It's Thanksgiving Day here in the USA and, unlike most of the country, I'm not sitting down to stuff myself with turkey and sweet potato casserole. That will happen on Saturday. Today is much more relaxed, at least for the next couple of hours.

First, we'll get our usual gripe out of the way. Play me a little Johnny Paycheck. Yeah, you know which song. It's going happen sooner rather than later, about mid-December is my guess. I'll give her a choice: I can walk out today or stay until the 23rd. And I'm taking my chair with me.

Second, we'll get the sales pitch out of the way. I'm going freelance, folks! If you need a line editor or substance editor--I'll correct your spelling and grammar and polish your writing--then see me. You can hire me through Fiverr.com at at a rate of $5 per 1,000 words. (That's the number of words in your documents before I touch it, not after.) I've got over 20 years of professional writing and editing experience behind me that can be put to work for you. I hope to be one of the writers available through ArticleBunny.com. And I'll be available through Outsource.com. (I'll still be job hunting, though, for a regular paycheck.)

Third, we'll get the book promotion out of the way. Willow: Branch 3 of the Tree of Life will go on sale for only $1.99 as a Kindle Countdown deal. The sale runs from December 1 through 7. Download your copy! (Hey, the $10 a month in royalties I'm currently earning doesn't go far. Help an author out, why don't you?)

Fourth, does anyone want--or do you know anyone?--a fabulous, walk-trot dressage pony mare who's also terrific on trails? Or a quiet, well trained gelding who's also a nice trail horse? The pony is 13 hh, plenty large and sturdy enough for a small adult. She's sound as a dollar and perfect for timid riders. The gelding (15 hh) does best with a confident rider and has been trained to perform some reining maneuvers like spins and rollbacks. Both are out of shape. The pony (mare) comes with two dressage saddles (Kieffer Munchen and Stubben), bridle, strirrups, leathers, and saddle pads. The gelding comes with a  17" Circle Y western saddle. (No, I will not sell the saddle separately.) Each needs a job to do. Contact me if you're interested. Serious offers only.

So, take a load off, everyone, and enjoy the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!

I begin to doubt strongly whether I'll make my self-imposed goal of finishing and publishing Tiger in the Snow, the unplanned sequel to The Barbary Lion, by December 31. This irks me.

Dmitry Alkaev is the immortal tiger shifter hired by Atlas Leonidus to recapture the lion's escapee mate, Chloe. After 21 years of hunt-and-seek, he finally does ... and disgraces himself and dishonors her. Atlas saves Chloe and beats Dmitry to a pulp.

Tiger in the Snow picks up where The Barbary Lion ends. Dmitry needs recovery time and redemption. He imposes upon the hospitality of an old friend for a few days before heading off to hike the Appalachian Trail in the USA. He's not sure why that's his preferred destination, but destiny calls.

Tessa's Valentine's Day weekend sucks. The romantic weekend she thought she'd enjoy with her boss didn't end in a marriage proposal, but in an offer to be his mistress because she isn't good enough for marriage. Objecting to the disrespectful treatment, she finds herself abandoned in the wilderness. Trekking through the woods in frigid weather in the dark, she doesn't expect to be attacked by a brown bear.

Wait, there are no brown bears in the wild in the eastern USA. Neither are there tigers. But she finds them. Or, rather they find her. And they're each looking for a mate.

Exciting beginning? It quickly climaxes and then the boredom sets in. Oh, dear, I have got to rewrite at least 75% of this novella.

Let's add more excitement: WILLOW will be on sale for $1.99 from December 1 thru 7 as a Kindle Countdown Deal. Buy the stunning conclusion to the Tree of Life series!

I read an excerpt of an erotic story and found myself once again disappointed by the use, by both the hero and the heroine, of the word slut when referring to the heroine of the story. (Needless to say, I didn't get the book.)

When did it become acceptable to use words like slut and whore to refer to the main character of a story in a genre which women are supposed to find validating? When did degradation and humiliation become attractive? What woman with any self-respect at all would want to be treated like that? Would you, dear author, accept such demeaning treatment by your romantic partner?

​I'd like to think not.

It puzzles me as much as it appalls me. Why are romance writers (yes, folks, erotica falls under the romance genre) perpetuating such demeaning attitudes through those horrible, derogatory terms when referring to their heroines? How does such negative terminology support a genre that is supposed to support women as worthy of happiness?

I think romance writers have a social obligation to portray their heroines in a positive manner. The words we write grow in our readers' minds. Let's not plant poison ivy.