Vickey Writes

Last night I sent the email that will send Pescadero Creek to the printers. It was one of the  scariest moments of my life. I finally let it go. I made changes and corrections until I had the editor at Mirror dreading my emails. He never complained, but I know I got on his nerves with the pages and pages of changes. Even after all the changes, I  know I could have changed probably a hundred more things, but I sent it away. So far today, I haven’t had any moments of panic. OK, yeah, I’ve had a couple of small ones, but I recovered quickly!

I guess the best way to describe the way I’m feeling is to compare it to the first time I watched my oldest son get on the bus for school. I wanted him to go and I knew he was ready, but watching him ride away was another one of the hardest things I have ever done. I remember standing alongside the road and crying my eyes out. Then throughout the day, I would have small panic attacks missing him and worrying about him. I hoped and prayed that he would make friends and that the teacher would like him. That first year of school would set the tone for the next twelve years of his education.

I guess this first book is my “kindergarten.” Pescadero Creek will set the tone for all the books to follow. After reading this one, well, you will either read the next one or you won’t!

I am confident that you, my readers, will love it. I am confident in my characters, I think they are exciting and wonderful; I am extremely confident in the story. So what am I worried about? In honesty, people finding mistakes. Having never done this before, I don’t know all the rules. I don’t know all the do’s and don’ts. I didn’t study Literature in college. I don’t have a PhD. I’m just me and I have a story to tell.

I have recently received the cover for PESCADERO CREEK. I wanted to share it today with all of you. Until I saw the cover, it didn’t really seem real. Now it does. Can you begin to understand why I am so nervous? Just a little? Leave me a comment here on the blog and let me know what you think!

 HERE IT IS! Double click image for larger image.

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Remember when we were in grade school and we had to make a “Valentine’s mailbox” to receive all of our Valentine cards from our school mates? I can still feel the glue sticking my fingers together as we embellished the white tissue paper covered cereal box with decorative red paper hearts. Our teacher would cover the bulletin board with red construction paper and staple the red and white boxes to it in neat rows. We dropped the tiny white envelopes filled with secret cartoon love messages in each box. Some kids would get really creative and bring shoe boxes, oatmeal boxes or some other original idea to turn into their mailbox. I always envied them for their originality. Or maybe they were the kids whose parents bought cereal in a bag.

Everyone’s tongues would be pink from the candy message hearts and heart-shaped suckers we would devour at our class parties. Kids would bring heart-shaped  cookies with red sugar on top that their mothers had made. There were gallons of red punch to satisfy our thirsts at the afternoon parties when our school work was completed.

We would go home later that afternoon with our boxes filled with our paper messages and candy. Reading the small paper Valentines, in the privacy of my room, never failed to surprise me. There was always the hope of a new love in my young life. It was the perfect time to confess your love to someone and if he or she didn’t reciprocate, then you could just blame it on Valentine’s Day! The tiny cards could mean everything or nothing at all. It was so simple and so wonderful all at the same time. Why can’t life be that simple now? When did everything get so complicated? Why does it take so much to impress us?

You’re not one of those who needs to be impressed on Valentine’s Day, huh? Right. I’m not either. To a certain extent. I would like to be acknowledged. To me, Valentine’s Day is like Christmas. It’s almost overdone. And I don’t like overdone. I prefer simple. I really don’t have any expectations for Valentine’s Day gifts. Although I love Valentine’s Day, (one of my three favorite holidays) I don’t expect a trip to Paris or anything extravagant. And if all I received was a small white envelope with a cartoon message, I would think it was sweet. Of course it would be sweeter if it came with a bouquet of flowers. Keep it simple, but don’t forget me!

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So I’m sitting in a movie theatre on Sunday afternoon with my son and his girlfriend watching No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. Now, I am an observer, so I’m sitting there enjoying this very sexy movie while at the same time, watching those around me for reactions. I have this theory. Everyone loves sex on some level. But, not everyone admits it. Why?

There were three women sitting in front of us that were pretty ordinary, I guessed one of them to be the mother and the other two daughters. Average looking, not especially attractive or ugly. They never laughed once throughout the entire movie. Granted, given the relationship, embarrassment probably played a major role in their silence. Of course the three of us were laughing out loud all through the movie. It was very funny and very modern. But we are very open about our sexuality.

I was a single mom for a while raising two teenage boys. When they were in high school, I preached condoms. Still do! I’m a modern mom. I remember the sexual curiosity of being a teenager and I don’t think that ever changes. When I was a teenager, girls got pregnant in high school and still do, girls got reputations in high school and still do, and boys could have sex with anyone and everyone and they were studs. So I’m aware of the pressures and curiosities of the young. Abstinence is ideal and waiting until you’re married is definitely the way to go, in a perfect world. Our world was not perfect and I was raising two handsome young men. I knew they would have sex and I wanted them to be prepared. And safe!

As I sat there watching the women in front of me I wondered what was going through their minds. Were they embarrassed? Were they turned on? Then it dawned on me, they sat  through the entire movie. If they were embarrassed why didn’t they leave? The answer was simple, they liked it!

I let a friend read my manuscript for PESCADERO  CREEK and her only comment was, “Boy, there’s a lot of sex in there!” Then quickly asked, “When is the next one coming out?” Come on! Admit it, we like it. How many of you will stop if while flipping through the channels you see a couple making out or clothes coming off?

Millions of people watch porn movies and read porn magazines. Drive down any interstate and around most of the larger cities, you will find an adult novelty store. Prostitution is still the oldest profession. Somebody is watching, somebody is reading, someone is shopping, someone is. . . I’m not condoning nor condemning. It’s not my place. I’m just trying to make a point.

On some level, we all need  sex. We all need to be loved and the physical aspect of love is sex. We can get it in small amounts like the R rated movie we watched on Sunday. Or we can get the stimulation we crave from the porn movies and magazines. If you’re lucky, you’re getting all you need from your significant other. Which is how is was meant to be. But if you need to add a little spice or get a jump-start, there are options. Let me make myself clear on this one, I’m talking about movies, toys and magazines. Personally, I don’t think prostitution holds a place in a marriage.

For those of you who were brave enough to read this post even after the warning, here is a little something to light your fire. Even Rob McAllister needs to step up his game once in a while. Here’s a short segment from UNDERCOVER the second novel in the PESCADERO CREEK series.

Rob pulled the pink nightgown over her head and turned her over on her stomach.  He started to kiss her back while he moved her hair out of his way.  He massaged her back from her shoulders down to her feet then rubbed her through her panties before he slid them down her long legs.  After he gently moved her legs apart, he moved on top of her.

“Rob, what are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” he whispered in her ear as he moved on top of her again slipping himself inside of her.

She moaned softly beneath him as he started to move within her. He kissed her neck and back as he held her arms down. His movements grew quicker and harder causing her to cry out. Rob froze, “Am I hurting you?” he asked.

She kept her head down, “No!” she laughed.

That was all he needed to continue. Once again he began to move in her causing her to orgasm over and over. When he finished, he collapsed on top of her.

“That was new,” she finally said, lifting her head.

Please leave me a comment here on the Blog. If you’re afraid of using your real name, make one up-I understand.

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