We're hitting the road Tuesday and getting the heck out of Dodge. Central Oregon is our final destination, where we'll stay three nights at The Lodge At Suttle Lake. We're all looking forward to getting away from everything for awhile, especially since we've been so busy with family for the past few weeks and my mother-in-law's funeral.
Then on Friday we're heading to Seattle, where on Saturday night we'll be watching the BoSox take on the Mariners at Safeco Field. I think we're close to home plate, and I'm praying the BoSox Captian, Jason Varitek, will be catching that night. (Mmmm, Varitek...) He's a well respected catcher renowned for studying game footage and opposing batter's weaknesses, plus he takes charge on the field and in the clubhouse, and he works well with the pitching staff. I can't wait to sit back with a hot dog and dark chocolate dipped strawberries on a stick to watch my heartthrob do his thing.
Our eldest is six, and this isn't his first time to Safeco. He'll do okay, provided there are lots of food vendors around to keep him happy. It'll be our little guy's first ball game though. He's only 4, and while I doubt he'll last the whole nine innings, I hope he'll mostly enjoy the experience. We're going with one of my best pals (a former teammate) and her man who happens to live in Seattle. My pal is great with the kids, but my hubby is well aware of my fan girl crush and already knows he's in charge of the boys if they start to whine or act up during the game so I'm not distracted from seeing my hero. Even if I only see him in the dugout. Hubby loves the BoSox too, but he doesn't love Varitek as much as I do :)
Maybe it's because I was a pitcher, but to me catchers are just plain sexy, especially him. For crying out loud, just look at him up there in the first photo! Yum. Of course when it comes to yummy catchers there's also Minnesota's delectable Joe Mauer (shown here on the left), but I'm a loyal kind of gal. (If only he played for the BoSox...)
Varitek's only 3 years older than me and we've both had ball-related surgery on our left knees, so that makes me feel even closer to him, lol. And as a massage therapist, I'd be happy to work all his knots out after the game. Purely for therapeutic reasons, of course ;)
But don't worry, I promise to behave myself should I run into him. I'm actually pretty shy, so even if I somehow met the man I wouldn't be able to do anything more than blush and mumble a hello. (When really I'd be thinking, I love you Jason! Can we play catch?)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Road Trip
Posted by Kaylea Cross at 2:29 PM 4 comments
Labels: Boston Red Sox
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Desert Island Keepers
Still on the promo trail, I'm over at Desert Island Keepers talking about my fantastic heroes :) Come by for a chance to win a copy of my latest release, Relentless.
Posted by Kaylea Cross at 4:47 AM 0 comments
Labels: Desert Island Keepers, Relentless
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Karlene Blakemore-Mowle
I'm over at Writers Gone Wild today, featuring an article by Aussie author Karlene Blakemore-Mowle about Australian rural romance. She's giving away a copy of her latest release to one commenter, so be sure to drop by :)
Posted by Kaylea Cross at 4:44 AM 0 comments
Labels: Karlene Blakemore-Mowle, Writers Gone Wild
Friday, July 9, 2010
Release Day!!!
It's the official release day for Relentless! It's book 4 of 5 in my military romantic suspense series, and it's set here in Vancouver :)
This one's lighter on the suspense than the previous two books, and heavier on the romance. And the smexin', too! (It's HAWT.) A few readers have asked me why I did that, since they really liked all the hair raising action in Cover of Darkness and No Turning Back. The answer is, I needed a break from the Middle East and things being blown up every other chapter. Two back-to-back novels about murder and mayhem made me want to switch gears, plus it allowed me to better show Rhys's emotional development in the book by focusing on the relationship between him and Neveah. Tehrazzi's still in this one, but he plays a minor role, orchestrating his next diabolical move from overseas when he activates a terrorist cell in Vancouver. It's all right though. There'll still be blood and delicious alpha maleness.
Today's the last day to enter the contest over at Writers Gone Wild, so drop by and leave a comment.
Since Rhys and Ben are twins and I'm celebrating today, here's the latest pics of the twins at my dad's place:
Here's the eager beaver of the two, testing his wings and almost knocking his sibling out of the nest. I love the way the other twin is cocking his head like that. It makes me think of Ben and Rhys.
Rhys jerks back and glowers at his brother. "What the hell are you doing, punk?"
Ben raises his middle wing feather and flaps harder. "Getting ready to fly, hard-ass."
Ah, lift off! Just another few days and this little guy will be feeling the wind beneath his wings for the first time. But don't worry, I'm sure I'll have more pictures for you by then.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Kaylea :)
Posted by Kaylea Cross at 7:33 AM 2 comments
Labels: Relentless, Writers Gone Wild
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Relentless contest
I'm over at Writers Gone Wild today, hosting a contest for a digital copy of Relentless. This one's rated HOT so you might need to turn on the fan while you read it, and trust me, Rhys is uber yummy. I'll pick the winner on the weekend, so stop by and leave a comment to enter.
Got some great news this morning. One of the girls I coached a few years back recently made the Canadian Women's National Fastptich Team, and I'm so proud of her! She was small for her age, but her heart and determination were obvious to anyone watching her out on the field. She just e-mailed me to say they took the bronze medal at the World Championships in Venezuela. Go Corrine!
Also, here's a cool picture of one of the twin eagles at my dad's place, testing its wings. Another week or so, and it's going to try flying for the first time. Will keep you posted!
Posted by Kaylea Cross at 9:28 AM 1 comments
Labels: Relentless, Writers Gone Wild
Monday, July 5, 2010
Win one of my books during the Deadly Days of Summer
I'm over at Cynthia Eden's blog today, chatting about the heroes of my special ops series. Swing by if you'd like a chance to win one of my books, including this Friday's upcoming release, Relentless.
Posted by Kaylea Cross at 7:42 AM 0 comments
Labels: contest, Cynthia Eden
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July
Happy 4th of July to all my Americans friends out there. Up here north of the 49th parallel we celebrated Canada Day on July 1st, but the weather's been cool and gray so it doesn't feel like summer yet. As you know, my mother-in-law passed away a week ago. My hubby's been swamped taking care of all the details for her elaborate funeral service, so last night we went on a date. It was a much needed break for both of us, and we had a nice dinner at an Irish restaurant on the beach. I know the owner, and we stayed after to watch her sing. She toured with Riverdance as a musician and singer, and she performs at the restaurant from time to time. After that, we called my mom to bring the kids down so we could attend the outdoor movie night. We bundled up and watched How To Train Your Dragon on the huge inflatable screen set up right on the beach, and though it was cold and kind of damp, it was neat to watch a movie beneath the stars while the lights reflected off the water.
Since it's the 4th of July today, I thought I'd post a picture of the "eagle cam" my dad has set up on his property. He's been building his ginormous house on the bluff overlooking the ocean for going on nine years now, and there are bald eagles nesting in some of the trees on his property. Bald eagles mate for life, and here in Vancouver the eagles migrate up to Alaska in the fall and return each spring to nest and have babies. Usually they only have one egg, which the parents take turns sitting on 24/7. But my dad is lucky enough to have a pair of eagles that had twins this spring. He figures they're about 74 or 75 days old today.
Here's a shot of one of the parents feeding a youngster. Can you see it there at the front of the nest? It's got a dark head, and won't get it's white feathers for a few years yet. World renowned eagle researcher David Hancock says they should be fledging (i.e. learning to fly) in the next eight or nine days. He and my dad are working on setting up an Internet link for the live webcam, so I'll keep you posted. I was just at my dad's place this afternoon and he put the camera shot on his big TV so we could see it. The second he turned it on, one of the adults swooped in with a salmon and dumped it in the nest. The babies are so big now that the adults leave the nest at night and roost in the trees on the other side of the house, but it's still close enough to keep an eye on their little ones.
I'll try to post more pictures in the coming weeks, and if the feed goes live on the web I'll post the link ASAP. Hope everyone is having a safe and wonderful long weekend south of the border!
I'm over at Cynthia Eden's blog tomorrow, talking about my special ops heroes. (What else, right?) I'll post a link tomorrow, so you come on by and enter the contest to win a copy of one of my books.
Posted by Kaylea Cross at 1:35 PM 0 comments
Labels: bald eagles, David Hancock