As we're planning on moving to California, Karen is working hard to make our current house perfect. It's one of life's ironies that we make our house most liveable just when we're getting ready to move out. She's been busting her tail for weeks now, and for the past week, it's been the kitchen. She was really disappointed to discover she's going to need a second coat of paint considering she's painting white on white over a coat of white primer. Doesn't make sense.

What have I been doing while all this is going on--well, today I went and played bridge (we did okay, with a 61+% game, good enough for second. Unfortunately for us, another pair completely kicked, with a 67% game. Wow!). I did take her out to dinner at her favorite little bar/grill spot to partially reward her for all of her work. There's no way I could fully reward her.

I took the train up to bridge and got some reading done on a submission. The world is full of talented authors (although I agree with Timothy Egan's doubts that Joe the Plumber or Sarah Palin number among those who can write--see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/opinion/07egan.html.). It's a little distressing that I get so many great books submitted to me. Why aren't the big publishers snatching these up and paying huge advances?

I'm going to make EYE OF THE STORM by Amy Eastlake the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. A female ex-soldier/private eye with an ax to grind takes it personally when her friend is involved in a supposed accident. The detective sent to make the private eye back off gradually comes to believe she is onto something--which is when life turns rough for both of them. Sexy and exciting, this novel was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart contest. Only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt, or buy the entire eNovel here: http://www.booksforabuck.com/rompages/rom_2006/eye_storm.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Palm Reader/eReader, and Microsoft Reader formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Jane Graves):

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