Joely Sue Burkhart

One year H&R Block lost our entire return…

The first year we moved to MO and had MN taxes to file at the same time, I paid an accountant over $250 to file both state returns.  The MO return was wrong (despite hiring a MO accountant!!!), and I had to pay penalties…

Another year, the “fast tax” place on the corner filed our child tax credit wrong and I had to pay penalties…

And so I’ve been doing our taxes ever since using TurboTax.  I figure I can’t do much worse than these other places.  Right?  RIGHT?

I always change my mind about midway through and kick myself for not hiring someone else.  I persevered, though, and the 2007 taxes are done!  E-Filed!  And we don’t have to pay!  *whew*

My reward:  watching Gordon Ramsey puke on Hell’s Kitchen.  Priceless.

My very dear writing partner has her first Ellora’s Cave release out now:  The Emissary by Jenna Reynolds in the Ellora’s Cavemen, Jewels of the Nile I anthology.  Jenna builds an incredible world, blending Japanese culture into a futuristic setting that I really enjoyed.  And steam… *whew!!*  I haven’t read the rest of the stories in the anthology yet, but I highly recommend Jenna’s story!

Blurb:

In the far-distant future, Shina, a courtesan-in-training, is eagerly awaiting the ceremony whereby she will lose her virginity and become a full-fledged courtesan. But that ceremony may be delayed because the Hegemony has encountered its first alien race, the potentially hostile Kjartans.

The Kjartans send an Emissary to the Hegemony. Upon his arrival he requests the services of a courtesan. A virgin courtesan. Shina is chosen for the assignation. She will be the first human to have sex with an alien. Will she be able to please him? And, most importantly, just how inhuman will he prove to be?