What could possibly go wrong with a walk around the lake?
Answer: PLENTY.
‘Isn’t it strange,’ says H as we sit on the roadside by the lake, about four miles from our house, waiting for the daughter number one to arrive with the spare set of car keys, ‘how when we try to do a small thing, a simple thing, something regularly goes wrong?’
‘Very strange,’ I reply with feeling. A lot of ill feeling since I was the one who boobed and guilt is not a nice feeling especially when H is being very nice about my little mistake. It has been half an hour since I locked the car keys in the trunk and I’m not wearing my happy face.
The pic at the top of the page is why we were there in the first place, doing our regular two mile trot around the lake and admiring the views and how the sun shimmered through the trees.
I bet we’re not any different to you guys, we’ve all had our little vehicular mishaps haven’t we? I remember a time H left his wallet on the roof of the car and drove off without a care in the world. Fortunately, or more like miraculously, the car at the time had a sort of edge where a roof box could be fixed and the wallet was still there when we arrived at home.
A memorable car incident was when daughter number two and I went to collect a Christmas tree from the garden centre, which is just up the road. My brilliant idea had been to open the car windows and tie the tree to the roof with rope. That car didn’t have roof bars. We wondered why a handful of men in the garden centre car park were watching us with big eyes and grinning. Then we realised why when it became obvious we’d tied the doors closed, which meant climbing in the windows. Which we did as the guys howled with laughter - we were undaunted and waved as we left. But my daughter’s face was radioactive with embarrassment and she’s never come with me to buy a tree again.
Then there was the time we went to visit my late mother-in-law in Oban and as we left the town driving up a steep hill we looked down into the road where she lived and found her doing a sort of crazy jig in the front garden. We’d left the dog behind. And since my mother-in-law had not a lotta love for the dog… And the dog had not a lotta love for her… You can imagine the jig.
So I wasn’t in the best frame of mind when we got home, but then something happened that made my day!
In recent weeks I’ve been working very hard with a cover designer called Gabrielle Prendergast (who is simply awesome, patient, great sense of humour) of Cover Your Dreams to re-brand my contemporary romances and she’s done an awesome job of the six covers. Only four are published so far and here are the new covers for Reckless Nights In Rome, A Stormy Spring , and Run Rosie Run.
I’ll add Coco when I receive it, then I’ll do a cover reveal for The Fall of Jacob DelGarda. The colours are amazing when they’re all grouped together.
You know I love hearing from you!
Share with us your car incidents - can’t wait for these!
Christine XX
CC MACKENZIE - USA Today Bestselling Author 
Those covers are gorgeous! 🙂
Sorry to hear about the keys oopsie. It happens to the best of us. I’ll tell you a funny about my grandmother. She was always getting into fixes. She, my mother and my aunt were in the family car from a funeral home and apparently were the only mourners for an older relative. When they got out of the car, my grandmother hit the lock button and of course the driver had left the keys in the car. He just turned around and started walking without saying anything. They weren’t sure if he was just leaving them or what. He eventually came back with keys though. I’m guessing he was holding on to the old adage “if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all.” LOL
Aww, Rhonda. The driver had a back-up plan or a friend with keys! LOL!
Great covers!
My car incident was when I had a collision with a double bed. I was driving my classic VW Beetle up a hill as a car was coming down with a double bed strapped to the roof. The bed wasn’t secure and shot off in my direction and I ended up using it as a ramp. The next day my suspension had collapsed and all I had to prove the cause was a bed were mattress fibres.
Hi Tracey!
Now there’s a sentence you don’t hear everyday, ‘I had a collision with a double bed.’ I could do a lot with that! LOL! I don’t know why I’m laughing because what a bummer! Thank you for commenting!
Awesome looking covers, lovely one. Most of my car incidents involve near-death experiences. One in particular was in the fall during an after-dark excursion to visit a friend in the country. There’s something disconcerting about topping a hill and seeing two deer in the act in the middle of one’s driving lane that bring back all of one’s evasive driving training in a heartbeat. The deer, still conjoined, managed to hop to the side of the road and our vehicle managed to remain pointed in the desired direction. I did however, feel the need to lower my window and shout “GET A ROOM!” as we drove off.
Hello Dale.
Near death experiences, and why am I not surprised?? Can I just say, ‘What a way to go??’ LOL!
LMAO, Dale!
Yes, that’s not that way I’d ever want to eat grilled venison.
LOL! You guys kill me. In a good way.
Still … conjoined?
And to think you claim to never write smut! It must because you’ve come over to Christine Claire’s website.
Rut smut. You got me, Anna.
LOL! She gotcha, Dale.
Last spring I put my mobile phone AND wallet on the car roof and happily drove off. Fortune was with, however, because it was a nice day, and I was in the Mini coupe convertible. I put the roof down and drove to the grocery store. I didn’t find the missing items until I got home and put the roof back up, but it all worked out. I’d say “lesson learned” but I’ll probably do something similar tomorrow.
Cheers CC Mac!
Glad to see the blog hopping again, so to speak 😉
Haha! I know the feeling and how lucky were you to be driving the Mini coupe convertible! I’m glad the blog’s sorta hopping too!!!
I’m sort of paranoid when it comes to locking keys in the car or trunk so I tend to be overly cautious, like I even made a note of the little hook in the trunk that opens it in case I did something really crazy to get locked in lol!!
I do love the re-branding. The covers look magnificent 🙂
Thank you, Angela!!
What little hook in the trunk?? Do we have one of those in the UK??? Anyone know?
WOW, the covers are beautiful! As for car incidents well I once set a 12 pack of beer on to the car to open the door, well I just jumped in and drove off, got down the block, remembered the 12 pack, needless to say some were smashed but I did salvage a few! Or there was the time I drove the car halfway thru the garage door, not a good site!
Hi Cindy!
LOL! I can just imagine the twelve pack of beers. And ouch! to the garage door!!! The covers are really cool!
Stunning covers. xx
Thank you, David. Gabrielle’s done an awesome job. And this is just the beginning….. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with when she tackles the Vampyres.
I LOVE the new covers, CC! They look fabulous!
As for stupid car things… My sisters and a good friend of mine went on a trip to the big city (300 miles away) when we were teens to go to a concert. We stopped for some pre-concert shopping and my friend (who was driving) had given me the spare keys to the car, which had the only key to the trunk. Which I put in my purse. Which we locked in the trunk. Sigh. We managed to make it to the concert on time, so it all ended well.
Aren’t you supposed to be on honeymoon???
LOL! Thank you for the covers! It’s always the way, Dana! Keys in trunk! The first time I did it daughter number one and I were stranded sixty miles outside of town in a shopping centre. H arrived to rescue us. I never learn.
LOVE the new covers! Gabrielle did a fabulous job. What fun stories you shared, too. I dare say, we do all have them. Last Easter my family went up to Big Bear to enjoy the holiday. My husband and I drove separately since he was coming from work. We used my car for most of our adventures while there. When he left to return to work early, (before the kids and me) he drove back down the hill with the keys to my car in his pocket. Fabulous! He had to FedEx them back so that I could pack the car and return home. Crazy. His parents felt the need to come rescue me for the day and return me after the keys were delivered. As if the kids and I couldn’t have hung out at the lounge. LOL. Grandparent trap!
Oh nooooooo! Debra!!! LOL!! That’s exactly the type of thing that would happen to us! Lovely to see you - I’m digging the pink hair!
Awesome covers, Christine!! The Christmas Tree incident is priceless. Put that in a book!! 🙂
There’s a thought, Stacey!!! 😉
LOVE your new covers! They’re gorgeous! I especially like the hall thing across the bottom to tie them together as a series. 🙂
Too funny about locking your keys in the trunk. I once locked my keys in the car…which was still running…and I’m still not sure how it happened.
Car incidents? Hey, I’m the QUEEN of car incidents. Or I was for a couple of years after I learned to drive. It’s just a shame someone didn’t spend more time teaching me to back up. I backed over a tricycle, into ice chests outside of stores, into all manner of poles…but the worst? I’m surprised my brother didn’t beat me half to death for this particular one.
I’d gone out to my car and, for some stupid reason, decided I was going to floor the gas pedal and leave in a hurry. Only thing was, I didn’t notice my brother’s car parked behind mine. My brother’s BIG blue car…which had been in super nice shape before I nailed it. After that, the hood was very nicely cracked.
I’m grateful I never backed over a person or an animal. To this day, no matter how far I have to walk, I’ll park in lots where I can just pull out when I leave (instead of backing out). 🙂
LOL! It’s not funny at the time is it? I once parked the car in a vast empty car park and reversed it into a concrete bollard. H still shakes his head over that one! 🙂
Love the ooh la la covers. Steamy!
We all go through those moments. I try to forget them as quickly as possible, but I have written about some of them. My most recent was not backing up my files when my computer froze up.
LOL! I know you did, darling. I had palpitations just reading about how you lost a load of work on your PC. Nothing worse!
Well, despite the oops with the car keys, Christine, I’ll bet you ended the day smiling. Your new covers are simply gorgeous!
I did, Sheila! The covers are amazing. And the Vampyres - coming soon are awesome and very funny. 😉