Having some major computer problems right now, so I’m going to make this quick in case the thing crashes again.

If I’m able to get online, I’ll be blogging today at Micole Writes Romance.  Answering questions about INHERITING HIS SECRET CHRISTMAS BABY & THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS both…plus a few other things.

If I’m not able to get online—or stay online for long, at any rate—the interview will still be there, & I hope you’ll drop by to check it out.  Fill the house for me, just in case, okay? :crazy

Aside from that, I will leave you with a few holiday LOLCat funnies to fill your day.  You know, in case your computer isn’t driving you crazy. :smash

This Christmas, while you’re shopping & sending cards & celebrating with your loved ones, I hope you’ll take a moment to remember all of the homeless, neglected, & abused animals out there who spending their holiday cold & hungry & alone.

Now through the end of the year, the ASPCA is running a double-your-donation campaign.  Up to $150,000, every donation made will be matched by a gift grant, which means they have the potential to raise $300,000 to help needy animals.  How amazing is that?!  I’ve already made my donation, & hope you will, too.  Even if you can only send $10 or $20, every little bit helps & will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

Also running a dollar-for-dollar donation-doubling fundraiser right now is one of my favorite local organizations, the Hundred Cat Foundation.  A nearby business has offered to match donations made between now & the end of the year, up to $3,000.

That is just an amazing donation & would mean so, so much to this wonderful group of volunteers who truly care about animals & about cutting down on the pet overpopulation problem.  They run a fantastic Trap-Neuter-Release program, provide food & shelter to entire colonies of feral cats, & hold regular spay/neuter clinics.  I’ve been in touch personally with the ladies who run this foundation; have donated books & baked goodies for their annual fundraisers, & have even called on them a time or two when I was in a bit of a pickle.  So again, if you could spare $10 or $20—or more!—it will certainly go to good use at HCF.  (And, yes, I’ve already made my donation to them, too. :kitty )

But those are just a couple of very worthy suggestions.  Please consider donating to your own local animal shelters or animal rescue organizations, as well.  The next time you go shopping, pick up an (extra?) bag of dog &/or cat food & drop it off at your local shelter.  The same goes for canned food, cat litter, pet toys, or snacks.  Knit, crochet, or collect a bunch of blankets & donate them to help keep adoptable animals warm in those cold, lonely cages.  Even pick up the phone & ask what they’re most in need of at the moment.

And though most shelters won’t let animals be adopted over the holidays because too many people think it will be a great present, only to end up returning or neglecting the animal later, if you aren’t already the proud guardian of some wonderful adopted pet, consider opening your home to one—or two, or ten *vbg*—after the holidays.  I swear, you will never be sorry. :dog

(P.S. “The Friendly Beasts” by Garth Brooks is one of my very favorite Christmas songs…even if it does make me cry every time I hear it. :blinkie )

Happy, Sunday, everyone!  We have a lot to be grateful for this week, I hope.

First, Madame Mommy Dearest has taken off for her very first Caribbean cruise.  Okay, rephrase:  It’s her first cruise ever, which just happens to be going to the Caribbean.  Down to the Cayman Islands, to be specific.  Yes, it’s true—I haz a jealous. :sadheart    But not only was I not invited, I’m on deadline, so I couldn’t have gone even if I had been.  In that case, I haz a mad. :devil

The good news, though, is that so far, she’s doing fine. Her biggest worry was dealing with flights & making her way through the airport all on her own, & she ended up having zero trouble. Now let’s hope she doesn’t get a sunburn or fall overboard. LOL

Second, it’s official—all of my Christmas cards & gifts are wrapped, tagged, & in the mail.  There were a few stragglers, but everything is crossed off my list now, & I can breathe a sigh of holiday relief.

Third, I got the sweetest holiday card from Agent Extraordinaire.  He always says the nicest things, & now even I’m excited to see what 2011 has in store for us!  (I seriously haven’t given the New Year a single thought yet—with the exception of realizing quite recently that I will soon have to write 2011 on my checks…& wondering how many times I’ll screw up & write 2010 before finally getting with the program. :smash )

Fourth, there is apparently a shortage on the only frozen raw food my cats will eat, which has had me in a bit of a tizzy.  I’m okay for right this very minute, but that window is growing smaller & smaller.  (Cats eat every day, y’know.  Sometimes more than once! :kitty )  But I think I have found a second store that can order it for me.  And they have, so now it’s fingers, toes, & whiskers crossed that the order actually comes in!

Fifth, the line edits for HER LITTLE SECRET, HIS HIDDEN HEIR arrived this week. I have to admit, I’m not terribly excited about getting them because I am rarely excited about adding more work to the pile.  However…that being said, my editor was extremely complimentary about the story & the edits are fairly light.  He also gave me until after Christmas to deal with them, which deserves a huge hurrah! :notworthy

So that’s five awesome things right off the top of my head…how about you guys?  Can any of you make your lists a cool half dozen? :gotcha

And now to announce our Free Book Friday winner:

:dancing Alex D.!!! :dancing

Congratulations, Alex! Please contact me with your full name & mailing address, & I will get your copy of CHRISTMAS IN HIS ROYAL BED out to you.

And stay tuned for upcoming Free Book Fridays…there’s more Christmas romance by Moi where that came from. :winkwink