I do not like needles...

I do not like needles. I do not like needles in my arm. I do not like needles in my hip. I really do not like needles in my mouth.

But the old 41 year old crown had allowed a cavity to form underneath it so it had to be replaced. And it was needles in my mouth and an extra gallon or two of nitrous oxide going through the mask on my nose.

My amazing dentist who babies me told me in the beginning that there might not be enough tooth left to hold a new crown once the cavity was drilled away. But I'm an optimistic person. He was going to remove the crown, slap a new temporary crown in place and I was going to eat a hamburger on the way home.

Optimism lost the war.

What was left of the tooth when its crown finally gave up the ghost was not enough to work with so it had to be extracted, a bone graft slapped into place for an implant on down the road and there would be no hamburger on the way home.

So the process began after I informed the dentist that I wanted him to be sure he chose bone from a genius to put into my mouth. He promised that he would and the tooth was supposed to pop right out so the next step of the procedure could start. However the root decided that it had hugged up next to the jaw bone for more than 60 years and they'd become good friends. I think there was even something about the jaw bone telling the root bedtime stories but that might have been the nitrous.

An hour later I told the doctor that he could cuss the thing out if it would help since nothing else was working. It must not have wanted to hear bad words because it slipped out and I named it Henry and decided that it should have a birth certificate.

End of story?

Oh, no! I do not like pain so I said yes when the dentist asked me if I wanted a prescription for pain pills. I took one at bedtime and my brain did crazy things for 48 hours. Thinking all the way through a whole sentence was impossible. I wasn't sure if I was asleep or walking in a time-travel novel.

My grandmother used to tell me that food will cure anything and I believed her. But after the procedure I was only permitted to have cold liquids for 24 hours and then very soft foods for a few days. So there I was in pill la-la land and could not eat to cure it or the sore jaw. No wonder I couldn't finish a sentence.

I really like my dentist. I have faith in him. I give thanks for nitrous. But I will never like needles.

COVER REVEAL!..

Previously released as The Blue Ribbon Jalapeno Society Jubilee!

Now available for preorder and arriving soon in ebook format, it's got sass, romance and all the gossip of a small Texas town.

Carolyn Brown brings her unique voice to this tale of twin sisters finding love in a small Texas town

Cathy Andrew's biological clock has passed the ticking stage and is dangerously close to "blown plumb up". While her twin sister Marty thinks settling down with one man is just a waste of good cowboys, Cathy wants it all: the perfect husband, the baby, and a little house right there in Cadillac. But even as the town is laying bets on whose wedding will be next, Cathy doesn't see happily-ever-after happening anytime soon.

Fortunately, Cathy and Marty have best friends who aren't afraid to stir up a ruckus-and if it means Cathy's got to bust out and set the town on its ear they'll back her up-no matter how hot things get.

(Originally published as The Blue-Ribbon Jalapeno Society Jubilee.)

"Carolyn Brown's storytelling is humorous, heartwarming, and full of sass and spunk...the chemistry sizzles." -RT Book Reviews
"Ms. Brown has written some of the best dialogue I've read in a while...completely believable." -Fresh Fiction
"I know when I read a book by Carolyn Brown, I'm in for a treat." -Long and Short Reviews

Valentine's Day Contest...

What's your favorite

Valentine's Day tradition?

Candy, flowers, dinner with your sweetheart, romantic, practical? Go to my FB page and comment on the contest going on there and you could win a copy of all three available Burnt Boot Books:

Cowboy Boots for Christmas (Cowboy not Included)

The Trouble with Texas Cowboys

and

One Texas Cowboy Too Many.

One winner will be chosen from the comments on my FB page. Contest closes Monday at noon. Winner will be announced here and on the FB page. You could be the first person to read One Texas Cowboy Too Many since it won't be on the shelves until March 1.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011084594794&fref=photo

E-Book or Real Book...

That's what a lot of my fans ask...
Is this sale on ebooks or real books.

Some of y'all like books that you can load into your e-reader, tuck inside your purse or suitcase if you are going on a trip and have a whole library at your finger tips.

Others like a "real book", one that they can touch, smell the ink on the paper and set on their bookcases.

This week The Ladies' Room and The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop are both on sale for my readers who like "real books"! The Ladies' Room is selling for $4.99 and The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop for $6.99.

Happy Reading to you all, whether it's on your Kindle, Nook, other e-reader or if it's with a book you are holding in your hands. And Happy Valentine's to all y'all out there!

Letter From Home...

This showed up on my FB page today and just in case any of y'all didn't see it--well here's your Monday morning giggle! This is a letter from a farm kid who has joined the Marines!

Dear Ma and Pa:

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. But I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there’s warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again. It’s no wonder these city boys can’t walk much.

We go on “route marches,” which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it’s not my place to tell him different. A “route march” is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don’t bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don’t know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don’t move, and it ain’t shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don’t even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain’t like fighting with that ole bull at home. I’m about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake . I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I’m only 5’6″ and 130 pounds and he’s 6’8″ and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,

Alice

Sunday Wisdom...

We often hear, "out of the mouths of babes". Well this is wisdom from a sage.

This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye But don't worry; God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

GREAT NEWS MONDAY...

For a little while last night Hidden Secrets had the great privilege of sitting in the number 1 spot at

Amazon's TOP 100 BESTSELLERS

in the Kindle Store!

As part of the Amazon February 50,

The Yellow Rose Beauty Shop is on Sale for only $2 for your Kindle!!