Change is in the wind.

Today, I want to talk briefly about changes in our life. Usually, when something unexpected—good or bad—happens to us, we usually react with knee jerk swiftness.

Nothing wrong with it. It’s just how the human race does things.

It seems a butt load of change intercepted my life in the past week. People come and go. Words are said we can’t retrieve. Books are accepted and rejected. Pounds are lost and gained. Confidence is shot to hell and carefully rebuilt again.

It’s all change and guess what? It’s inevitable and it’s not always a bad thing.

Change occurs for a couple of reasons. First, it stops destructive patterns or behaviors, kinda like warning signals at train tracks. And second, it allows us to see a new, very different path to trod, one that could quite possibly bring us to a different, better place. Change can make us stronger, give us a handful of new options.

As I type this, the fate of my husband’s job is in flux. Changes in congress have shaken up the company he works for. Now, we wait to see if he’ll be one of the lucky ones.

Another fat steaming pile of change.

Am I happy about it? Not by a long shot. Can I do anything about it? Nope.

So I wait and continue to plug away at my book, which I should finish by the end of next week if all goes well. This is the only thing I can control right now.

At one time in our history, they discovered the world was actually round instead of flat. Imagine the look of shock and horror and delight on the faces of those people.

That was a big change and it altered the course of human history.

The discovery that Pluto is not a planet? Not so much.

But it’s all change. And we didn’t—and won’t—die from it. Life goes on. I just wish I knew how. I'm choosing to hope that April will be better...

While you ponder, let me share a snippet of an excerpt from the Be Mused Anthology. This will release tomorrow from Desert Breeze Publishing. Please look for my short story entitled Not Amused, which is where the excerpt is from. I hope you’ll check it out because this was one of my all time favorite stories to write.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Vivian Vandergarten crossed her legs at the ankles and popped her cherry-flavored lollipop in her mouth.

"Knock it off, Viv. You know why we're here."

"I know why I'm here. You have no place on the same plane of existence as I do." Vivian frowned at Dirk.

He stood just at her elbow, all six-feet of him, lean and toned to perfection. Too bad Regency England-era clothing hid that yummy body. "If you insist on bothering me, you might as well sit. I'm getting a crick in my neck looking up at you." She ignored the snug fit of his fawn-colored breeches or the exquisite way the crushed velvet jacket of bottle green enhanced the broad set of his shoulders. She'd seen it all before -- and then some.

Wouldn't mind seeing it again, but he'd need to jump through a few hoops first.

"Hate to disappoint you, babe. I'm here for the same reason." Dirk pulled a white
Adirondack chair near hers and sat heavily on it. "Tell me again why we're stuck in period costumes?" His blond curls danced on his head in the slight clover-scented breeze.

"I guess you didn't get the memo?" When he shook his head, Vivian sighed and shoved the urge to run her fingers through that hair into the back of her mind. "The boss decided we'd inspire our mortals better if we dressed in period pieces. Thus, the get-ups." She sucked on the sweet treat, but kept her eyes focused on the scene below. "Today just happens to be Regency themed."

"Great." He adjusted the fit of his dark sunglasses, very much out of place with his costume. "For what it's worth, you look great."

"Can it." Her cheeks heated. She looked at him once more. "You had your chance with me and you blew it." Vivian squirmed under his gaze, hating the low-cut bodice of the pale lavender gown she wore. She just knew he stared at her boobs. The thought didn't bother her, merely made her insides threaten to melt. "So, what's the deal with your charge?"

"His name's Jack. Writes action-adventure novels. You know the grittier stuff guys like to read, although I'm sure he's got quite a following of women." A grimace twisted Dirk's chiseled face. "Except now he says he's got writer's block. Personally, I think he's distracted and coming to this conference won't help." He looked over the tops of the sunglasses at her. "And yours?"

Vivian shrugged. "Angelica is whining about being uninspired." She rolled her eyes. "If she'd turn off the in-home shopping channels, maybe she'd have enough brain cells left to finish her book. Personally, she's ticking me off."

"Oh, I love it when you're irritated." He waggled his eyebrows in exaggerated silent movie villain style. "It's a tiny jog over to amorous from irritation."

"Save it for Oprah." Vivian moved her tongue over the surface of the lollipop and grinned when his green eyes darkened. "I'm mad because she works for me. Every moment away from her writing means I don't get to move on to bigger and better things."

"Like what? You're a muse, same as the rest of us. This is as good as it gets."

"No, Dirk, it's not." Vivian scrambled out of her chair with some difficult as her filmy skirts tangled about her legs. She teetered, but recovered by the time Dirk stood. "Do you know how hard it is to watch countless mortals fall in love time after time while I spend my free time dancing around that same issue with you?"

"I thought you liked the game we play?" He lifted a hand to her hair and encouraged one of her auburn tresses to curl about his finger. "You seem to enjoy the flight and pursuit."

"Remember the rule." She skipped out of his reach. "While on work time, muses cannot touch each other in anyway, otherwise--"

Dirk sighed and dropped his hand. "Otherwise, we risk banishment from the immortal realm. Right." He rubbed his fingers over a day's worth of stubble on his chin. "What is it you search for?"

"The same as Angelica wants."

Buy link: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-73/Be-Mused--dsh--%3Ci%3EAn/Detail.bok