TEN MINUTES IN THE SIN BIN May Not Be Enough!

 Thank goodness it's number one in the series! 

Yes, the lunch ladies' kids have made it to the big time with their own series, starting with Scott and Elise...

Scottie McCord is an NHL forward who doesn’t do a lot of looking back. But when Elise Scofield moves to the same West Coast city he plays for, he can’t help but reminisce.

I’m psyched Elise will be close by. She’s a lot of fun, and I need to get the 411 on her breakup with Hunter. I warned him when they first started dating that I would be none too happy with him if he hurt Elise. Not that I have a thing for her. Sure, that kiss when we were kids was the hottest moment of my life, but that’s just because it was a first. She’s like a sister to me now.

 

Elise Scofield is making a fresh start. A move to sunny California may be just what she needs, especially with Scott there.

Scottie and I have always been close, “two straws in a soda” is my mom’s weird way of putting it. We’ve gotten over that awkwardness of having kissed a long time ago, and fallen into an easy brother-and-sister-type of relationship. He’s the best. And who knows? He might even introduce me to an eligible hockey player or two.

But when Scott’s teammate says he’d like to spend TEN MINUTES IN THE SIN BIN with Elise, Scott becomes hot enough to melt the ice that he plays on. Then when Scott finds out his opposite winger is only trying to win a bet by bedding Elise, he wants to check his teammate into oblivion. But why are his feelings always so amped up around Elise?

One thing’s for certain; he’s determined to keep Sergei from hurting Elise. And when he’s determined, he gets what he wants.

The only problem is...this time around he’s not sure what it is he wants.  

Want to see how it all plays out? 

It's yours for just 99 pennies! Get it here:

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/TenMinutesInTheSinBin

Amazon: https://mybook.to/TenMinutesInTheSinBin

https://www.amazon.com/TEN-MINUTES-DEVILISH-DESIRES-Book-ebook/dp/B0B86V54JC/

Nook book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ten-minutes-in-the-sin-bin-m-j-schiller/1141939433

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ten-minutes-in-the-sin-bin

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6443254219

Nest Nostalgia ~ Thoughts of Impending Empty-nesting

"Basket style nest". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Basket_style_nest.jpg#/media/File:Basket_style_nest.jpg

As many of you know, my triplets are getting ready to leave the nest in just a few weeks to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia, my husband's and my alma mater. So yesterday I had a little wig-out that surprised me. Actually, it wasn't a little wig-out. It was a full-scale, over-the-top, temporary lapse of sanity (those of you who know me well can argue the temporariness). My son was giving me some of the standard teenage attitude and I just exploded on him. Now I keep hearing this song:

When analyzing my actions later, I realized it was a sort of how-dare-you-give-me-attitude-when-I-love-you-so-much-and-I'm-going-to-miss-you-so-much melt down. (See song above.) It was like, "You're already hurting my heart by being such a sweet blessing in my life, how could you double the pain by being such a complete pain in my rear?"

We were in the act of taking apart their bookcase headboards. The pieces of their beds sit in the garage at this moment, waiting for Recycling for Families to come and pick them up, to become a part of a new family's story. When we took them apart I found a lot of interesting things. That one small screwdriver that was the best because it fit perfectly so many times? You know, the one that's been missing for years? Yep, under the bed. Apparently it is what made the holes in the wall. I found a small Quidditch statue of a snitch (Harry Potter reference) and a comb stuck to the footboard with what I thought was gum. When trying to remove it I realized the tri-colored blob could only be one thing--candy corn! Of course I also discovered lots of candy wrappers, feathers from the feather pillow that used to be mine as a child (Mitch bogarted it several years ago), tacks, and coins of various denomination. The initials of someone's seventh grade sweetheart were carved into the wood. In another area they scratched their own name, and also wrote it in ink. (They clearly wanted everyone to know this was THEIR bed!) Inside the handle of a drawer someone had written "hello!" no doubt imagining it being found by someone at a later date and giggling at the thought. 

As I polished the beds and got them ready for their new home I began to think of what they have been a part of. Whispered conversations on Christmas Eve. Moments when the kids laughed until they cried. Homework. That one fight where one of the boys got the other one down and SPIT into his face, saying, "And this is so you won't forget." (What had he been watching? Scarface?) They had witnessed tears after break-ups, been covered in drool, bounced on, and spilled on. The cat had found a friendly sunspot there. They had been little boys when we got those beds. I'd watched them come eye-level with me, and then craned my neck to look up at them. 

I had to leave my bed project and take Mitch to work, but my thoughts continued to wander. They'd probably slept in those beds in footie pajamas. Worked out next to them. Ignored my calls to come down to dinner while sitting on them. Hid there when they knew chores were being handed out. Played their favorite music as they sat on them, drumming their fingers on their pant leg... And that's when I tuned into the music playing on the radio, and it was playing this song:

Although I was alone in my car, I said aloud, "Really?" 

What a beautiful song! And how on point!

God gives us these little gifts, and at first all they are is a mouth demanding to be fed or changed. And still, everything about them is miraculous. Their little eyelashes, the way they breath, hiccup, reach, tiny fists flailing. And when they give that first smile, your heart is so full it hurts and you understand, really understand what it is to be selfless, because you'd do anything to make that other being happy. You love them for 18 years, through Band-aids and Kool-Aid, broken toys and broken hearts, high fevers and high school. Through Hot Wheels and "hot dates," dance classes and class dances, ABCs and A.C.T.s. 

You go from that moment when you leave the hospital with them and think, "They're just letting me take this baby?" to the day you drop them off at college and think, "They're just letting me leave my baby?

But, through all these changes, there is one thing that never changes--your love for them. So kids, keep me in the pocket of your ripped jeans as you head off to Mizzou. You will always be right here with me!

*Sigh.* It's going to be a long August.

I suppose you could say I think about music too much. I think about how absurd the lyrics really are, if you take them at face value. I think about the emotion behind the words, and start bawling. I think and begin to wonder...has the artist really been done that bad? Or, the reverse, could anyone really be that perfect? Or perhaps, what must have happened to the musician to take them to the place where they wrote this song?


I am graced with a few people in my life who will go with me down this path. My son, Ryan, for instance. And my best friend, Kelly. We will look at songs, turn them upside down, and generally amuse ourselves with them, and sometimes others. Most of the time, though, I think people are annoyed with us, but I'm hoping you are some of the few that "get" us.

For example, the other day I was actually imagining myself in a song, so to speak. The song is "Closing Time" by Semisonic. Here's the video, if you aren't familiar with it.

Now, while this is an American band, from Minneapolis, MN, I like to imagine this song taking place in Ireland. Maybe it's because he says, "finish up your whiskey or beer," like there isn't any other choice of beverage at a bar. Maybe it's because I've been planning a trip there--but I digress. I just feel like this song captures the essence of closing time so well. I hear the bartender squeaking the bar towel around the last few glasses he's washing and stacking them on the shelves. The clink of bottles as he pulls them out, eyeballs the remainder, and restocks whatever is low. And then the dreaded "Last call for alcohol!" shout is greeted by a chorus of moans.


"What? No, man! I'm having fun. I don't want to go home."


To which he snaps, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here." LOVE THAT LINE! "So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits, I hope you have found a friend." Isn't that what so many bar patrons are looking for? A "friend" at closing time? And then the "Time for you to go out to..." scratches his head, "the places you will be from." Like he doesn't have a clue, and doesn't really care, where his patrons come from. All he knows is that it's time for them to return there and leave his bar!


And then there is the plaintive chorus of "I know who I want to take me home." You get the feeling that whoever the singer is talking about isn't exactly interested in going home with him. Otherwise he'd be singing, "I know who is going to take me home. I know who is going to take me home. I know who is going to take me home, take me ho-o-ome."


And then there's the smashed philosopher at the end of the bar saying, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." The bartender slings his hand across this dude's shoulder and walks him to the door, shaking his head and saying, "Yeah. Sure. Deep. Whatever. Time to go, man."
I mean, really. Isn't this song perfect? It draws a scene so clearly with very few words. Awesome!


Well, I hope you have enjoyed this first edition of Music Analysis Mondays and will return for more. And remember, as I end this post, that every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Profound!

Now, confession time. How many of you have been there at closing time? Have been the last few to shuffle out the door, stand on the sidewalk, and decide if you are going out for breakfast, or just home to catch some zzzs. Share some of your closing time stories with us! 

How many of my author friends out there have done their own thinking about songs and let them inspire a book? Maybe this song will end up inspiring a scene in one of my upcoming rock books. You never know!

Thanks for joining us, and happy listening! 

A SPECIAL WELCOME TO OUR INAUGURAL GUEST, AUTHOR OF "ROMANCING THE SEAS," CAIT O'SULLIVAN

Today I am thrilled to be kicking off my new site with author Cait O'Sullivan. Cait and I have become acquaintances just recently, but it didn't take me long to figure out that she was a great gal and someone I knew you'd love to meet. Perhaps it is because Cait is from Ireland, the land of my ancestors. Perhaps it is because Cait is a fellow romance writer. Or perhaps it's just because she's as much as a goof as I am. Read on. 

Hi, Cait! Thanks for joining us today.  

Thanks MJ for having me here on your blog today, I very much appreciate it :).

My pleasure entirely! So, let's dig in.  Why don't we start by you're telling me when your love for writing started?

I think I was 16 when I discovered that writing essays was the best thing ever! But I forgot about it for a while and it was only when I traveled the world that I could see the effect writing had on me – for example if I sat down to email whilst in a negative mood, I would arise from the seat after writing happy again. It’s the same now, if something upsets me, writing helps settle me.

What is something you struggle with when you write?

Time! Having the time to write. It’s rare, having a day to myself. Tends to happen maybe 3 times a year, for a couple of days at a time. Not enough, in my opinion.

How do you balance the demands of your everyday life and your writing life?

I’m only muddling through at the moment, still learning. I go through phases: rising at 5 to get some writing in before my two young daughters wake, then spending a couple of hours writing when they’re out learning. The afternoons are then spent looking after them/doing homework/getting the dinner, interspersed with online networking. That’s the ideal. Holidays/sick children/other work tend to tip this fine balance regularly! But it’s what I long to get back to.

Do you have hobbies that you’d like to share?

Music and dancing – I couldn’t live without them. My current music-love is West African, I simply love love love the kora – a cross between a harp and a lute. The notes and chords created by the 28 strings sound like ‘light dissolved in star showers thrown’ (thanks to Percy Shelley for that wonderful quote). As I have the good fortune to live in London, I can find lots of gigs to fuel my soul. I go and I dance, and I dance and I dance. Come back home again all inspired and full of gorgeous creativity. It’s divine.

Another thing in common, our love for music. But I think I'd rather sing it, where you'd rather dance to it. So you live in London, where would you love to live?

Would love to live in New Zealand…although it’s very far away and I wouldn’t get my West African fix! But when travelling, I fell in love with this country – it’s beautiful and breath-taking. I spent 10 weeks hiking – or tramping as they call it in NZ – around both islands, but mainly the south. So that’s one place. I would love to go back home too, to Ireland.

Okay, now for a couple of fun questions. If you could be any animal, what animal would you choose, and why?

A lion – brave, strong and fearless. I love them.

When trick-or-treating as a kid, was there any kind of candy that you didn’t like to get?

Yes – but it wasn’t candy, it was fruit! Yup, sometimes walking the roads in Ireland, I used to get mandarins.  But it was entirely different over here then compared to in the US anyway. For a start, we had to sing a song/recite a poem/tell a joke in order to get a treat. I still ask the kids here to do something when they arrive at my door but I’m generally looked at as though I’m mad.

What was one of the best Christmas presents you ever received?

A Mickey Mouse watch when I was 18. LOL. 8 maybe.

What CD is in your CD player right now?

Baaba Maal Television.

Name your favorite children's story.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Oh, I love that one! And all of the C.S. Lewis Narnia books! I used to read them to my kids and give them to my nieces and nephews for Christmas. What is your concept of a fruitful day?

Writing, networking, spending constructive time with my girls, and having them eat a nice healthy dinner. (yeah I’m a bit of a dork when it comes to their diets – I just love it when we get the balance right – guess this counts for me too actually)

Sounds quite sensible to me. Well, thanks for joining me today. Now let's entice folks with an excerpt from "Romancing the Seas!"

She tilted her head to the side, and looked upwards at him, her eyes turquoise in the firelight. “Well done. You’ll be buying her a primrose private jet soon.”

“No way. I love hiking, climbing even, but hey, don’t get me in the air in only a tin can. I can’t do it.”

“What do you mean?” she watched his lips as he spoke and he had to look away from her bright gaze.

“I can’t fly.” He laughed, a bright sound that took him by surprise. “Well obviously I can, otherwise I wouldn’t be on the other side of the world to where I grew up. I hardly sailed here. No, I mean I hate flying. Brings me out in a cold sweat every time. Long-haul flights are the easiest to cope with, being as there’s a stretch of time between take-off and landing, so I can attempt to relax. But short flights? Hell no. You wouldn’t catch me dead on one.”

Pippa bent her head to look at him lopsided. “I guess we all have stuff to deal with.”

The words sounded dreamily husky to him and he caught her clear, honest gaze in her upturned face, glowing in the light of the fire. She smiled at him, and he could see her genuine interest in him and what he was saying.

He cleared his throat, trying to clear the salacious thoughts that were coming hot and fast.

“Are there more blankets?” He had to get away before he did something silly. He walked around the corner, smiling to see a dark blue blanket folded neatly on the kitchen table for him. His jacket had withstood most of the wet, so his t-shirt was dry enough to leave on. But so much for waterproof trousers — they still had a way to come before they were as efficient as the jackets.

As he came around the corner, having stripped off from the waist down and wrapped a blanket around him, Jonathon paused to watch Pippa. A faint blush from the fire graced her cheeks, and her rosebud mouth shone red. Perfectly formed ringlets corkscrewed around her face, with curls alternating between a burnished bronze colour and a glowing amber. He couldn’t drag his eyes away, just wanted this moment to last forever. Something outside the window warranted her undivided attention, as her white teeth were busy chewing on her lower lip, and even from her profile, he saw she wore a small frown.

He gave a little cough, afraid that if he looked at her unawares for much longer, there would be no hiding his reaction to her. The fire crackled like a machine gun as his less than noble thoughts started charging the atmosphere.

Bio-

Cait O’Sullivan is a romance author with a love of words and magic, having had the good fortune to grow up in Ireland. The wanderlust in her blood sent her out to travel the world and now, residing in a leafy suburb of London, it is her thoughts and memories that journey far and wide in order to create her stories.

"Romancing the Seas" is now available for order from Amazon,  BookStrand or Crimson Romance

Learn more about Cait:
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