I had a brief email conversation with my editor at Sapphire Blue Publishing this week.

Here’s the gist:

• I apologized for submitting such a rough manuscript and taking so long to rework it.
• She showed nothing but grace and understanding for all that I was juggling in my life.

Juggling?

I generally consider myself an underachiever but I stopped to think about that.

Yeah, I am juggling.  I’m juggling like a fricking mime on speed!

When I was on active duty there wasn’t any juggling.  There were 12 hours of work and 12 hours of play every day.  A nice, clean slice down the middle.  12 hours toting a machine gun and 12 hours of gym time, tossing back drinks with the boys (I really did a great deal of drinking) and a little sleep once in a while.

There was never any juggling.

Now I’m a civilian mother of two small boys, one of which just started Kindergarten.  I’m a wife, though I’ll admit a lousy one because my husband never gets his quality time.  I’m a freelance writer at Associated Content.  I’m a novelist with Sapphire Blue Publishing.  We just PCSed to Texas and I’m trying to unpack all these boxes of crap we can clearly live without.  I’m also trying to get my pre-pregnancies (there were 2) body back (these kids have really messed me up).  Lastly, I’m trying to implement a 5-year plan aimed at a location independent retirement.  (Yeah, we’re kinda young for retirement but my husband would like to retire and damnit, he deserves something for not getting his quality time.)

So maybe there is some juggling involved.

I was just looking over my calendar for tomorrow.  I had to scroll the page to see everything.  That’s when I know I’m in trouble.  My day will go something like this:

0500 Wake, drink a pot of coffee while responding to email, purchase and give away books promised as prizes in recent promotions, post this blog, post an article at Associated Content

0600 Wake the boys, feed them breakfast, change 2-3 diapers on the little man depending on whether or not he drops a load or pisses like a racehorse, get the boys dressed, teeth brushed, faces washed

0700 Get the boys in  the bike trailer (Mommy’s little rickshaw), helmets on, water bottles in hand and pedal Mr. Kindergarden to school (20 minutes of uphill biking in San Antonio heat and humidity), drop him off and pedal home (10 minutes of fast downhill coasting)

0730 Fight with the little man about how we will not keep riding around, clean up a mess or two as the little man is potty training.

0800 Down a protein shake and some vitamins, drain the coffee pot of any essence of coffee that might be left.

0830 Unpack 3-5 boxes and put more crap away, do a couple loads of laundry.

1030 Make toast and a bottle for the little man, say a little prayer to the universe that he takes a nap, fight with him about putting on a diaper.

1115 This is my only TV time all day so don’t judge.  I watch The Young and the Restless from the DVR so I can skip the commercials.

1200 Work on the current novel.

1300 Little man usually wants some Mommy time

1400 Mount up to pick up Kinderdude.

1430 Pick up Kinderdude

1445 Go over school work, homework and notes sent from his teacher, ask him about his day, find out if he ate lunch

1530 Check on that laundry

1600 Make supper for the family

1700 Do the dishes, prepare clothes for me and the boys for the next day, prepare evening snack and bottle.

1730 I try to write but there is usually the pitter-patter of little feet as well as some screaming, airplane and train noises and crazy questions like “Mom, what a mouse house?”.  I try to sneak away for a shower at this point since my neglected husband is home.

1830 Bath time for the kids then snacks and some Spongebob or Scooby-Doo.

1900 Bedtime for the kids, I write my blogs, catch up on RSS feeds and go over my calendar for the next day (all done from bed, on my phone)

2030 Pass out, phone in hand

2100 Wake up, pick my phone off the floor and put it on the charger, go back to sleep.

But who am I kidding?  My day never happens in tidy blocks like ths!

On rare nights I can sleep from 9-5.  Most nights the boys wake up for one reason or another.  Last night, Little man woke at 2300, 2400, 0100 and 0200 and drank a bottle every time.

Yeah, I’m a juggling muther*!$#”&!

Some days I wish I was sitting in a leaky Hummvee with and M-60.  Too bad I wasn’t writing back then.  I had plenty of time for it.

PS: It is 0300 and the kids have been up coughing most of the night.  They’re both sick.  You can disregard pretty much everything I thought I was going to do.  I’ll be running popsicles and apple juice all day.  I am so grateful for my own health…and the fact that I had the good sense to stay with Sapphire Blue Publishing!

Come to my crazy little world for a visit sometime at http://www.LisaPietsch.com

Sarah Stevens examined the toe of her black, leather Prada slingback and gasped.  A huge scuff glared at her.  She sighed with relief as she wiped the spot with a tissue and restored the shoe to its original glory.  The overstuffed back seat of the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph limousine embraced her as she leaned back and glanced out the window.

“Not a bad way to get from point A to point B, huh?”

She turned to smile at Will Adams.  With their team leader, her boyfriend, Vince Hennessee missing in action, Will was in charge now.

Will dressed and carried himself like a man who had the world at his fingertips, because he did.  Will had once been a medic in the Navy but Sarah suspected there was much more to that story.  Though he began his career as a Corpsman, Sarah suspected he did a bit more than first aid to make the rank of Master Chief before he left the service for a position on Task Force 125.  He was the team’s second in command, capable of finding any supplies they needed on a moment’s notice.  With Vince missing, the entire team fell in line behind him without question.  He’d also worked undercover with Vince for years as an arms dealer.

Sarah took comfort in Will’s leadership and grasped the glimmer of hope she saw in his baby blue eyes.  They would find Vince and recover him before any harm came to him.

Will nodded slightly toward the front of the limousine.  “There it is, the Burj al Arab, Dubai’s crown jewel.”

Sarah’s jaw dropped.  She gawked at the glorious structure rising majestically over the water ahead of them as they drove along the causeway.

She remembered just over a year ago when she was an overweight Air Force cop with no future.  She gave thanks that her commander realized her potential and referred her to what she thought was a fat camp.  That weight loss program turned out to be one of the C.I.A.’s training farms for paramilitary operatives.  Little did she know at the time that losing her police job, her cheating boyfriend, and seventy-five pounds would make it possible for her to ride in Rolls Royce limos wearing Prada and Versace, not to mention the pearls around her neck that cost more than her car.  She fingered them lovingly and recalled with a smile the day Vince gave her the necklace.

As though he’d read her mind, Will smiled his winning smile.  “You’ve come a long way, baby.”

They pulled up at the curb in front of the seven star hotel and Sarah sighed.  “Yes, I have.”

Jason hopped out of the front passenger seat and opened Sarah’s door for her.  “Welcome to Oz.”  He beamed with his trademark Cheshire cat grin.  Anyone  who saw Jason would think he was happy to be staying at the glorious Burj al Arab but Sarah knew better.

Jason Williams, the former Green Beret and the team’s weapons specialist, was always spoiling for a fight and he knew he was going to have a big one when they took Vince back.  Since she’d joined the team, Sarah and Jason had become great friends.  He was a mixed martial arts master and damn impressive in a fight.  For months now, he’d been teaching Sarah how to fight and win in just about any situation.  He’d also been kind enough to squire her around Las Vegas to all his favorite watering holes.  It didn’t hurt that Sarah was so attractive he could get into any club in the city with her on his arm.

A tall handsome Arab man dressed in a silk Armani suit greeted Sarah, Jason and Will at the curb as they stepped out of the Rolls Royce.  They were all dressed to the nines, Armani being the suit of the day for Jason and Will too.  The greeter smiled slightly.  “Mr. Adamson, welcome to the Burj al Arab.  Your suite is ready.  If you will follow me.”  He turned and escorted them into the lobby.

Adamson was one of Will’s aliases.  What they were doing here was not sanctioned by the C.I.A. and, if they were lucky, the Agency would never find out about their plan to recapture their kidnapped leader who was being held somewhere in the Middle East.  They were all using aliases on this trip.  Sarah’s was Elisabetta Scuro, an Italian alias in honor of the recently deceased Angelo Scuro who not only died on their last mission but left Sarah his vast estate in Italy.

The hotel’s service was immediate and excellent but Sarah couldn’t help being annoyed at the time that was passing, precious seconds that meant the difference between life and death for Vince.  The flight to Dubai provided her with far too much time to think about what his captors might be doing to him.  She pushed the dark thoughts of Vince being tortured and beaten from her mind and tried to stay focused on the task at hand.

They were here to meet with Mark Davidson, an agent none of them had met, who had information on where Vince was being held.  Davidson’s contacts had found out about Vince’s kidnapping and he knew to contact Will at Sarah’s estate in Italy.  Sarah ran through the list of things they’d need to do before they could even begin planning an attack to get Vince back.  After they checked in to their suite at the hotel they’d make contact with Davidson, who was working under an official cover in U.S. State Department in Saudi Arabia, and then wait for their other teammates, Brian Allen and Chris Wilson to arrive in Dubai.  All of this meant more passing time.

Worries vanished from Sarah’s mind as she gasped at the overwhelming opulence of the Burj al Arab.  Massive golden columns encircled the lobby and reached toward the sweeping arches above.  The mesmerizing mosaic on the floor in deep blue, red and gold nearly stopped her in her tracks.  Sarah looked at Jason wide eyed.

Jason grinned and paused with Sarah while Will continued toward the elevator with their host.  “Shock and awe, eh, sweetcheeks?  This place makes Vegas look like a two bit whore.”

She grinned at Jason.  “Speaking of whores, did I tell you how fine you look in that suit?”

He smoothed the front of his jacket with his right hand and extended his left arm for her.  “I guess you won’t mind being seen with me then?”

“Not at all, handsome.”  She looped her right arm through his and they picked up their pace to meet Will and their host at the elevator.  Her Prada shoes tapped along the ornate marble floor as she took in the rich colors and happy international chatter coming from vacationers and businesspeople. 

Their host escorted them into a private elevator and they rode to the twenty-fifth floor of the all suite hotel.  Sarah held the rail tightly as they whisked fifty floors skyward.

Sarah tried to remain calm as she wondered about where Vince might be and took a long, deep breath as their host opened the door to their two-story suite.  On the other side of the glistening marble entryway was a marble and gold staircase covered with leopard print carpeting.  Being instantly enveloped in luxury while her mind swam in thoughts of the horrible things that could be happening to Vince overwhelmed her.  Sarah gripped Jason’s arm tightly to keep the only grip on reality she had.

He leaned close and smiled as he whispered to her.  “Any other time I’d love your manicured nails digging into my skin but the blood you draw today will ruin my Armani.”

Jason’s teasing was all Sarah needed to shock her back to reality.  This over-the-top extravagance was her life now.  Angelo had left her an enormous estate in Italy and more money than she’d ever dreamed of having.  Once Vince was free they’d leave the Agency and start enjoying it together.

Better start getting used to it now.

She retracted her claws and gave him an apologetic pout as she mouthed the words “I’m sorry”.

Freedom’s Promise, book #3 in the Task Force 125 series, is coming to Sapphire Blue Publishing, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and other ebook sellers in June 2010.  Read about the Task Force 125 series by Lisa Pietsch at www.LisaPietsch.com.