Just the Boys? ... I Think Not!

Roughing It.…

-----I’m married and have three young boys – 3, 5 & 8. Yeah…I’m the only chick in the house. *sigh* So all the frills and pastels get trampled by muddy sneakers. Woe is me.

-----Nail polish? Nope. That’s used to paint model train engines. Makeup? Dumped in the toilet and flushed. Stockings? Filled with rocks and used as some medieval weapon for a skirmish in the backyard. Skirts and heels? Who has time (or inclination) when you’re chasing after three little imps to get that other earring back? LOL

A Different View….

-----Sounds rough, huh? Sometimes it is. But on the days when I get to sit for a moment (which is rare…), I think about all the other things I get to do that a lot of women don’t even consider. Like what? Wellll….moutain biking, kayaking, and camping for starters. Not that I’m the most outdoorsy type of gal, but these activities have afforded me the opportunity to see some amazing sights. The beauty of nature, if you will.

-----What about flying? Yeah…up in the air. Airplanes, helicopters. Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life is learned to fly a helicopter. I swear, it’s like learning how to paint with your hands and feet and the same time. What you see down here is really different when you’re 700+ feet up. Winding rivers, fields, towns, highways. It’s all one gorgeous jigsaw puzzle.

-----Weapons? Heck yeah! Assault rifles, shotguns, handguns, compound bows, recurve bows, throwing knives, blowguns – any of it! ALL of it! Love it! Okay, so I’ll admit. That’s a huge plus for living in a household of all-guys.

-----But there’s other stuff, too. The latest? My husband is building me a model rocket. Yes, a four-foot tall, “let’s light this candle”, bona fide rocket. For starters, hubby knows I love things that go BOOM! Just always have. So, I guess I can see the leap of logic here. LOL

BK – Before Kids…
AK – After Kids…

-----Hubby and I have always done everything together, and now that we have three little guys…well, they’re gonna want to do guy things, right? His thinking since the moment we learned our first born would be a boy all the way thru to the third little guy (and I sooo love him for this) was that he doesn’t want to just run off with the boys and leave me sitting at home alone. He doesn’t want me left behind. Soooo…since they all have rockets, well…Mom needs one, too.

-----To entice me further, said hubby’s designing the entire thing from scratch so there won’t be another one like it and is going to paint it black, white, and pink. He’s even found a Star Wars Clone Tropper cat and paw print sheet of stickers for me to decorate with and a huge pink and black parachute, so the whole ensemble will come back down to Earth unscathed.

-----And hubby’s already named it! Yep. KRZ-KTY = Krazy Kitty. Course, now I’m wondering if the moniker is any reflection on me…hmmm.

3…2…1…BLAST OFF!

-----In a month or so, we get to launch this puppy…or, er, I get to launch this puppy. LOL Until then, I’ve even told hubby I want to help build. Yeah, get into the paint, epoxy, launch lugs, nosecone, wadding, and engine size (biiigggg with lots of purdy fire & smoke!). My boys need to see their mom out there workin’-it with all those NASA engineers and rocket scientists on the launch field. Hopefully in a month or two, I can blog about Krazy Kitty’s maiden flight. Perhaps post a picture or two…

-----Am I looking forward to it? Heck yeah! Girly colors, cats, and fiery projectiles…how could I not?


And speaking of rocketing off into outerspace... Here's a blurb for my latest sci-fi romance, MechMan...

----Raven is on a suicide mission. Jex is a biomech on a mission to save humanity. They discover their mutual passion to destroy the enemy isn’t their only desire.

----A war against the Darch has raged for years, and humanity is on the verge of extinction. Scientists have created biomechs to supplement as warriors, but it’s just a temporary fix on what appears an insurmountable problem. One desperate scientist injects JXS241, a biomech warrior, with what he hopes is the solution for mankind’s survival. But the biomech is captured by the enemy.
----Raven Nirvanni survives on the fringes of a shattered culture. While on a self-imposed suicide mission to annihilate an enemy destroyer, she encounters the imprisoned biomech. Deciding the fate of humanity far outweighs the destruction of a single ship, she recues him and decides to ensure he reaches his destination.
----With the enemy anticipating their every move, Raven is completely taken aback when she realizes she’s falling for JXS241. But can she really love a machine? And if so, can he reciprocate?

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/MechMan-ebook/dp/B004OC06W2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311625132&sr=8-2
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/MechMan-L-J-Garland/dp/1603182586/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1311625132&sr=8-2

Sins of the Mind - Book Trailer

We don't have a publisher yet, but I'm so excited about this story I made a trailer for it. Check it out!

It's your call....isn't it???

Okay, so a little background, I work in a rural doctors office. It's a family practice and we see newborns to geriatric. We're in Vermont, but we straddle the New York line. The closest hospital in Vermont is a half hour drive , and the nearest to us in New York is about a forty-five minute drive. Of course this is on a nice sunny day when there isn't three feet of snow on the ground.

So, we see our fair share of emergencies. The nearby slate quarries are for ever sending us their lacerated workers. We see chainsaw and power tool accidents, and we even had treated a guy who had climbed up a ladder while carrying his nail gun. Bad idea, that. He shot a nail straight through his heart, and his buddy thought it was a good idea to bring him to us instead of calling 911. He ended up with open-heart surgery and is fine now, but those were some tense moments while we waited for the squad and tried to stabilize him. One of our doctors actually road in the squad with him.

So anyway, you get the idea that we are kind of secluded as far as a disaster goes. We are the nearby high school's physician. Therefore, the three times there were bus accidents , they came to us. We processed thirty children in under an hour.

Yesterday I attended a meeting on disaster preparedness.

We were given different scenarios to contemplate, and I believe we’re pretty well prepared. But, one gentleman brought up a moral dilemma. We were talking about people coming in from a boating accident at one of the area lakes. We got to discussing if they were drinking and when our responsibility for calling the law comes in.

For me, it's an easy choice. If they are a danger to themselves or others , then you call. If they had all been drinking, you don't let them leave. If they have a driver and are okay, they can go.

This one guy though seemed to suggest patients wouldn't seek medical attention if they injured themselves doing something illegal if they were afraid we would call the police.

Frankly, in my opinion, that's on them. But then he said..."Well , what if one of your children were at a party drinking and they consumed too much and had alcohol poisoning. Would you want his friends to be afraid to bring him to the hospital or seek medical care because they were afraid of the potential legal consequences?”

Well, put it that way, no. But where do you draw the line? What is your responsibility, morally, ethically and civically?

I don't want someone under the influence on the road, and I can't in good consciousness let someone who is impaired leave this office. But I can kind of see this guy’s point of view.

Thoughts?

Welcome to Garland & Gould.

Here, we hope you will come learn more about us and what we love, including writing. You can expect to find us discussing a variety of topics, including current events, our road to being published, and sometimes even some senseless drivel. You'll find out what strikes our emotional cords, what makes us happy, sad, angry, and on occasion, downright giddy. We'll also be inviting some amazing authors to blog on our site. They're talented, witty, and we're both proud to call them our friends.

We both bring different tastes and experiences to our writing and find that we compliment each other very well. L.J. has a taste for sci-fi, paranormal, time travel, and suspense, while Debbie's tastes run suspense, thriller, military and cowboys. But no matter the genre--or combination of genres--we love to create tense stories where the hero and heroine have to fight to win their Happily Ever After...and though they always do, we don't make it easy for 'em!

So sit back, relax and get to know us. For now, here's a little snippet from Sins of the Mind, our first completed novel.

----Rage consumed Ethan. This time, nothing she did or said would stop him from reaching her. In two long strides, he was at her side, his arms wrapped around her. It wasn’t until she pulled back, peered up at him, and brushed the tears from his cheeks that he realized he’d been crying.
----“I’m so sorry for all you went through,” he said, his voice coarse with emotion. He kissed the wetness from her cheeks. “I wish I’d been there to stop him.”
----“I didn’t tell you this for you to feel sorry for me. I just wanted you to understand the peppermint reaction.” She inhaled and released a soulful sigh. “And, well…me.”
----He guided her back to the couch, and they sat together, his arm a shawl of protection around her shoulders. “I don’t feel sorry for you, honey. I’m just sorry something like that happened to you.”
----She swiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands and said, “Elliot knew about the peppermint thing. I kind of freaked out on him when we went on a blind date last week. The waitress brought the mints with the bill, and I wigged out.” A derisive laugh spilled from her mouth. “You’d think that would’ve scared him away, but he’s got this idea that I still want to go out with him or something. He probably put them on my car after the incident in the café.” She became quiet, thoughtful for a moment. “You don’t think he’s the murderer do you?” Her brow knitted, and she shook her head, her shoulders sagging. “No. Jud was killed before I met Elliot. He was just being mean.”
----Ethan placed a finger over her mouth. “Shh. It’s not up to you to figure out who the killer is. Although I do want you to stay away from Elliot. I’ll check him out.”
----“Oh, that won’t be a problem. The guy is seriously freaky.” She reached out and covered his hand with hers. Heat raced up his arm and straight down to his groin. “I’m sorry if I ruined whatever moment we were having.”
----“Moment?” He raised his eyebrows, tried for a surprised expression. “We were having a moment? Where was I?”
----A husky laugh escaped Abby’s lips, and the sound triggered a base desire low in his gut. She gave him a playful shove, but he caught her hand, his fingers encircling her delicate wrist. With great care, he bowed his head and pressed his lips to the center of her palm. Her sharp intake of air told him she liked it.
----“Is this the moment you were referring to?” He kissed her wrist. “Or this?” His mouth grazed along her skin, up the side of her neck to the tender point below her ear.
----“Mmm.” She tilted her head, offering him access.
----He inhaled, reveled in her unique scent. A mixture of spicy vanilla and exotic flowers invaded his senses and sent the room slowly spinning. Primal lust roared through him, demanded he possess her in a rush of carnal passion.
----But Ethan resisted.
----Intent on enticing Abby into a wild, heated frenzy, he trailed the tip of his tongue along her throat. Her pulse hammered beneath his ardent attention, and he reveled in her response. His fingers slid over her supple skin. One hand sought the silky tresses adorning her head while the other coaxed her legs across his lap then slipped around her waist.
----He pulled back, stared into her lovely face. Eyelids fluttering, she sighed in his arms. When she looked at him, desire burned bright in her eyes. His heart stuttered at the sight, and hot need rushed to his groin.
----“Abby.” Her name rolled from his tongue in a mix of desperation and lust. A voracious hunger to taste every inch of her body washed over him. The urge to kiss the small of her back, to run his tongue along her skin, delving and dipping into her secret, sensitive places, all but overwhelmed him. “Tell me to stop. If you’re not ready, honey, tell me to stop right now and by all that’s holy, I will. But you need to know how much I want you right now.”