Happy 2006, fans and friends!

As many of you have been hoping, I soon have a new book coming out. In April, you’ll get to meet a handsome soldier who finally realizes the girl next door is what’s been missing from his life. But she has a secret . . . !

And in November, another Silhouette Desire, HOLIDAY CONFESSIONS, will be on the shelves. This was a very special book for me to write because the hero is a guide dog user. My fourth guide dog puppy, Yarmouth, is slated to graduate in April if all goes well with the last month of his training. He’ll be learning to work in the stressful environment of Manhattan.

Another of my dogs, Orchid, graduated last October from the Connecticut State Police Academy as an Explosives Detection Canine. She and her partner respond to statewide calls and even help out in surrounding states on occasion. The name Orchid is a little too “girly” for a burly trooper, so now she works as Orca—tough and scary, right?

The upcoming months will be busy ones at my house as my youngest daughter prepares to graduate from high school. We’ve already had a wild winter. I spent much of it nursing our kitten, Jack, after a fall last August that broke his jaw. The bones fused shut and poor Jack couldn’t eat, so he’s had surgery and therapy galore to try to improve his range of motion, with, sadly, limited success. But as of this writing he is eating by himself (beat the heck out of syringes and feeding tubes, let me tell you!) at a slow but steady pace, so we’re content.