brown ceramic bowl with brown soup

Monthly post #3 #musings the month of #sick along with #blogging #writing #bereavement

Welcome to the first day of March and blog post number three. I’ve been sick since returning from vacation, so much so that I had to take the rest of the week off and then I had President’s Day off to assist with recovering. I went back to the full-time job that Tuesday but still coughing, sneezing, a runny nose, and congestion. Thankfully, not Covid, Flu A or B (took two tests for Covid, both negative). I’m better now, but still have the occasional coughing fit.

brown ceramic bowl with brown soup
Photo by Valeria Boltneva on Pexels.com

Good news, well mostly good news, is that doing gluten-free for 99% of my trip allowed me to feel better. Between that and being sick, I’ve lost 10 pounds. Not a great way to lose weight since I ate little during the height of the illness, but I’ll take it. Found out from parents when I visited with them the Saturday before the cruise that both of them have issues with gluten: Mom sticks to not eating where as Dad continues to eat it but in smaller portions. I guess I get it honestly. 🙂

Unfortunately, that means that while I’ve kept up with blog tours/blitzes this month, I ended up posting the day of that I plan to post. Last week, the family learned that my partner’s grandmother passed away, and they will hold the celebration of life at the end of the month. She had taken a turn for the worse the week before, so her passing is not unexpected, but we will still feel her loss. We have plans to carpool to the funeral home and make it a day trip. She was 100.

Black executive chair

As for finishing the edits for Charon’s Dilemma to send off to the editor this month, that hasn’t finished yet. I had planned to work on it during the cruise, but I got caught up in other things and didn’t get to it. Then I was sick and still not feeling it. I’ll get there. Maybe I will later today or sometime this week; possibly the next day when we get back from the funeral. I will have to see.

Good news is that I got the chair my parents got me for Christmas and my daughter put it together last week. It’s so much nicer than my old chair and the hydraulics work nicely. It’s a Laz-Y-Boy brand and very nice for the price. They bought it at BJ’s when it was on sale right before Christmas. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it in Georgia, and that’s why I picked it up while I was in the area.

Now I need to get another one, possibly a gaming one for my personal laptop setup upstairs. This one will be used with my work office.

As I’m writing this post the week before. It’s a cold and windy day today after hitting 72 as a high a few days ago. Stay warm as the last gasp of winter lingers before spring comes officially.

~Eloreen

Carnival Venezia cruise ship side profile on dark blue calm waters meets clear blue sky.

Monthly post #2 #musings #recovery #vacation #blogging #writing

a person holding a sign with thumb up and the sign says "I did it!"
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

February’s just starting, and here’s blog post number two. I did it! Another musings posted for the month. 🥰 Let’s hope I can continue. So far, so good. It’s been a wild ride so far in 2026, and things are going well. I have big plans for this year. Fingers crossed I can keep going.

I’ve done a few blog tours or blitzes as well. I enjoy remembering what drew me to blogging about books. My love for reading is how I ended up writing. I still read because it chills me out after a long day of work or play. Speaking of playing, I’ve been playing a new Steam game called Planet Crafter with the family and it has been great. Think Don’t Starve (if you know that game) meets planet terraformation and not as much death. Plus, it’s a cooperative game, which is a nice bonus

I’ve been recovering from minor surgery and preparing to begin my 7-day cruise on the Carnival Venezia. It’s the second biggest class out of Port Canaveral leaving today. I’m writing this post the Saturday before the scheduled date. I’ll have my laptop with me just in case. Whether I pull it out to do some writing, not sure yet. We’re getting ready for an ice storm tonight in north Metro Atlanta, and it’s supposed to bring a good amount of ice, maybe a quarter inch up to a couple of inches thick. Power may or may not go out, but likely will sit heavily on the trees. We’ll see. We’re prepared as we can.

Carnival Venezia cruise ship side profile on dark blue calm waters meets clear blue sky.
Dark and starry background book cover with the shadow of two men in a large red planet, one biting the nose of the other, and two smaller planets nearby. At the top is the title of Charon's Delimma. At the bottom is Eloreen Moon, author.

I’ve been working on Charon’s Dilemma, originally published under the 2014 Goodreads MM Romance group event anthology, and it was ready for a fresh release. I’ve been wanting to update and re-release it for several years now and finally got enough motivation to complete it and get it to an editor for polishing in February. When it’s finished, I’ll look into getting it out there myself or through a small publisher. Not sure exactly which way I will go. It’ll probably come down to whether someone wants to publish it. If that doesn’t work, I’ll just self-publish.

After Charon’s Dilemma, I’m going to consider updating and re-publishing Coil Me Up, the 2015 Goodreads MM Romance group event anthology I did the following year. I’m hoping to put it out again this year, but no promises. I’ve been thinking about a sequel, possibly turning it into a trilogy, for a long time. I started working on a sequel soon after it came out, but then my creativity just kind of went away for a bit. Then the pandemic hit, and my work life filled my time.

The arms of two guys, one with a python-like brown pattern and the other with an anaconda-like green pattern. Title "Coil Me Up" in roman script at the top and Eloreen Moon author name at the bottom.

The covers will probably change as well. I do like them, so I might keep some elements of the covers in the new ones. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll need to find a cover artist for them too. I’m possibly going to look into rebranding as well. All the things I’m looking to do. I’ve already got things planned: I’ll figure out if I can sort that out.

I think I will sign off for now. Stay safe if you are in the ice storm warning in Georgia.

~Eloreen

Teacher’s Pet by Multiple Authors #NewRelease #LGBTQ #Paranormal #Anthology #Romance #MM #FF #Blitz

Title: Teacher’s Pet, Volume Two

Author: Lee Welch, Elizabeth Coldwell, Elna Holst, Riza Curtis, Danielle Wayland, Karmen Lee, Morwen Navarre, Maryn Blackburn

Publisher: NineStar Press

Release Date: October 22, 2018

Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex

Pairing: Male/Male, Female/Female

Length: 75900

Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Historical, fantasy, magic, college, grief, bdsm, athlete, friends to lovers, vacation, cleric, holiday

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Featuring

Eight Stories of Lessons Outside the Classroom

A Spell for Master Vervain by Lee Welch

Finding the Words by Elizabeth Coldwell

The Silent Treatment by Elna Holst

One Small Step by Riza Curtis

Shedding Doubt by Danielle Wayland

Academic Temptations by Karmen Lee

The Sidhe’s Apprentice by Morwen Navarre

Press “Copy” to Begin by Maryn Blackburn

Blurbs

A Spell for Master Vervain by Lee Welch
Apprentice magicians aren’t supposed to fall for their masters, but after a year of longing, Kit is desperate for Master Vervain. Kit casts a forbidden spell to raise an incubus doppelganger of his master—oh, the things he’ll do with that incubus! But Kit’s invoking forces he can’t control and anything can happen when love and magic are mixed.

Finding the Words by Elizabeth Coldwell
On a simple night out, Brendan’s life changed forever. He gave up college lecturing for the world of private tutoring. He may be a virtual recluse, but at least he’s safe. When student Zack approaches him for help with understanding poetry, he’s reluctant to take him on, afraid any connection to his old life might stir up the memories.

Being around Zack awakens long-buried desires in Brendan. He wants to act on his impulse to get closer, but he needs to find the words to say how he really feels.

The Silent Treatment by Elna Holst
Reverend Jane Sinclair has been preaching nothing but fire and brimstone lately. After being dumped by her long-term partner, her mood has been going from bad to worse, and it deteriorates further when her vicar strong-arms her into going off on a yoga retreat. Once she arrives at Serenity Farms, however, the sultry and playfully dominant yoga instructor soon has her singing quite a different tune. A very, very quiet one.

One Small Step by Riza Curtis
Student mage Ilya regrets not paying more attention in class when he teleports two hundred miles instead of the hundred yards he was supposed to go. Concussed, exhausted, and completely underdressed for the bitter winter weather, Ilya is rescued by the handsome Søren.

Sparks fly between the two mages while Ilya recovers, but Ilya must return home. Unable to use his magic and not skilled enough to attempt teleporting back, even if he could, Søren insists on making the journey with him. But train rides and bandits reveal something more between them.

Shedding Doubt by Danielle Wayland
Twenty-six-year-old Grayson is on a mission to get the most out of his gym membership, but when he goes at it too hard on his first day and slips off the treadmill, embarrassment makes him want to quit. Heath, a gym rat, rushes to his aid and offers to help. Initially suspicious of his motives, Grayson reluctantly accepts his help.

The more time they spend together, the more their friendship grows. They both have internal battles keeping them apart, but a Halloween party might just be the place to have a heart-to-heart.

Academic Temptations by Karmen Lee
Twenty-three-year-old Savannah Archer has kept her sexuality buried for years out of fear of being ostracized by her disapproving community. After getting pregnant in high school and putting off college for five years to raise her son, she is finally attending college—away from the prying eyes.

In her first class of the semester, she meets Anetta Springs, who is not only her professor, but also her academic advisor, and the attraction is immediate. Savannah and Anetta both know that the potential consequences of a teacher-student relationship are life-changing, but a book club and a meddling sister may not give them a choice.

The Sidhe’s Apprentice by Morwen Navarre
For anyone serious about magic, studying with a Sidhe Master is essential. Alistair Brady is very serious, and when he’s chosen at a Calling—a search by the Sidhe for new students—he’s elated. However, his assigned Master, Cianán, doesn’t want a new student and makes it painfully obvious.

Despite Cianán’s disdain, Alistair is determined to learn magic. But Alistair has difficulty finding the place inside where magic lives, and even the simplest spells continue to elude him. He just needs to figure out what’s missing, while trying not to let his growing attraction to the cold and aloof Cianán show. It takes a backfiring spell to show both Alistair and Cianán exactly what’s missing to make Alistair’s magic come alive.

Press “Copy” to Begin by Maryn Blackburn
Dr. Marissa Muniz worked hard to earn her Ph.D., so she is rightfully outraged when she detects plagiarism in the work of wealthy grad student. When Muniz confronts Libby Highsmith, the young woman begs for a second chance.

Ms. Highsmith must propose a new master’s thesis and design a project to serve as punitive measures. Muniz accepts the thesis proposal but balks at the project—a replica of the paddle used in private schools and a contract promising secrecy.

Purchase

NineStar Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

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Day 2 Denver pre-GRL #GRLRetreat2017

Day 1 was traveling and getting to the house Marc (M), MTSnow (S), and I rented before GRL. We all converged to Denver in one piece, hung out last night after dinner in a mall food court, and crashed.
Picture of the standing horse at the Denver airport. We had to circle a lot while we waited for M to arrive from customs. Not the best picture. I’ll see if I can get a closer one with my picture software. And crop it a bit.

Day 2 was leisurely awakening this morning, a Costco and grocery run for the week, and returning back to the house for lunch. Just finished lunch and now I’m ready to nap. I’m on vacation. I can nap if I want to!

Picture below is a bush full of finches, it looks like. They are so cute. Their was this morning on the way to Costco.

The house is beautiful and plenty of room. The owner lives in the basement and rents out the upstairs via Airbnb. He got me a candy thermometer for the making of Divinity, a little Goergia I’m bringing to the retreat. I’ll probably do that this evening or tomorrow. I’m going to bring some just for K-lee to distract/cheer up from the pain she’s been having. Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty for people to try if you are attending.

Bedroom I’m sleeping in awhile at the house. That’s my purse/belt on the end of the bed. More pictures of the house later.

We’re going to do a planning session and see about what we want to accomplish before going to the retreat hotel on Wednesday. Perhaps I’ll read or maybe write. I’m feeling a little inspired–something about not working helps–so I might pull out my laptop or iPad. I definitely would like to catch up on reviewing.

I’m planning on wearing my new Rainbow Gold Reviews (RGR) t-shirt or hoodie Wednesday that S brought us. I’ll try to post pictures once I get them. I brought my camera, but I have my phone camera too. There is something to say for ease of posting to social media with the phone camera.

I going to take my nap now. More later. 🙂

Eloreen