Slave to Romance

Hot New Blog!

2009-09-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Coming Soon! I'm so excited about a new blog I am participating in. Naughty Author Chicks will roll out on October 2 with authors of sex, hot romance. Check out posts by Savannah Stuart, Jina Bacarr, Calista Fox and me. Stay tuned for news on our impending journey.

Packing up and Moving

2009-08-29T04:36:00.001-07:00

Catch me over at Romance Rules. I'll be spending most of my blog time over there from now on.

2009-08-01T03:37:00.000-07:00

Time draws near for our vacation -- a family reunion of sorts. We're heading north to the hills and forests of the Shenandoah National Park area to commune with nature and far flung relatives. As much as I'm looking forward to spending time with loved ones, I'm also a tad nervous. As a family with lots of strong (read: controlling) women, we do occasionally clash. Our poor menfolk stand idly by praying no blood will spill. Last time we were together, one of my sisters and I had a bit of a disagreement (think: Clash of the Titans). Yet we always move past that sort of thing. And let's face it -- there's no replacing family. So, I'm packing up ten times the amount of stuff we'll need and have even purchased a good pair of hiking boots so I can work off all that comfort food I say I'm not going to indulge in.
I'm not bringing a laptop or even a notepad. Since I write nearly every day, including weekends, I figure this is a good opportunity to really get away from it all, come home with a fresh perspective. Then maybe I will come home with fresh perspective and a host of new ideas. Okay, maybe just a notepad.

2009-07-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

So I was at the gym a few days ago, going through my usual routine, upper body that day. I often speed through a certain machine because although I work out nearly every day, I'm basically lazy. And it's so much easier to do all the reps if I do them fast. A man I see there all the time stops in front of me, shaking his head.

"What?" I ask.

"Slow it down," he advises.

"But it's too hard that way," I answer.

He gives me a solemn nod. "Bet your ass. But you're not getting what you could out of it. Won't do a damn thing for you unless it's challenging. And it'll only be challenging if you do it the right way, slowly."

Now, I know what he's saying is true. I've been at this for many years. But I forget that just going through the motions won't do me any good. My muscles have grown resistant. So I slow my pace. And the movements are tough. Really tough. And I can feel the burn. Now, I'm not wasting my time. Now I'm doing something.

Later that day I got to thinking how that truth in the gym also fits the craft of writing fiction. You can keep doing what's easy, never stretch those writing muscles. Or, you can grow and get better by putting in the time and the effort to learn, to better the craft. Falling into that comfortable rut is so tempting. But unless you push yourself, you're going nowhere.

2009-07-13T05:08:00.000-07:00

I am over at Cynthia Eden's Blog today. Come over and say hi.

Cynthia Eden is Here!

2009-07-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

I have a special guest today - Award winning paranormal romantic suspense author, Cynthia Eden. Cynthia has been racking up the awards and nominations all over the place lately!

Hi Cynthia and welcome to Slave To Romance. I’m a total fan girl so I’m really excited to have you here. I recently finished reading Midnight Sins, which is a finalist in the prestigious Daphne Awards, and I must say, I loved it. Cara, your heroine is a succubus, or sex demon and boy oh boy did she make for one hot heroine. And Todd, the hero was as Alpha as they come. Can you tell me about the other books in this series?

Hi, Dara! Thanks so much for interviewing me. J And I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed Midnight Sins.

There are 3 books in the Midnight trilogy. Hotter After Midnight is the first installment, and it focuses on Emily Drake, my “Monster Doctor” (she’s a psychologist who only treats paranormal patients) and Colin Gyth, a wolf-shifter detective. Midnight Sins is the second book, and I think of that one as Basic Instinct meets The X-Files. The last book (due to release on 6/30/09) is Midnight’s Master. The hero in Midnight’s Master is the powerful demon Niol, and he finds his match in a most unexpected heroine.

What are you working on now?

Right now, I am finished up a romantic suspense series for Grand Central. My editor is tentatively calling it my “Deadly” series. Next summer, the books will release in mass market form in June, July, and August (starting in June with Deadly Fear). These are very dark books, dark but sexy.

Did you always want to be a fiction writer? How old were you when you first started writing?

Always! Yes, even when I was a kid, I wanted to write. I wrote my first novel when I was 18. That book was SO not ready for publishers. After college and a few years of teaching, I settled back into writing and focused on my dream again. And I am very, very happy that I did.

I always write my longer stories with an outline, but I wing it with the shorter ones. What about you? Are you a pantser or a planner? Does the length of the story change how you approach it?

I’m a pantser and a planner. Sometimes, I’ll start a book with only the glimmer of a plot idea. I’ll write and just see where the story takes me. Other times, I’ll sit down and plot out the entire book before I type a single word. Just depends on the story. Although, with my novellas, I think I’ve been a panster on all of those. With the short length, it’s fun to see the twists that pop up!

Do you use a critique partner or group or are you a solo player?

I’m a solo gal, always have been. Some people work really well with crit partners or groups, but I only let my agent and editor comment on my work. Just a different strokes for different folks situation. Each writer just has to find the system that works best for her.

How do you juggle all your writerly responsibilities with your family responsibilities? Do you write on a set schedule or when you can?

I’m generally a very late night writer. I have a 3 year old, and he keeps my days pretty busy. As soon as he sleeps, I go to work. It’s quite normal for me to still be up after midnight because I set daily page goals (usually 10 pages a day) and if I’m on deadline, I won’t sleep until I meet the goals. Hmmm…that sounds more hardcore than it actually is! LOL.

You recently won the prestigious Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence in the paranormal category. Did you enter many contests before you were published? Do you think they are worthwhile?

I was thrilled to win the Gayle Wilson Award for the paranormal romance category—actually, I’m still excited about that. I did enter several contests before I was published, and I did think they were worthwhile. I was able to win a few of the contests and build my writing resume, and I was able to catch the attention of some of the judging editors. If you’re looking for feedback or want to build your writing resume, contests can be a good way to go.

Please dish about your road to publication.

Oh, it was a bumpy road! Okay, I wrote my first book (for the now defunct Silhouette Yours Truly line) when I was 18. Talk about a fast rejection! I dabbled with my writing during college, completing one YA story and a couple of romance partials. Then, real life got in the way. Yeah, I’m sure folks know what I mean. The day job. Marriage. Responsibilities. Then one day (as I was reading one of my beloved romance novels), I realized I’d almost let my dream slip away.

So I started carving out time to write. I entered contests—one of the big writing contests I entered was the Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. I was lucky enough to win first place in the feature article category and this win really rejuvenated me—it was validation that I *could* write. So I kept writing. I sold two paranormal romances to the small press, ImaJinn Books, and then I sold several novellas to Red Sage.

Armed with those writing credits, I decided it was time for me to attack New York. J So I wrote the novel that would eventually be titled Hotter After Midnight. I queried a few agents and found an agent match in Laura Bradford of the Bradford Literary Agency.

Since signing with Laura, I have contracted nine novels with Kensington Brava, three novellas with Kensington Brava, one novella with Avon Red, and three novels with Grand Central Publishing. Sometimes, I can’t believe it, but I finally attacked New York!

Are there any genres you’ve never written, but would like to try out someday?

I’d like to try everything. Well, okay, to narrow it down a bit, I’d like to try my hand at sci-fi/futuristic romances and horror. I’d also love to write a screenplay one day—a screenplay for one of the Sci-Fi Saturday night movies. I am such a horror movie fan!

Any advice for aspiring writers and/or newly published authors?

Yes, don’t give up your dream. Others may not support you, you may receive rejection letters that make you doubt yourself, but don’t give up. If you want to write, keep writing. Keep honing your craft and learning everything that you can about the industry and never, ever give up.

Thanks for interviewing me, Dara!!

A New Contract

2009-07-02T04:40:00.000-07:00

For two months I struggled with a novella. It changed and morphed and stretched and shrunk. But now it's done. And it's under contract - my second with Red Sage. I love this story. Set in Savannah, it's waaaayyyyy hotter than anything I've put out before. It is the story of a divorced couple who are both chefs competing for a job. My hero is deeply flawed and was so real to me that I thought about him nearly every day. I'm hoping it will be released later this year. So be watching for Can't Stand the Heat.

I find my writing is evolving lately to the hotter side of things. The two short stories I'm currently working on are scorching, but my CP tells me they're just what the publisher I am targeting is looking for. Since I'm temporarily taking a break from writing full-length novels, I plan to crank out a lot of these short, hot escapist stories. I find alternating the type and length of stories I write keeps it fresh for me. What do you think?

On Fathers

2009-06-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

On the hundredth anniversary of Father's Day, I want to wish all the dads out there my best on their special day. I've been so fortunate to have both a truly wonderful father and a husband who is an awesome dad to our children as well.

My father is the smartest man I know. When I was growing up I would roll my eyes every time I saw him reading the encyclopedia for fun, or when he'd spout off some historical fact hardly anyone knew. But he isn't just intelligent, he's also kind and honorable. Everyone who knows him knows this about him. My son has inherited so many of his traits. How lucky is that?

My husband is what a friend's guy referred to as a "man's man." Yeah, I've got to say, I've based more than one of my fictional heroes on him. Now, he's not perfect. We often joke that he's a "work in progress." He still does things like leave peanut butter fingerprints on the cabinet, but when it comes to the big stuff, he's pretty terrific.

So today is a really special day for me. Although it's fathers who should be celebrating, I get to reap the benefits of their awesomeness!

Political Voyeurism

2009-06-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

I can't help it. I'm glued to the TV, switching between channels to catch the latest installment of a captivating reality show. Only it's not about some spoiled celebrity or a family with a gazillion kids, it's the gripping struggle of the Iranian people to make their voices heard. As the violence escalates and the stakes grow ever higher, we get up to the minute reports from ... where? Twitter, of all places. I search #IranElection and the updates are coming so fast -- up to 50 every few seconds -- and I realize we live in a changed world.
Over the last few years we've morphed into the soundbyte generation. That byte was just pared down to 140 characters. I wonder where those soundbytes will take them. I hope, to the freedom everyone deserves.

Coming in July!

2009-06-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Summer Lovin' Young Adult short story collection is released in print July 10. Stay tuned for a contest to win your own copy!

Award winning paranormal and romantic suspense author Cynthia Eden drops by for an interview!

Romance Divas Workshop

2009-06-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

Please hop over to Romance Divas and check out my workshop on The Ins and Outs of E-Publishing. Mention something you read in Part 1, 2 or 3 in the comments here and I will enter your name in a drawing for a download of any of my e-books. Your choice!

New Time Suckers

2009-06-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

I've been diligently trying to stick to a writing schedule for the last few weeks, and for the most part, I've done a good job. Until this week. Suddenly I have doctor appointments and medical tests galore! Nothing earth-shattering, just things that will require some time draining intervention. It seems like when I have an appointment, it burns up a big chunk of my day and I have to forgo part of my daily word count.

In addition, DD is out of school, not yet gone to camp. So she's begging for rides to the mall, to her friends' homes and the like. But there's light at the end of that tunnel - she leaves for camp for a week on Sunday!

We've been having problems with our router lately. Until our tech support (aka DH's best friend) returns from a business trip to fix it, we only have Internet on one computer, not mine. The silver lining there is that one particular time sucker is a little further removed. I have to get up from my desk and go to DH's to check email. I find that alone has boosted my word count! Problem is, I'm writing a story that requires lots of research, so every time I hit a wall, I have to get up and hope no one else is using that computer.

So what about you? What drains your time more than anything?

In Praise of Editors

2009-06-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

I've been working all week on revisions for my next erotic romance novella. This story required a lot of reorganization to make it more of an arc, rather than leaning to the episodic side. This is something my very talented editor, Alicia Rasley caught. She also asked me to change a few other details that when finished, really made the manuscript shine. I love working with such a talented editor. Aside from making my work better, I learn so much. Alicia is no ordinary editor, though. She's a teacher and a talented writer herself. If you've never heard her speak, pick up her book, The Power of Point of View.

Aside from Alicia, I had one editor at another publisher who really made me work! And my books were better for her suggestions. She didn't sugar-coat anything. In fact, when one of my characters had a reaction the editor didn't buy, her comment was bullsh#*&! Conversely, when she loved something, she told me so, and that was like the gods were smiling on me!

I've also had the misfortune to work with a very novice editor who had hardly any changes at all on a 300 page manuscript, and those were mostly line edits only. Needless to say, I'm not terribly proud of that book. In fact, I'd kind of like to forget it! But even my experience with that editor taught me something - it taught me when to cut bait!

I can honestly say that each and every book and story I've written and revised has been a learning experience and hopefully, I'm getting better with each book. What about you? Do you always follow editorial suggestions? Do you buck all suggestions, take it all to heart or something in between?

Kidnap this Logo and You Could Win!

2009-05-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

To celebrate its Fifteenth Anniversary in June, Red Sage is throwing a party! Every party needs presents, and here’s a gift that could win you the July Secrets anthology and Calista Fox’s new novel, Object of Desire!Here’s how to play the party game.Anyone can play! All you have to do is “kidnap” this logo and post it on your blog or website.

Copy and paste the jpg image of the anniversary gift to your own blog or website to kidnap it. Be sure to include these instructions so people know how to play!

Invite your readers and friends to send an email with the subject line “Ransom Note” to eRedSage@gmail.com. Inside this email, they must include a link back to your kidnapped logo.

Then you and your friend will both be entered into a drawing to win free trade paperbacks! Every time one of your readers sends a ransom note with a link, you will be entered again! Each Ransom Note is worth two entries in the drawing -- one for the person who sends the Ransom Note, and one for the linked blog or website. And you both can win!Want more chances to win? Invite your readers and friends to kidnap this logo, and then you can enter again by sending a Ransom Note linking to your friend’s blog or website!

The more times you enter, the more chances you have to win! But get your entries in by June 30. We'll be drawing the winners on July 1!Group blog or website? No problem! Just be sure to sign your post so we know who the winner should be!Good luck, and have fun!

Terms of Endearment

2009-05-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading a book that was a little on the disappointing side. I'd heard so many great things about the author's writing, so I was surprised. Basically, the book was a string of very long, involved sex scenes with a little plot, a little intrigue thrown in to break up the erotic stuff. But one thing that got me thinking was the pet name the hero used for the heroine - "Sweet." It didn't feel natural, and every time I read it, it pulled me out of the story.
I starting checking my books, my works in progress for the pet names my characters called one another. Imagine my surprise when I found I'd only used three! Apparently, my favorite terms of endearment are, "Honey," "Baby" and "Darlin'." My alpha heroes throw in an occasional "Woman," but only when they're bemoaning some annoying facet of the heroine's personality.
Next I started checking my collection of romance books, which is quite extensive. I randomly looked in twelve books and guess what -- those books used my favorite three terms as well, although one added "Sweetheart" to the mix. Now I don't feel so bad!
Each of these words elicits a slightly different reaction from me. Baby is more sexual than the others, while Honey speaks of emotional commitment. Darlin' sounds like a western hero's line and Woman, well, that one always gives me a little zing of excitement! (TMI, I know!)
I remember in my high school French class, our native of France teacher told the class of one particularly amusing French term -- Mon petite chou chou. (Excuse me if I spelled any of that wrong, it's been many years since HS French!) Literally translated, this means, My little cabbage. Strange, huh?
What about you? Do you have any unusual terms of endearment either for your significant other or that you use in writing?

My First YA Anthology

2009-05-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

Today is release day for Summer Lovin' Anthology in ebook format, which will release in print on July 10.

SUMMER LOVIN’ is a collection of love stories by six Climbing Rose authors about life on a ranch, summer jobs, sandcastle competitions, the tragedy of a flood, and falling in love with a rock star. From a rich Southern country club to a Midwest ranch and all the way to the cool beaches of the Pacific Northwest, this sweet collection of summer love stories revels in the magic of first love. You’ll enjoy stories by:
Dara Edmondson, Laurie J. Edwards, Mona Ingram, Kimberlee R. Mendoza, Sydney Shay, and June Sproat
Get ready for some Summer Lovin’.
WIN A FREE COPY! from Laurie Edwards:

Anyone who comments at her blog http://lje1.wordpress.com/ or friends her on MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter from now until May 31 will have their name entered to win a copy of Summer Lovin’. Winner will be announced at noon on June 1, so stop back to see if you've won.
Laurie J. Edwards
http://lje1.wordpress.com/

http://www.myspace.com/lauriejedwards

Happy or Sad?

2009-05-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

My novels are kind of like my children. Can't say which I like more. They're different and each has its own special qualities. At a recent book signing, a reader was reading the blurbs and asked, "Which one will make me cry? I love a good tear-jerker." Well, the answer was simple - The Kitten Club. I even cried every time I edited one particular scene and that is the book that gets me more fan mail than any other.
So, I started asking readers when they approached me - "Do you want to laugh or cry?" You see, Compromising Positions is pretty funny. My third book, Falling Star is somewhere in the middle. You want sexy? That would be my Red Sage novella, Captured. But this got me thinking about what I like to get out of a read.
My favorite books are those that make me laugh, but also touch me deeply. I've been reading books I collected at RT for the past couple weeks. So far, I've finished Lora Leigh's Maverick, which was very sexy, although it didn't make me cry or laugh. Then I read a craft book, Angela Knight's Passionate Ink, which was very worthwhile. I'm now a couple chapters into Cynthia Eden's Midnight Sins, a paranormal, which so far is very suspenseful and well written. Next I will delve into some of the Red Sage Secrets Anthologies, hundreds of which publisher Alexandria Kendall so graciously gave out at RT.
So what about you? Do you stay in a particular reading rut or do you venture out there into different genres? What good books have you read lately?

2009-05-15T07:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my fab crit partner, Katie Reus on the release of Dangerous Deceptions from Ellora's Cave. I've read this one and it's loaded with suspense as well as some scorching sex scenes. Check it out!

Blurb
Two years ago, Sage Miller’s life changed irrevocably with one violent act. Longing for anonymity, she relocated to the coast of North Carolina. Just when her life is settling down, a sexy man from her past shows up and wants to pick up where their explosive relationship left off. And this time, he’s the one calling the shots.

Trent Takoda spent a week with the most intense woman he’d ever met—before she disappeared in the dead of night. Now that he’s found her again, he’s not letting go. When a vicious stalker with ties to her past tracks her down, all bets are off. She belongs to him and it’s about damn time she realized it.

2009-05-10T04:09:00.000-07:00

For all you mothers and mothers-to-be out there, enjoy this day and try not to do the stuff you don't want to - at least for today. I'm allowing myself a few extra indulgences since it's also my birthday - something that happens every 4 or 5 years. It kind of sucks to have to spend time with the in-laws on my birthday, but such is life. Maybe DH and the kids will make me feel extra-special today. Honestly, DH treats me like a queen every day of the year. (Yeah - I have an awesome guy).
Yesterday was a great day. I participated in a book signing and sold lots of books. I even got a really sweet note from one of the other signers, my former mentee. After, we went out to a fabulous Greek restaurant with DH and one of my closest friends. Then late night red velvet cake with DH and the kids.
Here's a shout out to my mother, who didn't give birth to me, but has always loved me as her own. I love you, Mom.

Release Day

2009-05-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

My first Red Sage EBook was released today and I'm really excited. Red Sage is a terrific company that I'm so glad to be a part of. I'm offering a gift certificate to Fictionwise for one lucky winner who can answer the contest questions on my website. I'll draw a name on Thursday, May 8. Until then, here's a little about Captured:

When Audrey Brookstone meets a handsome foreigner at a Broadway show, she's instantly taken with his good looks and charming demeanor. After an evening of passion in his limousine, he whisks away to be his courtesan in Cazbekistan, where he is a crown prince. Prince Milo agrees not to force himself on her, but rather to make her fall in love with him in only eight weeks, or he must set her free with a king's ransom. Can Audrey resist his charms or will she give in to his lavish seduction?

RT Wrap Up

2009-04-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Monday and I'm having RT withdrawal. The conference was so informative and so much fun. Great conferences always send me home with renewed enthusiasm for writing, all sorts of new ideas and ways to improve my works in progress.
I enjoyed the book signing, especially because I was seated between Barry Eisler, who drew a big crowd, and Cynthia Eden, who also was a draw and is such a sweet person. I bought one of her books and can't wait to read it. Speaking of books, I came home with about a dozen of them - most of which were free. I'm halfway through Angela Knight's Passionate Ink, a craft book for penning erotic romance. If you've ever read anything by Angela, you'll be blown away by her sex scenes, as well as her amazing prose.
The pictures above are courtesy of Nancy J. Cohen. Top one is from the Book Fair and the bottom was taken at lunch on Wednesday. From left: Roxanne St. Claire, me, Nancy J. Cohen, Allison Chase and Karen Kendall.

What about you? Were you at RT this year? If not, what was your favorite conference?

More Fun at RT

2009-04-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well, the week is winding down at the convention. Tomorrow is the Giant Book Fair, which I'm looking forward to (11 am to 2 pm at the Wyndham on International Drive and Sandlake Road in Orlando). Yesterday I pitched to a story to a publisher and two others to agents. Red Sage hosted a poolside afternoon party featuring free books, a tropical theme and the Mr. Romance contestants - yummy! I attended a couple workshops, one a panel discussion on YA romance with 6 up and coming YA authors. All I have to say is, I'm now convinced I'm too old to write YA. Most of these women were in their twenties and obviously very bright and tuned in to the whole teen experience. Hasn't been that long for them!
Today I attended a couple publisher spotlights, an agent panel and an editor panel - very interesting stuff. Here's a few snippets from the editor's event:

Romance genres doing well: Dark paranormals and sweet, family sagas. All publishers say they are still buying from new authors. Dorchester is looking for cross-genre romance; Tor is searching for urban fantasy and YA; Samhain wants all romance genres except YA, women's fiction and ChickLit; St. Martin's, Harlequin, Grand Central, Sourcebooks, Red Sage and Avon are open to all genres.

I am posting some pictures of friends. From the top they are 1. Two sweet ladies I met at the convention, Michelle and Christina 2. Author Karen Kendall 3. Author Allison Chase 4. Authors Terry Odell and Nancy J. Cohen 5. Author Cynthia Eden and Liquid Silver Publisher Tina Burns

Great Day at RT Convention

2009-04-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

Wow - what a long, busy, fun day today! I started out by volunteering at the registration desk for an hour. Then a great panel discussion on combining suspense with romance with speakers Lucienne Diver, Gennita Low, Roxanne St. Claire and Cindy Dees. After, a few minutes outside speaking with Lucienne, who is very nice, very helpful.
Next had lunch with Roxanne (Rocki), Karen Kendall, Allison Chase and Nancy J. Cohen. Good conversation. It was nice to visit with these ladies, whom I haven't chatted with in a while. After, bounced pitch off Rocki.
Next I went to another panel discussion featuring several erotica authors, including the amazing Angela Knight. Angela gave out some free books and I scored one - yeah! She autographed her book on writing erotic romance, Passionate Ink for me. Can't wait to break into it! After one more workshop, I met up with several authors, including Karen Kendall, Nancy J. Cohen and Allison Chase for an overpriced drink at the pool bar, which was so far from the main hotel I felt like leaving a trail of bread crumbs as we walked;-) After returning to the lobby, I ran into friends Leeann Burroughs, Traci Hall, Aleka Nakis and Eileen Ann Brennan.
The publisher of Red Sage Publishing then took a group of her authors out for a sumptuous dinner. Sat with Angela Knight, Liane Gentry Skye and Alexandria Kendall (publisher) as well as Brenda Williamson, Cynthia Eden and others. Awesome dinner, even better conversation - stayed several hours. Alexandria picked up entire tab. What a fun, generous lady - love her. I love being associated with Red Sage. She also could be the long lost twin of one of my oldest friends, Beverly Kelber - weird.
Got home about 10:00 pm and thought I was exhausted, although DH says I was totally wired. Guess he was right since it's 2:30 in the morning and I can't sleep! Another long day tomorrow - hope I get some sleep.

Romantic Times Convention Tracker

2009-04-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the official opening of the Romantic Times Convention here in Orlando, but I spent today volunteering. I stuffed goody bags, registered people and met some very nice folks. A bonus for me - I learned the lay of the land at the sprawling hotel. I also learned parking spots are few and usually hell and gone from where I want to be. Those familiar with Orlando many years ago recognize the new Wyndham Hotel as the former Marriott Hotel. I had a friend who worked at the Marriott many many moons ago and low and behold - parking spots were few and far between way back then. Apparently when they remodeled the place, they forgot that minor issue. Saturday, April 25 is the Giant Book Fair with Mr. Romance models roaming the floor and hundreds of authors signing their books. The event runs from 11 - 2. Come by and say hi!

And the Winner is...

2009-04-09T04:17:00.000-07:00

I've drawn a name to win the book ... Drum roll, please. Okay - it's Julie Robinson. Please email me, Julie at ddedmon88 @ yahoo and I'll get the book out to you. Thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday's post. Have a great day!

Addicted to Email

2009-04-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

Is there a recovery group for those of us hooked on email? A twelve-step program for the electronically dependent? I know there's a chatroom somewhere or a Yahoo group where a bunch of people with similar issues are waiting for me to step up to the virtual podium and admit I have a problem.

I'm comforted in knowing I won't be arrested if I get caught. Nor will my marriage fall apart if DH finds out, although I suspect he knows since I always check the computer within half an hour of waking. But I have experienced withdrawal symptoms. We were on vacation last year, staying at friend's beachfront condo and I started growing antsy. My palms got sweaty and my heart pounded -- until I noticed the friend's laptop. I allowed myself a fix. Then another. I'd been incommunicado for two days and I had more than 300 emails. Yikes - it was like an electronic feeding frenzy!

Normally, email is my reward for reaching a certain percentage of my daily writing goal. So what's the harm? Well, I've noticed I now avoid phone conversations. Email is so much faster and easier. What it comes down to for me is control. It can be tough to control how long someone keeps me on the phone, but I can read their email when I feel like it.

So what about you? Are you an email junkie?

Too Much on the Brain

2009-03-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

I'm trying really hard to finish my current WIP. I have another 20k words to go, but my concentration has been off lately, so it's been a challenge. On the positive side, a looming health issue for DH panned out well. He's fine - nuff said. Now that the health issue is resolved, there's DD's 15 year old attitude to cope with, not an easy task. I'm particularly worried now with the budget shortfall in Florida. Her school plans to cut a whopping 50 teachers next year - that's out of 200. Yes - they will be forced to lay off a quarter of their teachers! I've been writing letters to every politician I can, but I'm not hopeful. Her friends are mostly planning to bail from the public school system and go the private route, but that just isn't a viable option for us. For the life of me, I don't understand why our idiotic state legislators refuse to pass a higher tax on cigarettes and bottled water. I'd even go for the dreaded hike in the sales tax. Since this state relies on tourist tax dollars and tourism is down, we're severely short. I know some of my neighbors would shoot me for even suggesting this, but I'd even be okay with a state income tax, although I doubt it will ever happen.
Kids are our future and if we don't educate them properly, they will be dropouts. What do dropouts do? Many of them commit crimes and end up in our jails and prisons. Some others become burdens on the systems, adding to the social services rolls. What it comes down to is pay now, or pay later. Do we want our kids to reap the benefits of a good education and become productive members of society or do we want them to choke the life out of the future?

2009-03-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to the writers at Red Sage Revealed for a Premio Dardas Award! This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day.
The rules to follow are:
1) Accept the award, then post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to another 15(or however many you deem worthy) blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.The winners of our Premio Dardas ceremony, in no particular order, are:

Katie Reus for her blog about her journey as a writer.

Terry Odell for her blog, Terry's Place, where she showcases lessons on craft as
well as police procedure.

Bluechocolate Diaries where writer Chudney DeFreitas-Thomas discusses her
personal and writing life while chastising herself for not doing it more often;-)

Jax's Artistic Journey, author Jax Cassidy's informative blog about the many hats she wears.

Jenna's Romantic Notions for author Jenna Bayley-Burke announcements of contests, events and anything else to do with writing romance.

Writers Gone Wild where 3 romance authors hold contests and give great info to other authors and aspiring writers.

Americana

2009-03-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

I interrupt this blog to share a couple moments of pure fun. My daughter and her friend love the rope swing near our house. They were having such a good time, I decided to capture it. As we walked the short distance home, we watched the space shuttle cross the sky with the backdrop a beautiful sunset. Sometimes, I love living in Florida, other times I don't. Can you guess which kind of day it was today?

Barbie's Office

2009-03-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

I spent two days last week painting my office. I did it all myself, from moving most of the furniture (with a little help from DH) to set up, clean up, everything. Gone is the dingy sage green so past its prime. I picked out a lovely shade of dusty rose that looked absolutely perfect on the chip. Well, let me tell you - it's worth investing in those $3.99 sample bottles of paint. Rather than dusty rose, the paint dried to a cotton candy pink that would make a lovely color for clothing. (I love pink and actually have jeans, a jacket and many shirts this color). But it's not what I'd envisioned for my office. What it is, however, is clean and fresh. And it looks great with my green accessories.

So, what do you think? I will say, that part of my Barbie collection does seem very much at home now - more than before, particularly Wedgewood Barbie, my fave. Now - will it help the creative process? I'll get back to you on that.

Tweet Tweet

2009-03-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I jumped on the bandwagon. I joined Twitter to see what all the fuss is about. But honestly, I'm still not sure. It's hard to figure out what people are responding to when they post things sometimes and I'm not totally sure if it's a good networking tool or yet another site to waste large chunks of time. I'll let you know when I figure it out. Hint: I've spent like an hour and a half of my writing time finding people I know and reading posts.
However, I did get in my word count goal today, which is more than I can say for the last couple of weeks. My folks just left after their yearly snowbird stay of 6 weeks. I didn't write as much as I should have during their visit, but I got in loads of daughter points;-)
In other news, Girl Scout cookie season is over - thank goodness! Between the parental visit (AKA food fest) and GS cookie hell, I gained like 5 pounds!! I'm off to the gym tomorrow morning for a double time workout, rather than my usual one.
So what's new in your world? Are you twittering yet?

Weathering the Storm

2009-02-19T05:36:00.000-08:00

So we all know the economy sucks, right? The most frightening part is that even the supposed financial experts are clueless as to what exactly will fix the problems and how long it will take. Just like everyone else, those of us who write books have to adjust our plans in order to weather the storm. I've been trying to set up book signings for my RWA chapter, but stores are pulling back, laying off their community relations people and tapping employees with no experience to coordinate events. In many cases, the stores won't even commit to hold a signing. So now is the time to think outside the box. Offer to speak at a women's group then sign some of your books. Send out a few more books to reviewers and local newspapers and magazines. Participate in charitable events to get your name out there (and to get your feel-good on).
What about you? What are you doing to make it through the lean times?

Letting the Muse Have Her Way

2009-01-30T12:05:00.000-08:00

I was all set last week to begin writing this YA paranormal that's been cooking in my mind for the past year. I plotted, I outlined, I drew out character sketches and GMC charts. Then DH threw me a curve ball -- he came home from work and told me about a situation there he's been dealing with. His tale was just too juicy, held too many possibilities for me to not use it in a book. So, I started developing that idea with every intention of setting it aside until after the YA manuscript was finished.
Enter my CP. When we met last week to do some plotting work, I told her about DH's story and how it was gnawing at me.
"Write it," she advised. Plus, she was really excited about the idea and said she loved the premise. Since CP writes RS and this new book would be RS, I decided to take her advice. Now I'm about 10,000 words into it and so far, so good.
So, I shelved the YA book, for now. I just sent CP the first chapter and can't wait to find out what she thinks of it!
What about you? Do you sometimes derail a project when another idea won't leave you alone?

Must See Movies

2009-01-20T05:25:00.000-08:00

I've only seen a few Indian movies, but Slumdog Millionaire is one I won't soon forget. This impressive film features everything from adventure to a love story to deeply disturbing violence. The story of two brothers from the slums of Mumbai is both tragic and uplifting. With masterful cinematography, a great story and talented young actors, this movie won't disappoint.
Another worthwhile offering is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's an unusual story that takes all sorts of unexpected twists and turns. As a writer, I was really impressed with the intricacies of the plot and the use of omniscient point of view in parts of it.

It's unusual lately to find two great movies in theaters at the same time, so take advantage - have a movie date - or two.

The Waiting Game

2009-01-13T07:19:00.000-08:00

I know I've said this before, but the patience required of a writer is nothing less than cruel and unusual punishment! I currently have a couple submissions under consideration from publishers and the long wait for acceptance (or rejection) is brutal. Sometimes I'm lucky and get a quick response. I love those fast responders! Efficiency is near and dear to my heart and I simply can't stand when my submissions are mishandled, as one recently was by a certain large erotic e-publisher who shall remain nameless. Needless to say, I'll never send them another thing.

Speaking of time, I got the coolest calendar from a friend. It's called Porn for Women and features half-naked men doing housework. Now that's my kind of erotica!

In With The New

2008-12-31T19:07:00.000-08:00

2008 has been quite a roller coaster year for most of us. Be it the economy, the price of gasoline or the political merry-go-round of the election, the past twelve months have been anything but uneventful.
On a personal note, I've been fortunate enough to have two books released and signed two more contracts. I've watched my kids continue to mature and become better citizens of the earth. I've gained several friends, grown closer to one I made a couple years ago and sadly, lost a dear friend of more than twenty years. I finished a two-year run as president of my RWA chapter that taught me more than I'd ever have imagined.
2009 will hopefully bring some wonderful things to us all. I hope the state of the economy will improve and eventually recover. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed for a dear friend with a secret. I pray her tiny wish comes to fruition. I have lots more requests, way more than I care to share. But I wish you all the best year ever.
What about you? What's on your list?

Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas

2008-12-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

I keep hearing that people are sick and tired of not being able to say "Merry Christmas" to strangers because it is sometimes politically incorrect. They say they refuse to wish people "Happy Holidays" just because it's more inclusive. This year, I'm hearing more and more Christmas wishes. Yes - it's the old backlash against politically correct.
But you know what? It irritates many of us to be told we should enjoy a holiday we don't celebrate. I'm much more comfortable with the generic "Happy Holidays." Sorry if that offends anyone, but why do people assume the customers they wait on or the workers that help them are Christian? Isn't that prejudice?
Now I have no problem with someone you know wishing you the best whatever holiday you celebrate - that's appropriate. But if you don't know me, please don't make assumptions about me.
Okay - I'll step off my soap box and wish everyone the best of holidays. May your cup runneth over, may your load be light and may your journey be safe.

Carving Out Time

2008-12-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

We're in the midst of the holiday hoopla and life is busier than ever with gift buying, party going, baking and wrapping. Finding time for writing isn't always easy, but I've cut myself a little slack. You see, last year I used the holidays as an excuse to take a little vacation from writing and that threw me out of my routine - a bad, bad thing. So this year, I'm allowing myself to take one day - occasionally two - in a row off from writing. That way I don't feel guilty for slacking off sometimes and snowballing into a several week period of no work. And so far, it's worked for me. Most of the year I try to write or edit at least a little every day, hopefully, a lot every day!
What about you? Do you stick to your usual word count goals during the holidays or do you take a breather?

Dedications

2008-11-29T15:18:00.000-08:00

I just signed a contract for a novella in a YA anthology due out next summer. Every contract I sign is accompanied by an author info sheet with a cover request, the blurb, an excerpt, etc. The one part that always takes me the longest is the dedication. There are always so many people I want to recognize - from critique partners to loved ones to favorite college or high school teachers.
The dedication is one of the most important sections of the book--at least it is for me--because it is a window into the author's personal life. Writers easily hide behind their characters and plots, allowing their readers to see only a carefully orchestrated creation. I always read the dedication in books because it is that tiny crack into who the author really is and frankly, I'm a voyeur by nature. I love peeking behind the curtain to see the actors not playing roles. Of course, I love the play as well. But glimpsing something of the real person gives me a sense of behind-the-scenes knowledge.
A friend told me recently she rarely reads the dedication unless she knows the author personally. I found this unconscionable! How could she skip past such a vital piece of information? She said she doesn't want to know too much about the author. It might cloud her perception of the story. What???
So now I'm curious. Do you always read the dedication? Or are there others out there like my friend? Do tell...

2008-11-19T10:52:00.001-08:00

I've been looking at the bookstore and Internet book sites' holiday offerings lately, wondering if these seasonally targeted stories are worth writing. I mean, they sell mostly in November and December, but then what? I'd like a book to have appeal all year long, not only during the holidays.
Now, I've written one holiday themed story, Cinderella Tannenbaum, which deals with a woman in need of a date for family gatherings so she searches SchoolChums.com for her High School crush. However, this is a short story, not a full length novel. I put a few weeks of my time into it, rather than several months. When I looked up my sales figures recently, I noticed this story is my number one seller. It was also an ECataRomance Reviewers' Choice Award nominee the year it was released.

So for me - yes - it was worth it to write a seasonal story.
So what do you think? Do you buy holiday themed romances? Do you write them?

Goodbye to a Friend

2008-11-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

I found out I lost a friend today. I've run out of tears and my eyes are swollen and red. But this isn't about me. Rather than dwell on the loss, I want to share what a terrific person she was. I've known her for more than twenty years. We met on a professional level (she patronized a business I used to own), but we considered each other friends. Up until a week ago, we spent a couple hours together about once a month.
Like me, she was the youngest of three sisters. Her faith was more important to her than nearly anything and late in life, she found her soul mate at church. They married a decade ago and she'd been very happy with him. Her cats were like children to her and she brought them when she traveled. A lawyer and mediator, she never failed to offer me her expert advice free of charge. In fact, she drew up a will for me many years ago and refused to accept a dime for the work. She served on the board of a local charity recently and even worked on the staff of US Senator Lawton Chiles in her younger days.
We exchanged birthday and Christmas gifts each year and hers were always more than generous and well thought out. She gave me so much of my favorite jewelry and the packages coordinated with the gift. Her clothes and accessories (down to the color of her umbrella) were always perfectly matched. But more than anything else, I will forever cherish the time we shared, the world problems we solved between us and the warmth of her smile.
Roemy -- I'll miss you always.

A New Era

2008-11-05T03:45:00.001-08:00

Regardless of who you voted for or what you think of our new President-Elect, you have to be in awe of the change this country has undergone in the last fifty years. As I watched shots of the crowd in Chicago last night, I couldn't help getting choked up when I saw the tear-stained faces of people who had lived through the civil rights era, probably witnessed race riots in the sixties, all sorts of injustices and atrocities. Those same people, in less than half a century, welcome our first black president.
I'm completely energized by the level of participation, especially by young voters. According to CNN, voter turnout was the highest since women won the right to vote! Even though ridiculously long lines prevailed, people waited to be part of the process, to have a voice.
This was my nineteen-year-old son's first opportunity to vote in a presidential election and I'm so glad he did and also saw his friends participate as well. After all, they are the future, a future they will help shape.

An Apple for the Teacher

2008-10-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

First of all - I've been a bad blogger! Sorry I've been absent, but I'm trying to complete a YA novella on a deadline and have a big book signing project I'm working on as well.

But here's my real purpose in this post -- Teachers. Underpaid, overworked, we all expect them to work miracles on a daily basis. DD is struggling with her first high school math class. She refuses to ask questions during class - hence, she's falling behind. Now, DS, a college student, is a regular math wiz, but isn't home quite enough to act as a tutor. So, at his job one day, he runs into one of his former HS math teachers, and shares his sister's dilemma. Said teacher, Miss B, works at DD's school. She immediately offers her assistance, explaining that she arrives at school an hour before the start of classes and would be happy to help DD in that time. DD is thrilled and takes her up the offer. It's only been a few days, but DD already seems more confident in her math ability.

Thank goodness for teachers like Miss B.

Now I have several friends who are teachers and principals and I can tell which ones are more like Miss B, willing to help and there because they have noble ideas about education and the future of our kids. I wish you earned your true worth - way more than you're currently paid. So, thanks to all the teachers who care. You know who you are and so do the rest of us.

Dedicated to JB, MLW & MO

Passing of a Legend

2008-09-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'm so sad that Paul Newman is no longer with us. He was always one of my favorite actors and at the very top of my list of favorite celebrities.
He used his celebrity to set a great example for others. This handsome, talented man did what so few mega-rich Hollywood actors do - he set up charities, he dared to have a political voice and he stayed married to the same woman for half a century. As a philanthropist, he helped raise more than $200 million for various causes.
When I see celebs and company execs buying more and more for themselves, outdoing one another and living in the lap of ostentatious luxury, I cringe. They could all learn a lot from the example set by Paul Newman.

A Monster is Eating my Dining Room

2008-09-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

Every November, my RWA chapter, Central Florida Romance Writers hosts a huge multi-author signing at a local mall to benefit the Adult Literacy League. Usually we have more than 20 Romance Authors from the state and the Romancing the Holidays signing draws some media attention and hundreds of readers. For the last two years, I've been one of the organizers of this endeavor, as well as a signer.
This year, I've added to my duties by taking on the task of putting together the amazing goody bags we give out to the first 75 customers at the event. These are the most amazing goody bags ever and usually have at least 3 autographed books, hundreds of bookmarks, pens and other promo items inside. Now, assembling the bags is an almost overwhelming task that requires half a dozen volunteers working for several hours. Before the bag stuffing day, though, these books and promo items arrive in my mailbox (or more often at my door since my mailman can't fit all the boxes and packages in the mailbox) for months leading up to the signing. From there, I move them into my dining room since that's where we assemble the bags. With the bag stuffing party weeks away now, my dining room had now become more boxes of stuff than furniture. The corner where I stash the items has grown into half the room and I now realize, the room's been eaten by this tremendous promo monster.
Not that I'm complaining. I'm glad to help other authors promote their work and even more thrilled for all the donated books. So, if you happen to have any extras of your books sitting around gathering dust, why not ship them over to me where they will be put to good use. While you're at it, throw in a bunch of bookmarks, magnets or pens singing your books' praises! If you have anything you'd like to send, please leave me your email addy in the comments or you can email me from my website.

MeMe from H#ll!

2008-09-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is all Katie's fault. So here it is: The world's longest Meme. For those I tag, you must add a question.
1. What is your occupation? Romance Author and House Frau

2. What color are your socks right now? Don't wear them

3. What are you listening to right now? Disturbia (Rihanna - by way of DD's computer in the next room!)

4. What was the last thing that you ate? sugar free jello with cool whip

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Nope

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My sister, Ruth

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Of course

9. Favorite drink? Cosmo

10. What is your favorite sport to watch? Gymnastics

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Oy - yes. Won't do it again until I see a few grays

12. Pets? 2 cats that I love dearly

13. Favorite food? ice cream

14. Last movie you watched? Young at Heart (Documentary - highly recommend)

15. Favorite Day of the year? Have to say my birthday

16. What do you do to vent anger? Yell - yikes - I'm telling all my well-guarded secrets!

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies

18. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Spring

19. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

20. What kind of pie? Pumpkin

21. Living arrangements? A house

22. When was the last time you cried? Um - during my last (and every) period - no reason, just felt like the thing to do.

23. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, a plastic tote full of gifts for future use

24. Favorite smell? baby powder

25. What inspires you? news stories, movies

26. What are you afraid of? flying

27. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese

28. Favorite car? Jag

29. Favorite cat breed? Ragdoll

30. Number of keys on your key ring? 2

31. How many years at your current job? 3 1/2 since I actually held one

32. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

33. How many states/provinces have you lived in? Two

34. How many countries have you been to? 14

35. How much do you love "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by ABBA? I like it - don't love it.

36. The name of the first person you kissed (romantically)? Jay (better known as Terror - don't ask)

37. Are you the oldest child, youngest child, middle or only? Youngest

38. What is your favorite TV series currently still on? Mad Men

39. What is your favorite book right now? Patty Jane's House of Hair by Lorna Landvik

40. How many children do you have? 2

I tag: Macy and Mimi

Funeral for a Friend

2008-09-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about a person, but DD's beloved cockatiel, Terri. She found Terri outside about 4 years ago, a recent escape from somewhere nearby, we were sure. DH came to the rescue and ushered the frightened bird into a box and brought her inside.

Problem: We already had a (very aggressive) cat. So, Terri became DD's personal pet and was given a large cage in DD's bedroom, from which the cat was forever banished. Eventually, we let DD get a companion bird and all was great. Until last night when poor DD went into her room and found Terri stiff on the floor of the cage. The tears seemed to go on forever. And you know if you are a mom, that rips your heart out, even though it's a natural part of having pets. I put myself in her shoes and thought about my dear kitty. I think I'll cry for weeks when she goes.

So, this afternoon, we will have a funeral after school for Terri. DH is researching Bird Funerals on Google so he has a jumping off point, so to speak.

Some of these life lessons sting more than others. Think I may have to break the diet and have a good, stiff drink prior to the ceremony!

I Love Routine

2008-08-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sounds awfully boring, doesn't it? But my kids have gone back to school and the days have again taken on a regular routine. The good news is, with them out of the house each day, I've gotten back to my writing schedule. In the past few days, I've completed more than 7k words on my new novella, a steamy contemporary with a little mystery set in Savannah, where I recently vacationed.
I was barely chugging along on my previous WIP when I realized it wasn't going where I wanted it to. So, I abandoned it - maybe for a while, maybe for good, who knows. What it came down to was my lack of enthusiasm. And heaven knows if I have no enthusiasm for a story, neither will an editor!
Have you ever just walked away from a manuscript in progress? Or a book you were reading, for that matter? My take on it is - why should I waste my time?
On another note, a NYT bestselling author who purchased The Kitten Club several months ago at a book signing, dropped me a note last night. She said she found the book poignant, a lovely story and even gave me a quote to use on brag pages for future books. I was honored to have such high praise from an author of her caliber.

Building an Ark

2008-08-21T04:43:00.001-07:00

Heading into the third day under the nearly-stationary Tropical Storm Fay has me ready to start gathering animals two by two! I think enough tree limbs have fallen onto my roof to start a decent sized boat, judging from the overhead clunks I hear at least once every hour. It's amazing how depressing endless days of rainy gloom can be. But the weather has me thinking of mood and atmosphere in my writing. Weather is something many writers tend to overlook on occasion, myself included. But atmospheric conditions can add a lot to your story by setting a certain mood, creating obstacles for your characters and bringing the reader into the scene more. Movies are good at using the weather to create mood and feeling. When I think of a few dark movies, they often were set in rainy places like Seattle or foggy cities like London. Cold, snowy settings lend themselves to scary stories.

What about you? What sort of weather pictures do you paint?

Disasters of the Head Kind

2008-08-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a rollercoaster of day! First, DD decides she wants to highlight her beautiful dark blonde hair and make it closer to platinum. Now, I've highlighted it before (I worked in salons for many years and knew how to do this - sort of). But she complained it wasn't blonde enough last time and didn't last nearly long enough. So, we buy a kit and then she says she doesn't want it done the same way. So I agree (foolishly) to paint it on in layers without the cap. She leaves it on too long and lo and behold, she's platinum (mostly) blond. Problem - her coloring doesn't work with it and she burst into tears, pronouncing, "I hate it!" On the advice of my hairdresser (who does know what she's doing) we go to Walgreens and get a no peroxide box of dark blond/light brown color and apply that. Well, the hair is back to it's original color, but it feels like burnt straw. Lesson learned.
Now this whole thing was traumatic enough, but no, the day wasn't over. DH takes her to her high school orientation and sits beside a woman who farts all night as they listen to the entire staff give advice and proclaim the superiority of the football team. While they're gone, I eat a stuffed olive and feel something really hard in it. I take it out of my mouth and discover I've lost about a third of one of my molars! So unfair since I am neurotic about my dental hygiene.
Now if I haven't mentioned it before, I'm the world's biggest chicken when it comes to seeing the dentist. But he gets me in this morning and before I leave my house, I take a nerve pill (I save them for special occasions like this) When I arrive, I tell every person I encounter in the parking lot, waiting room and in the office that I want all the Novocaine they have in the place. The dentist laughs, but I tell him I'm serious. He gives me 4 shots and then drills for what seemed like hours. When the temporary crown was finally in place, I breathed a sigh of relief. Until I get the bill.
Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to my book signing at my home base mall tomorrow. I can't take any more unexpected disasters of the head!

Falling Star Released!

2008-08-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to announce the release of my latest book from The Wild Rose Press,
Falling Star.
Nearly broke and unable to find work, Hollywood has-been Jolie Farnsworth is desperate to feel loved and appreciated. Her husband, a former rock star hopes to ride Jolie's star back to the top--even if it means destroying her in the process.Producer Dante Ebersol is under the gun to create a top-rated reality show and portray Jolie as a train wreck. When he starts falling in love with her, his plans crumble, threatening to end the career he's worked for his entire life.
Get it today at The Wild Rose Press

Do You Hear the Banjo?

2008-08-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hello from Tennessee! I'm on vacation now - visiting DH's sister and nephew at their new home in the freaking sticks. Let me share what the adventure has consisted of so far: sitting on the porch shooting the stop sign with a beebee gun, feeding the sheep, trudging through a "haunted" cave on a private farm where the overall-clad owner gave a dissertation on canning peaches and making rabbit, dove and deer stew!!!, eating lunch at the old school cafeteria (now a down home style restaurant), which had pretty good food and a shlocky junk store attached, sitting on the porch and shooting paper cups and plates with the beebee gun, shooting the wooden wind chimes with the beebee gun, going the "Second Amendment Gun Shop." This evening we go bowling, then back home for guess what - more target practice - YAY! Tomorrow, we'll probably tour Vanderbilt University's campus (which will actually be interesting) - DH's sis works there now. The nearest neighbors are about half a mile away - past the soybean field and the tobacco field. In all seriousness, it's nice to see where my SIL lives and to visit, although DS and I decided if we ever had to live here. we'd have to hang ourselves. The town (population 300) has 7 churches and a post office - nothing else. SIL bought this giant house built in the 1920's with loads of space and lots of charm. Oh - did I mention the graveyard on the property, which dates from the 1820's? Many of the neighbors also have similar graveyards for their ancestors. I think they died of boredom! Or overindulging in soybeans, corn and tobacco (pronouced tub ak uh here). The natives need subtitles to be understood.
Sunday morning we take our leave and head to Savannah, one of my favorite cities for a Ghost Tour, lots of sightseeing and some good old Southern charm. Thank God it's an actual city and that we're leaving the beebee gun here!

Priorities

2008-07-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry if I've been scare in Blogdom these days. I'm really trying to get some writing done. I did finish the book, BTW - YAY!! I've also been doing some re-write work on an older MS and was deep into it a couple days ago when DD came into my office and wanted to chat.
Well, chatting turned into "a real talk," so I abandoned the writing for the evening and we had girl time. We made earrings together, played a couple hands of cards and talked all the way through. Now, if you're familiar with the workings of a fourteen-year-old girl, you know the times they actually want to speak to a parent are few and far between. I had a hundred things on my To Do List, but none - not one single thing - will get in the way of spending quality time with my children.
DS has also hijacked my attention a few times lately and that's fine, too. Won't be too long before he's no longer living under my roof and I won't get to see him nearly as much as I'd like. I wish I'd known this years ago, when they were both little. I was so busy working or doing all the stuff that probably could have waited, to give them the time I should have. But I've realized that life is too short and there's no going back to correct mistakes. The book will eventually get written, the laundry will be done, but those moments with your loved ones will never repeat themselves.
I know - very introspective for the usual fare here.
I hope you have a great weekend and I hope you get to spend time with those you love.

No More Ms. NiceGuy!

2008-07-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

OK - I mean it this time. I'm going to buckle down first thing tomorrow and get back to my regular writing routine. Enough summer laziness. I have a gazillion ideas swirling in my head and after an RWA meeting earlier today and a gentle kick in the pants from Lara, one of my plotting group/goals group members, I'm ready to start writing. First thing on the agenda - finish the damned book I've been working on for months (and not working on for weeks!)
It's been a couple of weeks since our last goal meeting and I left there feeling positively energized and ready to tackle the surgery I've been putting off on the book. But after a couple days of less than stellar word counts, I stalled again. So here's the carrot I'm dangling in front of my eyes. I can start on any of my new projects when I finish the book-in-progress.
So, should I plan to do the YA first, the short, humorous story or the paranormal? So many possibilities! And all I have to do to get to that great place where I'm charting new territory is write a few thousand words... But can I do it? Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Sunday afternoon and I've done a little more than 400 words today. Only a flash in the pan compared to what I'm capable of, but it's a start!

Muse at Rest

2008-06-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

This has not been a very productive summer for me, at least so far. I've been struggling to finish my WIP, which is moving along at a snail's pace. I've also been revising a novella, but that honestly hasn't taken very much time from my regular writing. I have one excuse after another:
1. Compromising Positions, my second book, just came out in print and I have been busily promoting it and mailing out copies to friends and family.
2. Planning our vacation to Nashville and Savannah later this summer.
3. Working on the various upcoming book signings I've scheduled for my RWA chapter.
4. Working on a program I am presenting on writing short stories and novellas.
Shall I go on? I can think of a hundred excuses, but what I need to be doing is committing myself to even a minimal daily word count. I'll let you know if I get there!
What about you? Does your Muse go on holiday every now and then?

In Honor of Dads

2008-06-15T07:27:00.001-07:00

Since it's Fathers Day, I want to share some thoughts about dads from a writer's perspective. In romance novels, we read about the sexy hero - the guy who makes our heart quicken and stirs the old libido up. He has qualities we want in a mate - maybe he's tall and dark, tough but strong. Perhaps he's wealthy or powerful. But what is it that our heroines seek? It boils down to good mates in biological terms. Scientists tell us women instinctively look for men who have well-muscled shoulders, a full beard (or evidence of the ability to grow one) and a deep voice. These are all signs of a high testosterone level, which equates to a man who can impregnate a woman. Our body unconsciously senses that with this man, our offspring have the best chance of survival.
Emotionally, though, we seek a man who can be a good father, not just a sperm donor. He must show evidence of good character so we can know he'll not only father a child, but hang around to help raise it. So, is this the quintessential man we write as our romance hero? Well, I can't say I've ever read a romance novel where the hero was scrawny or a big pork chop. They never have high voices or lack the ability to grow a beard. So, all types of romance novels - from sweet historicals to sexy eroticas feature dad material. Even if your hero and heroine are too old or too young to consider such things, they are there.
So this Fathers Day, I'm honoring the romance hero - the dad in every man.

Planning for Fun!

2008-06-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

I had a meeting today and I must tell you, I'm excited. You see, we're in the midst of planning our biggest book signing of the year - more than 20 romance authors, center court in a big mall right at the beginning of the holiday shopping season. We make these amazing Gift-With-Purchase bags loaded full of books, promo pens, bookmarks, magnets and every other kind of promotional trinket you could think of, plus chocolate, of course. My dining room is already starting to fill up with goodies and the excitement is palpable!
The signing is a fundraiser with Barnes and Noble donating a portion of the proceeds to the Adult Literacy League. We also do some impressive raffle baskets (the ticket money all goes to the ALL). We sold a ton of books last year. Personally, it was the only signing I've ever done where I sold out all my books. Needless to say, I can't wait to participate.
So, if you're an author and you'd like your promo items in those amazing goody bags, leave me a message with your email addy and I'll give you details. Meanwhile, if you're in the Central Florida area, save this date! November 15, 2008

New Experiences

2008-05-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

Today DH and I are attending a wedding reception - but not just any wedding reception. This will be a new experience for us. You see, this will be the first lesbian wedding reception we've ever been to.

I was at a loss about what sort of gift bag and card to buy, since it's not an actual legal wedding in this state, but I went ahead and got a traditional bag with wedding themes and a regular wedding card. Frankly, I think all this couple wants to do is be like any other couple, with one obvious exception. The weird thing is, the last time I went to a party hosted by "the bride," it was a housewarming for her and her then hubby. DH tells me we'll probably be the only straight couple there (she works with DH). And I'm okay with that - I think. You see, I'm a pretty liberal person with this sort of thing, but events such as this definitely push me to the limits of my comfort zone. I know I SHOULD be comfortable attending the party, but since it's a new thing for me, I hope I don't say the wrong thing. Maybe I'll just stick with the tried and true, "Mazel Tov!" What about you? Have you taken a stroll outside your comfort zone lately?

On Supporting Other Authors

2008-05-21T12:34:00.001-07:00

Today is the release day for my friend Katie's very first book, City of Secrets, and I'm soooo excited for her. Not only is Katie as sweet as she can be, but she's one of those people who is so supportive of every other author in our RWA chapter. So, first thing this morning, I bought her book. I hope everyone reading this does too, because not only am I sure it's going to be a great read (I've read the prologue so far and I'm already hooked!), but she deserves to see her name on the Wild Rose Press' best seller list.

Yesterday my RWA chapter hosted our annual Bookseller/Librarian Tea and we had nearly 20 local booksellers and librarians in attendance. It was great, and opened a dialogue that will yield speaking engagements, book signing and who knows what else. It's one of those things none of us could have done alone, but by each lending a hand, we'll all benefit.

OK - I'll step off my soap box - for now!

2008-05-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Katie Reus, author of sexy romantic suspense from http://www.katiereus.blogspot.com/ has given me an award! The Blogging with Purpose Award! Katie is an awesome blogger herself and I can't wait to read her upcoming release - her very first - because I know it'll be wonderful! So now I get to hand off the award to 5 bloggers who have not received the award yet for their contribution to Blogdom. There are so many good blogs out there, it's hard to choose just 5!

The rules are:
1. Nominate 5 blogs which haven't had this award before
2. Each of the blogs must have a purpose
3. The nominated blogs must make a link back to this page
4. The logo from the award must be put on their blog and it must link back to this blog.

Here goes:

1. http://pinkheartsociety.blogspot.com/ All sorts of great info for writers - just love it!

2. http://www.jenniferonwriting.blogspot.com/ Lots of good stuff about many aspects of the industry.

3. http://www.jennabayley-burke.blogspot.com/ Jenna Bayley-Burke's blog with all sorts of tips and heads ups. Jenna is so sweet to share all things related to helping other authors learn and grow - love her!

4. http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/ Author Barbara Samuel's great blog all about the mental process of creating, her travels, etc.

5. http://kelleynyrae.blogspot.com/ Author Kelley Nyrae's blog features reviews, news and all sorts of interesting tidbits. Kelley's a doll, too.

Book Club Fun

2008-05-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

I had a really fun evening this week. A local book club chose The Kitten Club as their May reading selection and invited me to join their meeting, held at a really cool wine bar called, The Vineyard. The ladies were all very nice, very bright and had lots of thought provoking questions for me. They also picked my brain for my thoughts on the book's characters and themes. After a few minutes of neighborhood news (they all live in a swanky development in the south of Orlando), they all jumped in, discussing the reader questions I'd given them a few weeks earlier and giving their opinions on the characters' motivations and development. The very coolest thing was listening to people talk about my characters like they were as real to them as they are to me. That's one of the best parts of being a writer to me, creating a world that readers willingly step into.
What about you? What's your favorite thing about writing fiction? As a reader, do you always immerse yourself in the world of a book, or is that something that only happens once in a while?

Reality Bytes

2008-04-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm truly, totally ashamed of myself. I've never been much of a TV watcher, save a few favorites at a time - currently Ugly Betty and Damages. But with the entire season lost due to the writers' strike, reality TV has filled the void left by all the shows that fell by the wayside.
Now, I've always been one to make fun of such bits of fluff as Survivor, Dancing With the Stars, Big Brother, etc. Only lately, with nothing else to watch when I wanted to veg out, I was forced to take a taste of the reality show apple and Lord - the fruit poisoned me!
Yes - I've done it - I started watching three - yes, THREE different reality shows, one more asinine than the next. How did it happen? I have no idea. One day I was laughing about the premise that an aging rock star could really find his mate from a bevy of beautiful girls. The next moment, I was glued to Rock of Love!
I scoffed at a Beverly Hills matchmaker who makes her living finding the right woman for an assortment of California millionaires. Suddenly, I was searching the TV listings for Millionaire Matchmaker.
But my favorite is a bit less fluff (well - you could say a bit more). I love Discovery Health's National Body Challenge - thirty minute shows about some poor overweight person (or this season, set of twins) who lucks into having a personal trainer, two doctors and a healthy cooking expert working on their behest! How cool is that. Then you get to see the before and after and everything in between.
Okay - I know - I have the reality bug and I need a vaccine against any more of it! What about you? Did the reality bug byte you?

A Writer's Personality

2008-04-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

As you could imagine, I know many, many writers. Some are shy, some are very outgoing. The solitary nature of the work often has one of two different effects. Either the person is shy and quiet, OR they are so full of things to say when they emerge from the cave that they're quite outgoing, chatty even. I seem to know a few extremes at either end of the spectrum.

One writer friend would rather have a root canal than speak in public or do a book signing. Another talks so much, you want to muzzle her or carry your own pair of ear plugs when she's around! Funny how the same profession can breed such opposite types. I'm somewhere in the middle - toward the outgoing end, but not a hundred percent comfortable speaking in public, although I've forced myself to do it more and more so I get over that.

What about you? Are you the silent type or the person everyone wants to gag, or somewhere in the middle?

Auditory Overload

2008-04-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

I am a silent worker. I can't create with music in the background, television noise or conversation. Concentration is a tenuous lifeline I hang onto when I work, hence the reason I do most of my writing during the day while the kids are at school and the house is quiet. Yet I find an unlikely source of distraction mingles with the rhythmic ticking of the cuckoo clock. One of my cats has a snoring problem. Both felines gravitate to my office during the day for their all-day naps. My Russian Blue is a silent sleeper, thankfully. He climbs onto a swivel chair and somehow turns the seat toward the wall, creating his little private space. But the other cat, my baby, snores the paint off the walls as she sleeps. What ever happened to the notion of cat naps? I used to think all cats were light sleepers, prone to wake at any little noise. But this cat sleeps like the dead. All hell could break loose around her and she'd keep on snoozing. I'm seriously considering ear plugs.
What about you? Do you play classical music while you work, or watch the TV out of the corner of your eye? Or must you crawl into the proverbial cave, surrounded by silence to entice the muse out?

Debriefing

2008-04-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the conference was terrific. Loads of invaluable info and experience. I met such nice folks, too. I love small conferences for that reason - you get to meet the agents and editors and see them in different settings - at a dinner, teaching a workshop, taking appointments, etc. Suzanne Brockmann, the keynote speaker, was fabulous. I also had an opportunity to chat with an editor from a huge publishing company, and a top - and I mean top - agent (who was the sweetest person!) The book signing was fun - I sold some books, bought some books and talked to some great folks in the process. I came home with a huge Bag O Books, as if the TBR pile could be any higher! But I dived right into one - How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, by Simone Elkeles, who I sat next to at the signing. Terrific book - just finished it. Now, I'm on the first chapter of Deidre Knight's Parallel Attraction, which already has me hooked.
It's a wonderful thing to be surrounded by writers talking about writing. Today the buzz finally wore off when I had to get a cortisone shot in my heel - ouchie! Off my feet for the night with an ice pack.
So what about you? Do you enjoy conferences? Which are your favorites?

Off to a Conference

2008-03-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I head to Jacksonville to The Southern Lights Writers Conference. I'm very excited to be teaching a workshop with friends and crit partner, Terry Odell. I'm also participating in a book signing there and attending many of the other workshops. I've been running around like a whirling dervish trying to pack all the things I need in the way of clothes, items for the workshop, for the signing, etc. I keep having this unsettling feeling that I'm forgetting something. Don't you hate that? I'm not sure if that feeling is a product of age or just the neurotic brain wiring of a compulsive organizer! Either way, it's unsettling.
On a completely different subject, I got a very nice note today from a local book group informing me that they had picked The Kitten Club as their selection of the month. They asked if I'd come to their meeting and speak to the club. This just tickled me pink!
So, if I'm absent for a few days from the Blogosphere, you'll know why. Have a great weekend.

Crunch Time

2008-03-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or has the world started spinning a little faster? Suddenly, there are not enough hours in the day to do everything I have to. I knew March and April would be busy, but it seems like more and more things to do are being thrown on the heap every day.
Right now I'm working on a presentation I am doing with Terry Odell at the Southern Lights Writers' Conference in Jacksonville on March 30. Two days after I return from that conference, I head up to Clermont, FL to sit on a writers' panel at the Lake County Festival of Reading. After that, I host a Passover Seder for 24 at my house. Sometime in between, I'm trying to edit a novel and a novella, and - oh, yeah - write!!! Throw in a few events with DH, DD and DS's birthday celebration and you have my life. Don't get me wrong -- I love my life. I just wish I could space events out into perfectly proportioned bytes. A little warm up time before, a debriefing period after... ah - if only. So if I'm scarce here, please forgive me - I'm here in spirit!

Have You Hugged Your Editor Today?

2008-03-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know - most everyone works via the Internet these days. Many of us have never even met our editors. But they can be as important to our work life as our closest friends are to our personal lives. I've had several editors, some better than others.
Two great ones stand out. A fantastic editor will do several things for you - first, they'll polish your work and make it shine even brighter. Second, they'll be straight with you and tell you when something sucks and when it's brilliant. But the most important thing they do for you is to make you a better writer. The things I've learned and continue to learn from them have made me a stronger self-editor, thus making their job easier on the next manuscript of mine they work on. That's something I'll take with me always.
No one likes to see a ton of changes on their manuscript, but I welcome the ideas. After all, the goal is to make the work stand out. All this and they rarely get much of a pat on the back. If I ever meet them, the first thing I'm going to do is to give them a heartfelt hug.

Tagged!

2008-03-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

Katie Reus has tagged me to list 10 weird, random facts or habits about myself. Then choose 10 people to tag. So, if you're reading this and you haven't been tagged yet, consider yourself tagged!

1. I frame each of my book covers and hang them over my desk for encouragement and inspiration.
2. I love the combination of blue and green, especially mixed patterns, like florals with a stripe or plaid.
3. I used to straighten my hair (which is naturally very curly). I even went so far as to iron it with a clothes iron when I was a teenager. Desperation - what can I say?
4. You can spell all 4 of my family's names with only 5 letters - a, d, i, n and r. We didn't realize that until our youngest was learning to read.
5. My real mother died when I was a baby. Everyone thinks my step-mother is my birth mother, but she's not, although she raised me from a toddler.
6. I have a brown thumb - I can't even keep silk plants looking good!
7. I can't stand the sight of blood and guts, although my grandfather was a surgeon.
8. I learned to snow ski before I started kindergarten. Living in the sub-tropics, I don't ski anymore.
9. I'm a coupon junkie. DH calls me the Shopping Ninja!
10. I'm a sucker for a foot massage. I can't stay mad at DH if he offers me one;-)

Your turn!

Check This Out!

2008-03-02T07:13:00.001-08:00

Author and Blogger Katie Reus interviewed me for her blog. Check it out here.

Splitsville

2008-02-26T04:44:00.000-08:00

Are you happily coupled? Or are you unhappily coupled yet you appear okay to your friends? I found out yesterday that a close friend's marriage is on the rocks. This will be the third couple we're friends with that broke up in the last few years. One was expected, the other two shocked us. It seems like my own marriage gets a quick aftershock from these events - first the total surprise and sadness, then the reaffirmation that we are fine. Each time we've gotten this news, it's affected us the same way. We've been lucky in that the friendships have remained strong, yet different.

DH read me an article years ago about a study of long, happy marriages. What the researchers found was that couples who were happy over the long haul had one commonality: The husband was "willing to be influenced by his wife's advice." I had to mull that over for a while to understand the implications. What it comes down to is that a husband must respect and honor his wife. Sounds awfully simplistic, huh? But some think tank somewhere came up with this and although it's worded rather strangely, I believe it's true.

So what do you think? Does your relationship fit this model or do you have a different predictor of success?

Family - Gotta Love 'Em!

2008-02-22T04:01:00.000-08:00

If I've been a spotty blogger lately, fault lay with all sorts of goings on with my family and my in-laws. First, my parents came to town for their annual snowbird stay of six weeks at a nearby condo. This does several things - keeps me on the run constantly shuttling them places and spending time with them (which I really enjoy), and it precludes DH and I from spending our usual amount of alone time. I have to make a concerted effort to carve out an evening here, a morning there with him.
On the in-law front, my sister-in-law and nephew are preparing to move 12 hours away (this is a good thing since she got a fab job and we don't really see eye-to-eye on many things). My husband's folks will follow her after they sell their house - which in this market might take years. So, I've been busily planning parties for that event. What all this means is, the writing time has been clipped back in a big way. I find it really tough to juggle lots of things at once, yet I know, busy = my life, so I need to get used to it and work around it.
On the book signing front, I've cut back, at least for the next few months until Compromising Positions comes out in print in July. I have two events I must travel to soon, then I am event-less until the middle of the summer.
So what about you? Do you find that your writing time is cut back when life gets crazy, or do you find the time, regardless of the pandemonium in your world?

The Idea Tree

2008-02-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

At least once a week, someone asks me where I get all my ideas for book plots. I tell them I go out to the backyard and pluck them off of an Idea Tree. They snicker or say, "Yeah, right." So where do a writer's ideas come from?
For me, it's a complex answer. As far back as I can recall, I've been thinking up stories. My Barbie dolls had the most convoluted backstories you could imagine. I knew their history with Ken, Ken's emotional baggage, Francie's inferiority complex since she was always the sidekick, never the star. Even little Skipper had skeletons in her pink plastic wardrobe.
My stuffed animals formed a society with assorted roles - governor, mayor, police chief, resident movie star. And yes - I was a weird little kid, what with all my toys taking on lives of their own! But my point is, stories have always been floating around in my head, dying to come out. Now they come to life on paper. How great is that? These days, fodder is everywhere, from the newspaper to the PTA to the neighborhood goings-on. All I have to do to find the first thread of a story is to look around me.
What about you? How do you come up with your story ideas? Have you always had stories dancing inside your brain or do you struggle to come up with a plot?

Buy a Book, Help a Kid

2008-02-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, February 9, from noon -2 pm at Barnes & Noble, 2418 E. Colonial Drive in Orlando, romance authors Catherine Kean, Dara Edmondson, Louise M. Gouge, Linnea Sinclair, Aleka Nakis and Terry Odell will be autographing copies of their novels in a special book signing to benefit Central Florida’s A Gift For Teaching, which provides classroom supplies for underprivileged children through its Free Store for teachers. A percentage of book sales will be donated to this non-profit organization. Book buyers will receive a wonderful goody bag! For more information, call (407) 893-6372.

The Care and Feeding of a Work Station

2008-01-29T06:07:00.000-08:00

I sit before my computer in my otherwise neat, orderly house and stare at my desk, which looks like a hurricane hit it. I have all the tools for organization - a standing stacker filled with neatly labeled file folders (with the help of an electronic labeling machine), an in box and a desk with three drawers and one cabinet. Yet papers, envelopes, index cards, sticky note pads, pens, nail files, a stapler, a tape dispenser and a return address stamper cover the surface. And it's not like I don't clean my desk - I do - at least twice a week. But in a matter of minutes I can set off a clutter bomb worthy of my kids' bedrooms!

So here's my question to you, dear reader: How do you keep your work area from becoming a mess? Do you have a system? A secret plan of attack? Or are you like me, a frustrated clutter bug in your work space?

Book Signings

2008-01-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, January 26th, I'll be signing books at the Borders at 880 W. SR 436 in Altamonte Spring, Florida at 1 - 3 pm along with authors Nancy J. Cohen, Catherine Kean, Aleka Nakis, Terry Odell and Louise Gouge.
Here are 8 things I love about participating in book signings:
1. The customers. I love talking to readers about what they like to read and answering questions about the book I am signing.
2. Being in a book store. What's not to love?
3. Chatting with my fellow authors. We get way too little time to socialize normally.
4. People watching. It's so interesting, overhearing conversations and just watching.
5. Seeing members of my RWA chapter who come in with friends and relatives or alone to su-port us - they're amazing!
6. Free coffee drinks from the cafe;-)
7. Giving away the little goody bags I make for every signing.
8. SELLING BOOKS - yeah - the reason I'm there.

Write a Review and Win!

2008-01-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

I just found out I am a semi-finalist in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Contest. You can read the first chapter of my entry at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011ZCARY. From there, you can download the chapter for FREE.
If you are an Amazon member (or wish to join - also FREE) and you write a review, you could win some awesome prizes:
The three customers who provide the most high quality reviews will be qualified to win one of three customer prizes, including an Amazon kindle reader!!! - a $400 value, $2000 in Amazon gift card value, and an HP photo printer. Learn more atwww.amazon.com/abna.

So, I would be sooooo grateful if you would read the passage and write a review. Awesome prizes await!!

New Release and A New World

2008-01-11T05:08:00.001-08:00

Today is the digital release date of Compromising Positions and I'm really excited. Not only is this a really funny book, but it's my first book that is also available for Kindle - wahoo! This next generation ebook reader seems to be taking the world by storm. Now I don't have a Kindle, but I hear sooooo many folks are buying them. This is great news to ebook authors since all Kindle books are available on Amazon - one of the largest book retailers in the world.

So, what will happen now? I wonder if my sales will jump through the roof. Yeah, right. What have I been smoking? But I am hoping to see higher than normal sales than for my other, pre-Kindle ebook releases.

What about you? Do you have a Kindle? Planning to get one?

The Problem With Writing Erotica

2008-01-06T10:57:00.001-08:00

This is the very HOT cover for my next short story - an erotic vignette about two people trapped in an elevator when the power goes out. It's quite steamy and explicit. So here's my problem: Do I offer a copy to my family? Do I tell my more conservative friends about it? Or do I only promote it among those I know are okay reading explicit materials?

Sure - I could have written it under a pseudonym, but my first two erotic stories, Desert of Desire and Kissing Cousins were released under my name, so why bother now? Would it behoove me to change that mid-stream?

Personally, I know many people who write erotic romance and I don't think any less of them. Only with family and close friends, it's like revealing something that should remain unknown, almost like opening your own bedroom door.

What do you think? Are you comfortable with reading love scenes written by someone close to you, or is that just too much information?

New Year Pressure

2007-12-30T05:39:00.000-08:00

With the new year approaching quickly, I can't help but reflect upon my goals for '08 and what I've accomplished in '07.
This past year has brought many new things to my life that I hope to build on for my career. My first print books were released as well as two e short stories and one e-book. I served as president of my RWA chapter, something I never thought I would have the guts to do. I participated in 6 book signings and made 4 presentations before audiences - something else that I never envisioned for myself. All in all, I've pushed my professional envelope a bit.
On a personal note, I watched my first born start college and my sister get married. My goals for the coming year are to meet some personal challenges head on and to further develop my writing career.
What about you? Do you buy into that whole resolution stuff? What's on your goal menu?

He's the Bomb!

2007-12-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

Did you have a nice Christmas? I did. Check out what DH got me, after convincing me he couldn't find the bike of my dreams. He also had a friend hide it in his garage and call at 5 AM so DH could convince me there was an emergency he had to handle at work. Donning his uniform, he left and I awoke to the prettiest bike ever! And it rides like a dream. Is he the bomb, or what? And it even has my name on it, he quipped! Wise guy!

So, did Santa bring something wonderful? Tell me...

Lucy Bakes - Again!

2007-12-20T17:19:00.001-08:00

As I may have mentioned before, I am neurotic about keeping my house clean. Unfortunately, I'm a lousy baker who tends toward explosive baking disasters like the one pictured here - taken moments ago as I attempted to make the one and only type of cookie I bake successfully every time. My KitchenAid coughed furiously after I dumped powdered cocoa into a moving beater. Amazingly, this was not the first eruption from this very batch. A clump of sugar, oil and vanilla plopped onto the floor when I raised the beater, caked with goo. My bad!
Miracle of miracle, these resilient cookies came out perfect - again. Wish I could charm all my other cookie recipes that regularly give me the finger every second or third time I take a stab at them.
After I bake, I must clean the entire kitchen - the splatters on the ceiling, the batter droplets on the floor and today - even on my winter white suede shoes! The only bright spot in the kitchen was the mixer's beater, bowl and the wooden spoon I used. My son and his friend volunteered to make them easier to clean by lapping up any unused batter. So, it's back to the kitchen to undo all the damage I've done - oh yeah, and to sample a chocolate crackle cookie! Have a terrific holiday!

Hijacked by the Holidays

2007-12-13T04:40:00.000-08:00

If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm a bit of a compulsive organizer. And my calendar is my bible. So, when I write something on the calendar, by God, it will occur as planned. Unless I've made a mistake. Like I did this morning. I was supposed to drive carpool, but I wrote down someone else's name. Angry and harried, I phoned the lady whose name was on The Book and was greeted in an angry and harried manner.
Indignant, I jabbed my finger at her name on the date, only to realize my mistake. For a normal person, this would be a normal mistake to make. But as a compulsive organizer, I could hang for that!
I have to blame it on the holidays. My calendar is as full as a dentist's after Halloween! Busy days don't bother me, it's just keeping it all straight. In fact, I enjoy a full schedule, makes me feel productive. Unfortunatley, it must make me more prone to err on occasion.
What about you? Have you overbooked? Screwed up an obligation? Or is everything perfectly under control in your world?

Sleepless in the South

2007-12-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

Okay - it's late at night, everyone in the house is snoozing blissfully - everyone but me, that is. I don't know if I have insomnia or I just can't clear my brain long enough to shut down and play a few dreams. DH is snoring annoyingly. He can sleep standing on his head in the middle of an amusement park. Well - I exaggerate. But he never has trouble sleeping.

I, on the other hand, am often plagued by nights like tonight when I don't have a sleepy bone in my body. Sometimes I wake up hours before I need to, wide awake, raring to go.

That doesn't bother me - actually, I like it. It gives me more time to get stuff done. DH makes fun of the early rising thing. You see, I'm very productive early in the morning. Many days, I'll have done a load of laundry, written a chapter and gone grocery shopping before anyone else is up.

Actually, I've written some of my best scenes late at night or early in the morning. Everything is so quiet - it's easy to concentrate. What about you? Do you sleep until noon when you can, or are you like me - up at the dawn of crack when you don't have to be?

Hopping into the Convertible!

2007-11-27T18:08:00.001-08:00

I'm blogging Wednesday at Riding With The Top Down about the "Salon Phenomenon." Please come on over and wave at me as I ride by with some fabulous authors.

The Holidays and Other Excuses

2007-11-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

I admit it - I've been a slacker. I now have 5 WIPs, each in various states of completion, yet I have not finished one manuscript in months! I started NaNoWriMo with a bang and got just past 18k when I fizzled out. Yes - I had lots going on in my life - a huge book signing in which I was an organizer and one of 23 signers, a smaller, private sale at a Holiday Shopping Event at a law office with my friend, fellow author Catherine Kean, attending holiday parties and more. I've been shopping, cooking, cleaning, getting ready to host a Thanksgiving feast and a Hanukkah party, yet I've had time to write if only I'd had the inclination.
One of my editors emailed me yesterday to let me know she has edits for my upcoming erotic short, Blackout, ready for me. Thank goodness, since I need saving from myself. I have to start cracking the whip, yet I keep giving myself excuses to go easy on myself.
What about you? Do you have to dig extra deep to find the motivation to work during the holiday season?

Tuesday Ten on Wednesday

2007-11-07T15:15:00.000-08:00

OK - Macy tagged me to do my Tuesday Ten on Ten TV shows I'd like to or already have on DVD. Like Macy, I'm pretty selective with the shows I watch, but here goes:
1. Sex in the City - what can I say? I'm a ChickLit lover and this is my all time fave.
2. St. Elsewhere - an oldie but a really great show from way back when.
3. Felicity - now an oldie, I guess. Love the characters and the bad situations Felicity would get herself into.
4. Damages - yes - I know it's only the first season, but I'm already in love with the intense characters and the twisting plot.
5. Dark Shadows - This one really dates me. I watched it when I was in kindergarten and then again in college and it was awful but I want it for sentimental reasons.
6. Rescue Me - I love the irreverent humor and some of the characters.
7. The Bob Newhart Show - the original - need I say more about this classic?
8. Ugly Betty - yeah, it's pretty new, but I think it's quite funny - particularly Mark.
9. Campus Ladies - Obscure single season show on Oxygen TV. Some really funny episodes.
10. Fawlty Towers - I love British humor and this is one of the best.

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged.

2007-11-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Blogging today over at Romance Rules about the ups and downs of life and how they affect my writing.

Lord, Save Me

2007-11-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

From my teenager, that is! Attitude, thy name is thirteen-year-old girl. I could come up with a gazillion of these today. The good news is I now know the cause of my occasional headaches. They seem to correspond with her displays of teen angst. Yesterday, she declared all our Halloween decorations (of which we have a huge collection) all sucky. Not a one was scary enough for her highness! Our response? TS (in cleaner, more parent-appropriate language, of course), but the sentiment was the same. Today she tells us she has "like no decent clothes." everything is either too small, too big or isn't her style anymore. Again - TS.
In other news, some of you know it's now NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. I've signed on this year and hope to complete a novel by month's end. But I wouldn't wager on me right now. Although I fully intend to do it, I have so many commitments this month, I'm not exactly sure when I'll be doing all this writing. I have a habit of putting out huge page counts for a short while, then stopping cold turkey. So, what'll it be? Time will tell.
What about you? Are you taking the challenge?

PS - It's a couple of hours later and the evil twin has disappeared. The good twin has apologized for the wicked behavior earlier and even offered to help with laundry!!! Just when I thought she was turning green and chanting spells in her bedroom!

2007-10-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

I am such a chick. This idea is always brought home to me at times like this morning when I went outside to a dead car. Of course, DH was at work, so I was on my own. I called AAA and the guy arrived in like 20 minutes - I was in awe! After he jumped the battery, I ran it for a few minutes, but soon realized I couldn't go anywhere because I had an appointment at my house in less than 15 minutes. So - I shut the car off. Lo and behold a few hours later - dead car again. Color me a great big DUH! My blonde roots must have been showing.
After trying DH's work and personal cell phones to no avail, I called my other husband (my BFF's ex) - Got that? He explained how to jump start the car using my son's car (who had arrived home in the meanwhile and is nearly as clueless about this stuff as I am!) And yes - I am that girly that I don't know how to jump start a dead battery. If I were one of my heroines, I'd have killed her off for being Too Stupid To Live!
So my son nearly electrocutes himself trying to get my battery jumped. I drive the car to the mechanic who says, "Yup - battery's no good."
But - the auto parts store where DH bought the thing less than a year ago does not change batteries - they only sell them. So I go back home and am forced to shut the car off again since it's 2 hours before DH will be home.
Now, DH has 2 hours between Job A and Job B (He works a 12 hour shift at Job B) so he kinda likes a little nap in that time. Well, not today. He hurries off to the auto parts store, changes out the battery and comes home in the nick of time to take a shower and head out for Job B.
All this because I'm a girly girl. The guilt is killing me!

2007-10-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Blogging today at Romance Rules. Come check it out.

Goodies Galore!

2007-10-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

Are you a gift-with-purchase whore, like me? Will you buy some makeup you don't really need to get that free gift come-on? Well I do. The better the goody bag, the stronger the pull to the makeup counter.
As I write this, my dining room is crammed full of boxes loaded with bags of 3 books each, coasters, fine chocolates, bookmarks out the wazoo, pens, refrigerator magnets, change purses, excerpt pamphlets and so much more.
You see, along with several members of my RWA chapter, we filled 75 bags for our upcoming Holiday Book Signing event to be held on Nov. 3 from 2-5 pm at the Altamonte Mall near Orlando. Publishers and authors responded to our request for goodies in an amazingly generous way. The bags are on a first come-first serve basis and they're calling to me. If I wasn't one of the signers, I'd surely be one of the first buyers. Each bag has to weigh at least 3 pounds. They make a gift-with-purchase whore salivate - trust me!
So, if you're anywhere in the vicinity of Central Florida on Nov. 3rd, you'll feel the magic aura drawing you to the Altamonte Mall. When you come, stop by my table and say hi! BTW - I'll break out my own smaller versions of the big bags after those first 75 are gone. But honestly, you'll want the big ones - they're amazing!

Cleaning Up

2007-10-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my daughter spent two hours fishing garbage out of a local lake as part of a community service project with her class. Great, you say? It's wonderful that they do this, but the amazing thing is that thirty kids pulled 600 pounds of trash out of a tiny lake in the heart of a city. And this is only since last year's cleanup! Much of their haul was rubber bracelets bars give out to identify those who have paid the cover charge. These bands strangle birds and other animals. There were also hubcaps, teddy bears and beer bottles.
I find it unbelievable that people just toss trash into lakes, yet the proof is all around me. I often see people throw refuse out car windows and I want to make them stop their car and pick it up, only I don't have the tenacity to approach them in these days of road rage and gun violence. It's all really depressing when you stop to think about it. How are we supposed to stop pollution and prevent countries from damaging the environment when so many folks don't even care enough to find a trash can?
My husband now wants to move to the middle of nowhere so we can be away from all the evils that plague cities. Find a house on twenty acres where our nearest neighbors are not visible. I'm trying to hold out faith that people will get better. That the majority of folks are responsible and don't kill a person for his watch or the twenty bucks in his wallet. I live in a place that likes to call itself The City Beautiful in PR campaigns yet all we see is ugly lately. Can you tell we're fed up? So what do you think? Are we all going to hell in a hand basket or is responsibility going to make a comeback?

Bullets in the Laundry

2007-09-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Just when I think my life is normal and dull, something strange happens to shake that notion. Like this morning when I was pulling clothes out of the washing machine and something gold caught my eye against the silver tub. Yes - it really was a bullet. Amazingly, this was not the first time. Bullets of varying calibres have made their way into the washer and even into the dryer many times. I have visions of one exploding as the dryer tumbles it on high heat. But DH assures me that can't happen.
Such is life when you're married to a law enforcement officer. Thankfully I was alone when I found the ammunition.
The pest control man gave me the strangest look when he saw a pair of handcuffs on my kitchen counter. His eyebrow lifted and his lips curled in a knowing grin. And what was I supposed to say? "It's not what you think."
I must admit, I am often turned on by the tools of his trade. There's something about a man in uniform that does it for me. Don't male strippers often dress in police garb? Can't be just me.
What about you? Do you go for the macho hero in a uniform or the sexy suit clad one?

Friends - A Battery Charger

2007-09-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but spending quality time with a group of friends is such a boost for me. Several times a year, we gather with a group of four to six families, depending on who is available, and we meet at someone's house. Everyone brings part of the meal so the host family isn't too burdened. Last night, we attended one such event and it was so fun, I left feeling terrific. And no - it wasn't the wine - I only had two glasses over the course of the evening.
Catching up with friends - discussing everything from politics, to how we're dealing with elderly parents to issues with our kids to our careers - is always so uplifting that I find myself refreshed and full of new ideas for books.
I can't put my finger on exactly what sparks my creativity from these parties, but it happens every time, so there's something going on. I am a very social person and I definitely get a charge out of social events, but there's such great chemistry at these things. I guess it's just a fellowship sort of feeling, but when there's a positive group dynamic, it heightens the experience.
What about you? What is it in your life that makes you feel great and sparks your creativity?

Happily Ever After

2007-09-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

I was talking to another school mom the other day about one of my books and she asked me the question I've heard dozens of times: "Does it have a happy ending?" All my books do, but I got to thinking about what I like in a book. Do I limit myself to books I know have a HEA ending? Not only was the answer to that yes, but I realized in recent years, I try to limit my movie experiences to those with HEAs.
I guess I feel like there's enough bad stuff going on the world that I want books and movies to be my escape from reality. If I want sad stuff, all I have to do is read the newspaper. My mother says I'm living with my head in the sand. She reads depressing books and watches gut-wrenching movies. I've let her drag me to some, like The Hours. I was depressed for a week after. Now, I just say no.
So what about you? Is a HEA a requirement for the books you read and the movies you watch?

My Grandmother's Chandelier

2007-08-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today we had an electrician install a new light fixture in my dining room. No, not new, actually. It's very old. My grandmother's chandelier hung in my parents' dining room since she passed away thirty years ago - until my folks sold their house a few months ago. The new owner said she was modernizing and asked if they wanted it. They posed that question to me. It didn't seem all that important at the time except the one I had in my dining room was modern and had shades - UGH! Totally not my style. So I agreed. They had it shipped a thousand miles and it arrived without even a broken bulb.
Now that it's up, I'm so glad I got it. I have tons of things from my grandmother - she and I were very close. But there's something about this chandelier that touches me where most of the other pieces don't.
The electrician complained. The wires were old and had no ground. (We'll have to get it rewired). The bulbs were so old we'd never be able to find exact replacements. The gold was dirty and showed years of neglect. I shined it up and dusted off his comments. I love it. Every time I turn it on I can almost hear my grandmother's voice, feel her arms around me. I suddenly remembered things, like the birthmark on her hand, the smell of the Channel Christalle perfume she loved, the way she'd watch the dance moves and songs I'd made up and tell me how wonderful they were.
I'm so happy to have her light shining.

Check This Out!

2007-08-28T12:52:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited! Tomorrow, the fabulous Debra Dixon will guest blog at Romance Rules. If you're not familiar with Deb's work, she literally wrote the book on Goals, Motivation and Conflict. She keeps a movie journal where she keeps track of the structure of the movies she watches. There is much to be learned from this exercise. She'll be using the movie "The Holiday" as her example. So, if you haven't seen it, watch it tonight. It's a good movie starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. Please stop over the Romance Rules and say hey to Deb. She's very sweet and a fabulous teacher.

2007-08-25T05:03:00.000-07:00

I love my DH. I really do. Last week he threw me for a loop, though. He shaved his head - completely bald. Now I have nothing against the bald headed look - it looks great on some men, just not him. With his glasses, he sort of resembles a tall, muscular turtle.
Why did he do this? His reasons were very honorable. His boss has breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. When she started losing her hair, all the guys who work directly under her, shaved in support. A very sweet gesture, to say the least.
Here's my problem: I can hardly look at him without wincing. I know, I know, I need to get past this - grow up. It'll grow back. And I'm trying, believe me.
Here are some strange facts regarding baldness:
It used to be a commonly held notion that baldness was a given if a man's maternal grandfather was bald. Not true. It's actually much more difficult to predict than that and just because a guy's grandfather is bald, doesn't mean it's a sure thing he will be.
My SpellCheck makes bald head into one word - baldhead. How weird is that?
The technical name for hair loss is alopecia and it is considered more preventable these days than ever before. Isn't that cool?
My dad is bald - has been since he was in his twenties. I always thought my son would be too, because of this. But in my research, I've found he may actually keep his hair.
And what about those notorious comb-overs - blah!
So what about you - do you like the bald look? There certainly are some very sexy men out there with no hair. Is it better to shave it all rather than have a ring of hair around the edges?

Reflections on the Summer

2007-08-17T04:14:00.000-07:00

Monday begins the mad rush back to school here. As much as I love the sleeping late, not having to drive carpool or bug my kids to finish homework, I am about ready for the routine of the school year. It's been a fun summer, but it couldn't last forever.

Here are a few highlights from my summer:
THE BEACH - We got to stay at my friend's gulf side mansion of a condo twice - a total of about 9 days. We spent most of the time in the water, helping our blood pressure and stress level drop.
CHERRIES AND BLUEBERRIES - I think my insides are red and blue by now.
LESS TRAFFIC - With school out, I've noticed the roads aren't as clogged as usual in the morning and mid-afternoon.
LOOSE SCHEDULE - Along with the glory of sleeping in, there are fewer places to be, fewer appointments to show up for, less structure.
THE POOL - Swimming with my honey is always so much fun. It takes me forever to get in the pool (I like it warm as bathwater). But he wraps around me, keeps me warm and even hangs on after I've acclimated. How great is that?

What about you? What will you miss about the summer?