though I have to keep my muse in check or simply muzzle her.

So for now I’m muzzling my muse and keeping my nose into edits.  Here’s hoping the next two weeks just fly by.

I am such a geek. Yep a total geek.  Why? Well I’m on top of the world because my favourite band from the 1980-90s are back together, unofficially.  You got it I was a HUGE, humongous New Kids On The Block fan.  I bought all their CDs, Tapes and/or records.  I went to three concerts one of which I traveled 5 hours to and from during exam time at University no less. Yep I was a dedicated NKOTB fan.

Am I excited that they are returning? Ok, I’m looking forward to seeing what they are like now years later.  I contacted my best friend and the one who went to all the concerts with me and we agreed that if they came near us and the tickets were reasonable that we would go and see them.  Why not we only live once.

Check out their site NKOTB for the new look and new song.

It seems that I have been waiting for years for Jamie’s story. I have repeatedly emailed Ms Howell to ask her when his story would be written. Her usual response being, maybe one day.  Well that day has finally arrived.  He got his story in HIGHLAND WOLF.  

We find out that life hasn’t been as easy for James when the book starts. He’s been on the run accused of killing his wife.  Who accused him?  His wife’s cousin, Donnell MacKay who took over his lands and the care of his young daughter, Meggie, which he claimed as his own for over 3 years.  At the end of his rope James decides to go back and fight for what is rightfully yours and clear his name.  What he didn’t plan on was Annora.  She is the orphaned bastard relative of MacKay that has never known a home of her own since loosing her own mother at a young age.  She comes to take care of Meggie and keep her safe from her cousin’s abusive hands.  She and James work together to find the truth about his wife’s death and fall in love.  

So do I think it was worth the wait?  You bet it was.  Now I can’t wait until Meggie gets her own story. I wonder if it’s too soon to ask Ms Howell.

I can’t say that this weekend was boring. Far from it.  I woke up Friday and should have known the weekend wasn’t going to go the way I’d hoped.  Why is that? I woke up with a cold and quickly followed by St-Vincent and Salvation Army refusing to take my old living room furniture. I can’t really blame them since it was in pretty bad shape.  However that left in a bit of a bind until my father came and took the wood parts of the furniture. Then all I had to do was put the rest to the garbage on Sunday. That was the easy part.

Saturday came with my cold not going away. Then my new furniture arrived. It’s HUGE, but gorgeous. My parents came over to see it and my father realized I was still using my old thermostat so he changed it to the new one.  Well that started something I know all people who get snow and cold weather in the winter wish never to happen.  My furnace broke.  I waited until Sunday and then determined that it was indeed broken and had the repairman come to fix it.  Not only was it broken but three parts (including the new thermostat) were fried.  I went almost 35 hours without heat.  I have never been happier to hear my furnace go on than last night.

Seriously I don’t know how some people go through the winter without heat. My heart goes out to them.

A few weeks ago I decided it was time I traded in my living room furniture in for something new.  Just to give you a perspective of how old the furniture was it used to belong to my parents. They bought it when I was only 5 years old. Yep the furniture is over 30 years old.  Why did I give it up?  Well it was in such bad shape that even Salvation Army refused to take it off my hands.  So all I can say is it was about time for something new.

Well the sofa and love seat arrived this afternoon.  It’s nice and red.  I knew they were big pieces but I had no idea how much space they would take up in the room.  They didn’t look as big in the store but once the delivery men put it in my living room the room became a lot smaller in minutes. Am I still happy with my selection? You bet I am.  It’s a lot more comfortable to sit on and I won’t be embarrassed to have people over now.

It’s tragic for a life to end at such a young age. Yes I mean Heath Ledger, it’s tragic that he has died at such a young age. What I find more tragic is everyone speculating and blogging about his supposed drug abuse and coming up with theories.  This doesn’t help anyone, but harms the one person he has left behind, his daughter. So be respectful, pay tribute to the man but don’t destroy what’s left of him, his legacy.

However he isn’t the only person who died too soon.  Another Canadian soldier lost his/her life in Afghanistan by a road side bomb.  We don’t know the name or even sexe of this person, but it’s tragic that a life has been lost trying to better another country.  The identity will be released once the family has been notified.  Canada is debating whether we should pull out or stay in Afghanistan.  This is a touchy subject because there are some who believe pulling out would mean the 78 soldiers who have died doing what the UN asked of the Canadian army would have been in vain.  I can understand that perspective but how many lives do we need to loose to this cause?  To me one life lost is one too many.

It’s nice to see that not only the big Hollywood blockbuster movies get nominated for Oscar, well at least not this year.  Actually there are quite a few Canadian’s among the nominees.  That’s great to see.

Now have I seen any of the movies nominated?  I’m ashamed to say no. I had every intension of going to see Sarah Polley’s AWAY FROM HER ,which Julie Christie and Sarah were nominated for.  I remember watching Sarah in ROAD TO AVONLEA a TV series on CBC.  I’ll be routing for both of them come Feb 24.  Another independent movie featuring Canadian actors has received quite a few nominations and that’s JUNO. I’m so happy to see this little movie that not only got buzz early on but has kept it up for months.  Not an easy thing to do when competing with movies who have bigger budgets.  I am hoping to go and see a few of the movies before the Oscars.

Visit CNN for the full list of Oscar nominees or simply click here.

I’d like to thank Tina my wonderful webmistress.  She and I came up with the new website look for www.leeannburke.com.  I had grown tired of the old look, plus I had more people asking me when my romantic comedy book was coming out.  Since I don’t write romantic comedies I thought it was time to change things up.  If you get a chance take a look at the site and let me know what you thought of it.

How would you feel if someone were to publicly humiliate you? Now I mean really humiliate you to the point that you move back in to your childhood home to hide.  Not something you dream about is it?  Well it’s what happens to Reid Buchanan the hero in SIZZLING.  A reporter writes an article about her lacklustre night in bed with Reid, a retired baseball player known for giving women pleasure.  In order to avoid the media Reid moves in with his sick grandmother.  Lori is a tough nurse hired to take care of Mrs Buchanan.  Let’s just say Lori gives as good as she gets and the sparks fly a lot. 

She and Reid don’t hit it off.  Although she’s attracted to him she can’t see him ever returning the feelings, especially when she meets the other two nurses he’s hired to help take care of his grandmother.  However Reid doesn’t see her as plane Jane but a strong woman who challenges him to be a better person.  Together Reid and Lori struggle to find who they truly are and what they want out of life.  

This book is more about courage of facing your problems head on which can sometimes result in changing your life completely.  I laughed, I sighed and I cried while reading this book.  You can’t help but feel for Lori and want to strangle Reid from time to time.  It’s the perfect book.  It captivated me from the beginning and kept me wanting to read more all the way to the end.  SIZZLING truly is sizzling!

Have you ever thought of going home or try to go home after you’ve been gone for a long time?  Would it be hard? Would his or her life be the same or different?  Well that’s exactly what Walker Buchanan and ElissaTowers must discover in IRRESISTIBLE by Susan Mallery.  

Walker returns from Afghanistan and retires from the Marines.  But what does he want to do with the rest of his life? That decision is temporarily decided for him when his grandmother has a heart attach and breaks her hip.  He must step up to the plate and take over the family empire.  Elissa is Walkers new neighbour with her young daughter Zoe.  She has problems of her own. She’s not only struggling to make a life for herself and her daughter but juggling with the decision to reconnect with her family who lived in the same town.  She’d run away at the age of 17.  Elissa and Walker find strength in their friendship and love to face their homecoming and the rest of their lives

IRRESISTIBLE is a wonderful tale of survival.  Ms Mallery is a truly talented author who knows how to keep her fans and readers captivated with a great story and interesting characters.  I strongly recommend this second book in the Buchanan series.