Muse, News...and a Few Loose Screws

Goodbye ... kind of

2007-06-27T09:18:00.000-05:00

So the Muse Newsers have given the blogging thing a big try. Okay, perhaps a LITTLE try (g). We've loved chatting with y'all and hope you've enjoyed our varied posts. However, all good things come to an end ... or wind down just a tad.

You won't be seeing many new posts on Muse News but we hope you'll pop in periodically to check out our announcements and new releases. And if you miss us in the meantime, scroll down and you'll see our blogroll list on the right. Many of us have individual blogs where you can drop in for a visit.

For now ... goodbye, adieu, ciao, farewell ...

Alpha or Beta

2007-06-22T09:52:00.000-05:00

No, I’m not talking romance heroes. I’m talking mothers.

This morning on Today, I learned that there are two types of mothers: alpha and beta. Apparently, alpha moms are perfectionists and beta moms are, well, slackers.

So, which am I? Having given this some serious thought, I’ve decided I am an alpha mom with serious beta tendencies.

Or … maybe a beta mom with alpha tendencies.

I guess that makes me … a hybrid mom. Yeah, that’s it.

I can’t get rid of the alpha tendencies. It’s the lingering Type A/lawyer in me. I want the house to be clean, the homework to be done, and the kids to be outstanding and happy in all their endeavors.

On the other hand, I now think a layer of dust in a house is, well, charming, and if the kids hit each other now and then (or a dozen times a day) is that really a sign that they’re future felons? I don’t think so.

So, yeah, I’m a hybrid mom. And I think I’m comfortable with that. What about you? What kind of mom are you?

Summer begins...

2007-06-21T09:08:00.000-05:00

Summer arrives today, appropriately enough the day after school ended here. It was just lovely not having to set the alarm last night, getting to watch my husband get up to go to work while I stayed in bed. Usually it's the other way around--I get up to rouse the kids and feed the animals and pack lunches and track down the missing homework and hunt the missing snowboots, while he stays snug in bed until the kids are gone, and believe you me, when it's 20 degrees outside, this REALLY gets me!

But now the kids are home. They've already had a fight. My son asked to play computer games before he even ate breakfast. My daughter, heretofore a major slug-a-bed in the morning, jumped on me at 8 AM, wide awake and ready to rumble. The dog is wired up because someone more exciting than I is home to play with her. And my husband was smiling as he left for work...

Every summer I make lots of plans. Mostly things I'm going to fix up around my house, but also fun excursions with the kids, cool things to do, write in the hammock, maybe even plot a romantic getaway with the hardworking husband while the kids entertain Grandma. Every September, I look back and realize we did the same thing over and over: go to the lake. The house is always a disaster, I rarely get more than a single sentence written all summer, and needless to say there is no romantic getaway, not even out to the patio for peaceful togetherness. Sigh.

So what does everyone else hope/plan to do this summer? And advice for the organizationally-challenged among us?

Cats, Dogs and Big Hearts

2007-06-19T18:40:00.000-05:00

A few years ago trucker, Wayne, and his wife, Cathy, rescued a cat. That kitty, named Bo, has become a trucker cat. He's travelled a lot. And travelled. And travelled. They figure the cat has trucked over a million miles. That's a lot of miles. And the cat loves it. As a matter of fact, he hates to even leave the cab of the truck. He's only been out of the truck cab twice over as many years. He actually gets frustrated if his owners stay off the road for too long and he'll show his disproval by parking his hairy butt on the steering wheel and honking the horn.

I like cats a lot but, truthfully, I'm more of a dog person so here's a dog story.

A woman named Debbie rescued a dog from a dumpster two years ago. One day she begins choking on a piece of apple. She tries unsuccessfully to perform the heimlich manoeuvre on herself. She was about to pass out when along comes her rescued dog, Toby. He knocked her to the ground and then jumped on her chest. The doggie heimlich dislodged the apple and saved Debbie's life. Toby ate the piece of apple afterward (eeeewww) but, hey, nobody's perfect.

What do these stories have in common? Both animals were rescued by their owners. I have a soft place in my heart for people who rescue animals. Do you have a rescued dog or cat that comes with his own tail, um, I mean tale? :)

Coldwater Creek vs. L.L. Bean

2007-06-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Back when my kids were in nursery school many, many moons ago, one of the other moms was quite taken aback to learn I was not into camping. Why would she think I'd want to forgo air conditioning and sleep on the hard ground? Because my wardrobe came from L. L. Bean.

I'm actually still a big fan of L.L. Bean. The clothes are predictable both in style and fit, and most of the pants come in medium tall and tall lengths. (The turtlenecks used to come in tall, too, but they seem to have discontinued that--another example of discriminating against people who have a few more vertical inches than the norm, sigh.) Plus I can shop on line or over the phone which is a very good thing as the women's sections in department stores cause my blood pressure to rise. They are large, sometimes not even on the same floor, and seem to be organized by label/designer/company, which is fine, I guess, if you know your Dockers from your Alfred Dunners. (I did have a kind of Dockers pants that I liked, but I think they discontinued that style.)

I have recently found a store I can manage, however--Coldwater Creek. Their pants aren't quite long enough, but I love their flowing, long skirts--they are fun to wear. I was there yesterday and found a number of interesting things. Regrettably I had an appointment, so I couldn't try stuff on. Maybe I'll make it back later this week.

So, what's your favorite women's clothing line or shop? I'm especially interested if you're a bit taller than average, but feel free to share even if you are well, um, short.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007-06-18T09:55:00.001-05:00

This was a cool movie.

Let me preface this by saying I know nothing about comic book heroes, and I don’t know my Marvel from my DC. I do, however, like fun action movies with exciting special effects and a love story, and FF2 had all that.

Basic premise: bad things start to happen around the world, interfering with the ongoing attempts of superheroes Sue Storm and Reed Richards to get married. Turns out the Silver Surfer, the best high-tech character since the really awful (but in a good way!) liquid metal cop villain in Terminator 2, is behind the disasters, but there’s a worse bad guy out there, and he’s a-coming …

The special effects are amazing, the characters are funny and well written, and the Silver Surfer, with his super-abilities, soulful conflict, and voice of Laurence Fishburne is, well--dare I say it?--great hero material for the next movie.

And you KNOW there’ll be a next movie.

What about you? Seen any good movies lately? Looking forward to any upcoming movies?

Hey, Kristina, while you're in Spain...

2007-06-14T07:30:00.000-05:00

I forgot to ask Kristina if she could pick up a copy of the Spanish version of The Naked Marquis while she's gallivanting across Spain. I think it's being released this month. I'm not sure. I get hits on my website from a Spanish site, but I don't read Spanish. If you do, here's the link: http://www.elrinconromantico.com/sallymackenzie.htm

Maybe you can tell me what it says.

I think it is a very cool cover, don't you? Except it doesn't have the capital "K" in MacKenzie, sigh. And I don't think there were any masks in the story, but hey, that was the second book and I'm writing the fifth now, so maybe I've forgotten.

I'd LOVE to get my hands on a copy. I think my publisher will send me one eventually, but it could be a long time coming. So, Kristi...if you're near a bookstore....

Here's the U.S. cover--quite a different look, isn't it? But I love this cover, too.

The Rain in Spain stays mostly in the Plain

2007-06-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

Let's hope this is true! Tomorrow, my little family of four heads off to the south of Spain for a ten-day holiday (including brief jaunts to Gibraltar and Morocco!). I should be excited, right?! Instead, my stomach is in knots as I worry about *everything* that could go wrong. Let's see...first a 7 hour flight with two little kids (and did I mention that I've *hated* to fly since 9/11?!)--luckily, the flight is at night, but by the time we arrive in Madrid to change planes for Malaga, it'll be about 4 a.m., our time. Which means changing planes with two (hopefully) zonked out kids. Then, once we arrive in Malaga heavily laden with luggage, we have to get to the rental car counter, which is always fun. Then a one-and-a-half to two hour drive--in a foreign country, driving a stick shift as that seems to be all they have over there, and we have to actually FIND our rental house.

Of course, my biggest worry is the fact that my youngest daughter is deathly allergic to tree nuts. Of course, I'm bringing epi-pens and Benadryl, we've learned the Spanish word for every nut imaginable, and we've got a card written by a native Spanish speaker (from Spain rather than Latin America, as there are some differences) explaining her allergies, in case we have language issues. Still, I'm just terrified, especially as the region we're visiting is an almond hotbed. I actually refused to consider some rental villas because there were almond trees on the property! And I also worry about our cell phones working over there, despite the fact that I've checked and double checked, and YES, we have international roaming; yes, we have international data packages so we can get our email on our cell phones. Still, what if it *doesn't* work and I'm stuck with no cell for ten days, in a foreign country? What if my agent's trying to get ahold of me?!

And then there's my worries about home--dog is going to the kennel, for ten days. He's NEVER been there longer than a week. I worry about him. I worry about my cat, who's staying home where several people will be helping to take care of her. Still, ten days! She's getting old--nearly fourteen--and she likes human companionship. Poor kitty. I worry about the house, the alarm system....actually, I'm not sure there's *anything* I'm not worried about!

Is it even possible to enjoy my vacaation in this state of mind?! I hope so, because after two house floods and a *terrible* year in general, I desperately need a vacation, as does my hubby. I'm looking forward to this view from my terrace...

Am I alone in my pre-vacation worries, or do you stress like mad before you go away, too? Does it actually affect the vacation itself? Any tips for long-distance traveling with small kiddos in tow?!

Old Favorites: THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

2007-06-11T09:59:00.000-05:00

This weekend I watched one of my all-time favorite movies, TLOTM.

I cannot possibly tell you how much I love this movie.

I love the non-stop action and constant danger.

I love the breathtaking scenery.

I love the haunting, beautiful soundtrack.

Most of all, I love the love story between Daniel Day-Lewis’ Nathaniel and Madeleine Stowe’s Cora, and I submit to you that three of the sexiest non-sex scenes ever shot in moviedom are in this movie:

1. The Stare.

Cora: “What are you looking at, sir?”

Nathaniel: “I’m looking at you, miss.”

I just get shivers every time I see this scene, and I think it’s because of the unspoken subtext:

Nathaniel: You know you’re mine now, right?

Cora: Absolutely.

2. The kiss.

No words in this scene. Just music and scorching heat as Nathaniel looks for, then finds, Cora—and kisses her. This scene, I think, is all about Cora’s sexual awakening, and I love it.

3. Stay alive.

I just love the passion and desperation in this scene when Nathaniel is forced to leave Cora in the hands of their enemies. He’s taking a calculated risk with the life of the woman he loves, and he swears he’ll come back for her, no matter how long it takes, if she’ll only stay alive. Cora’s only thought is for Nathaniel to save himself.

Shivers, I tell you. This movie gives me shivers.

What about you? Does anyone out there love this movie as much as I do?

Summer Insanity

2007-06-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

So, the dear husband reminds me this morning that this is the last free Saturday we have for about six or seven weeks. Why, you ask? Because it's summer here and that means the summer swim season has begun. Time to break out the sunscreen and check the beach towel supply. (Since this kid swims year round, it's time for him to switch from clear to tinted goggles, I guess.)

This is our 18th summer season--if I did the math right and if you don't count the 10 years I spent as a swimmer in the same league. When we started, we had little kids--the oldest was 8. Now the baby is 17 and heading off to college. He's actually eligible to swim until he's 18, so it's possible he'll come back next year. I hope he does, if for no other reason than I like to know when it's really my last time through something.

What about you all? Does your life slow down in the summertime or does it just switch gears into some other craziness? Do you have something you do every summer or are you a totally free spirit?

Oh, and this weekend isn't really free--time trials, the "practice meet," is tomorrow.

Good-Bye, SOPRANOS

2007-06-08T11:17:00.000-05:00

Tony Soprano’s time is up.

As you no doubt know by now, the last episode of this epic series featuring angst-ridden wise guy Tony Soprano airs this Sunday night. It remains to be seen whether Tony will be alive or dead at the end of the last show.

I vote for dead.

Though I haven’t watched the entire series (we don’t have HBO, alas!) I have seen episodes here and there, and the ones I manage to catch always feature Tony personally whacking someone. Tony is a murderer, ergo, IMHO, he should be murdered. That would be poetic justice, the ultimate comeuppance, and a satisfying ending to the series. I mean really, does anyone want to see THE SOPRANOS: A CHRISTMAS REUNION ten years from now?

Yeah, I know Tony has his softer side. I know he loves his kids, his wife, and his various mistresses. Still. I think he should reap what he’s sown.

What do you think? Should Tony live or die? And do you even care?

The Winner...and My New Release

2007-06-08T08:04:00.000-05:00

The winner of the Judy Blume essay collection is:

Zeek!!
(how cool is that?)

Congrats, Zeek...and you know how to get ahold of me to get your book sent off.

Also, I wanted to (ahem) mention that I also have a new release out this week...the second in my Buffy tVS meets Regency England vampire hunter series, Rises the Night.

(Here's a link for a $1-off coupon at Borders!)

In this installment of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles, Victoria Gardella Grantworth travels from a countryside house party in England to Venice, and finally Rome, in order to stop a powerful vampire from his evil plan! Mwhahahaa! And on the way, Victoria meets John Polidori, Lord Byron (and ticks off his mistress), as well as a secret society of vampire protectors.

Plus, she's got more than one handsome man vying for her attention! Lots of fun.

Congrats again to Zeek, and have a great weekend everyone!

Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl, I Learned From Judy Blume

2007-06-06T08:06:00.001-05:00

Is that not the best (truest) title for a book of essays...ever?

I've been excited about this book ever since I first heard about it--and it's got a fabulous run-down of authors included, such as Meg Cabot, Julie Kenner, Beth Kendrick, and my good friend (and author of The Secret Society Girl series) Diana Peterfreund.

I can't wait to read their takes on Ms. Blume and her books. I'm so excited about this book, that I'm going to give away a copy to someone who answers my question in the comments.

As for me, I remember passing around Forever during the lunch period at the Catholic grade school I went to (shhhh!). I still can't meet anyone named Ralph without giggling.

I also was particularly fond of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great.

What about you? What were your favorite Blume books? Answer the question for a chance to win!

Release day jitters!

2007-06-05T07:51:00.000-05:00

Today is the release day for my latest historical romance, TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL. Release day is always a weird day for me, a day filled with a strange combination of nerves, excitement, jitters, hope. As I sit at my computer, trying to concentrate on whatever new manuscript I'm working on, I'm also resisting the urge to run out the door, jump in my car, and head down to my local Barnes & Noble so that I can 'visit' my books there on the 'new release' shelves! Because there's something special about seeing your latest book on booksellers' shelves for the first time, its cover all shiny and crisp, just waiting for readers to pick it up, to write or email you and tell you how much they enjoyed it!

I always liken it to sending your 'baby' off to preschool or kindergarten for the first time. You dress them in their best and send them off, excited for them yet hoping that the other kids (and teachers!) will 'get' them, understand them, like them. You want them to be judged 'smart', to excel as a student. Yet all of this tempered with the notion that you will love them just the same, no matter what. Mostly you're just proud.

Well, it's pretty much the same with a new book, crazy as that sounds! You're so filled with hope on release day--hope that readers will buy it, that they will enjoy it, that they will deem it a 'smart' book and that maybe it will even garner great reviews and accolades.

But even if it doesn't, that's okay, too. You understand that, just as some people like vanilla but others prefer chocolate, people have varying tastes. Every kid can't be the most popular, nor can every book.

Still, I hope you'll look for TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL this week. She's a 'nice kid'--really, she is!

And finally, to celebrate release day, I'm giving away a SCOUNDREL t-shirt to one lucky commenter--the winner can choose any summer t-shirt from my Cafe Press store!

HE’S NOTORIOUS FOR HIS WICKED WAYS…Frederick Stoneham thoroughly enjoys the life he leads as one of London’s most disreputable rogues. When his father arranges for him to wed Lady Eleanor Ashton, he believes his decadent lifestyle can carry on uninterrupted. After all, he remembers Eleanor to be plain and timid--not the kind of wife who will demand attention or insist he leave his mistress. But Frederick has a change of heart when he sees the striking beauty Eleanor has become…

CAN SHE REFORM HIM?
Eleanor is stunned to discover she is to wed Frederick Stoneham--the man she has secretly pined after for years, despite his reputation. When Frederick’s former mistress tells her a horrible lie, Eleanor feels betrayed. But Frederick’s persistence--and a passion that refuses to be ignored--are slowly melting Eleanor’s resolve. Now Frederick must prove to Eleanor that his days as a rake are in the past and that she is the only woman he will ever love…

Quotable Quotes

2007-05-30T22:05:00.000-05:00

I like to read quotes. Sometimes I check my massive Bartlett's Book of Quotations. Other times I peruse one of the many little inspirational quotation books people have given me. I write them out, print them out or cut them out and put them up next to my computer. I don't know why, but reading profound words just makes me feel good. Because I like others to feel good too, I thought I'd share my current favorites with you :)

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated. -- Maya Angelou

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. -- Winston Churchill

Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire. -- Arnold H. Glasow

Life is like playing a violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on. -- Samuel Butler

I searched high and low for an epigraph for my book, The Remains of the Dead. I found that nobody's words of wisdom fit better than these by Andy Warhol:

Dying is the most embarrassing thing that can ever happen to you, because someone’s got to take care of all your details.

How about you, do you have any favorite quotes?

Graduation Day

2007-05-29T07:43:00.000-05:00

My "baby" graduated from high school last Saturday. This is my fourth son to go through this school, so I've been connected to the institution for 11 years. People expected me to boohoohoo big time--and it was touch and go there when the mom next to me was sobbing. But I didn't shed much more than half a tear.

Why didn't I blubber all over my husband? Well, I am--I hope--getting over pneumonia, so part of my focus was on not passing out. But I also tried to think more about the future than the past. My son was ready to leave. (And ok, after 11 years, maybe I was, too.) And kids have to grow up, right? (I wish parents didn't have to grow older at the same time, but that's a subject for a different blog.)

When I graduated from my various schools, I tried to focus on the future, too. It was time for a new challenge, as scary as that often was. The rhythm of my life changed, but I wasn't giving up my friends. I might not see them regularly, but I could stay in touch via phone and letters--and these days via the Internet.

So how about you all? Do you pull out the tissues at graduations, do you grin and party on--or do you find some middle ground?

Television Season Finales

2007-05-24T15:01:00.000-05:00

This is the time of TV season finales--so far, the ones I've seen have NOT disappointed me!

First up--The Office. Sigh....it was terrific! As usual, the writers managed to surprise me, while having the characters (well, Jim and Pam, at least)act in a way that seemed very real, very natural. Can I just say, once more for the record, that I LOVE Jim and Pam?!?!?!?!?! I really think they are the best TV couple ever. I have no idea how I'm going to wait till next fall to find out what happens next! Still my all-time favorite TV show.

Second--Dancing With the Stars. I've been hooked since the second season (I missed the first season--except for the 'dance off' between John O'Hurley and Kelly Monaco)--everyone in my house loves this show, even the kids! I thought this season was probably the best so far, as least so far as talent goes. By the time it was down to the final four--Ian, Laila, Apolo, and Joey--I was having a hard time picking a winner. Laila was probably my least favorite, but I adore her partner Maksim (he's not only fabulously good looking, but also an amazing dancer!). Apolo was so good, he almost looked like a professional dancer, and Joey was a great dancer AND a great showman. Ultimately, I think the fans chose the correct winner--though in some ways, I enjoyed Joey's performances more than Apolo's, I think Apolo probably had a more difficult challenge, as I assume Joey already had a fair amount of dance experience in N'Sync. All in all, a great season!

Lastly--LOST. Was anyone else as stunned as I was by the revelation at the very end?! And...the character who died (don't want to include spoilers, in case you haven't seen it yet), do you think he's really dead?! I hope not--I loved him! I think it's been a jaw-dropping season of LOST, and the finale was no exception. So, do you think Ben is really a good guy?! I'm starting to think maybe he is. Maybe he wasn't lying (regarding what he told Jack about getting rescued). And GO, SAWYER! I think we need t-shirts that say, "That's for taking the kid off the raft!". Sawyer is such a terrific anti-hero--how can you not love him? Anyway, I can't wait till next season!

Anyone else enjoying the finales? Any favorites so far? Any disappointments? Any theories about the above shows you'd like to share?

Existential musings

2007-05-22T07:34:00.000-05:00

Things aren't working so well in the MacKenzie household. If you read the Blue Screen of Death post, you know the MacKenzie machines are on the fritz. Well, I found out yesterday I have walking pneumonia. (Why do I want to hum "Waltzing Matilda"?) Actually, I'm happy. I've got drugs. But it got me thinking about life and art. Hmm. Well, it got me thinking about stuff.

On this day 23 years ago at 1:20am, I gave birth to my second son. I'm glad I didn't have pneumonia then. And last year I was in the hospital also, but this time waiting for my mom to die. (She died a year ago tomorrow.) Again, I'm glad I didn't have pneumonia, though I did end up getting sick with something respiratory after the funeral. Last year on this coming weekend--Memorial Day weekend in the States--we had my mom's funeral. This year we have my fourth son's high school graduation.

Some people believe life just happens and others believe that Someone is overseeing things in some way. At the moment I'm just thinking it looks like things are going to work out for us for graduation at least. I hope. Knock on wood. (Graduation boy is off on a senior retreat, so we don't know for sure how he's doing. And we do have a few days left for a disaster or two.)

That's one of the nice things about writing books. As author, you're in control of the story. You can make bad things happen--or not. And in most romances--in my books, at least--the reader knows there will be a happy ending.

Here's to happy endings! (And Azithromycin Pak.)

Urban Legends

2007-05-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

Chain Emails. Sometimes they're sent by well-meaning, albeit misinformed friends. My inbox has seen a LOT of these.

The Glade Plug-in Scam: Unplug your air fresheners or your house will burn down!

The Perfume Robbers: Careful shoppers! Women are being approached in parking lots and knocked out by sniffing perfume samples.

Yesterday I received one telling me not to pick up calls coming into my cell phone from certain numbers.

"If the calls comes up from these numbers, its with very high wave length, and frequency. If a call is received on mobile from these numbers, it creates a very high frequency and it causes brain hamorage. It's not a joke rather, its TRUE. 27 persons died just on receiving calls from these numbers. Watch Aaj Tak (NEWS), DD News and IBN 7."

OMG! There is no way I want to have my brain suffer ham or rage (or hemmorhage for that matter) by a phone number! Of course, I checked it out at Snopes before tossing out my phone. It's pretty pathetic that Snopes needs to exist to save us from ourselves and all our well-meaning friends LOL.

So do you have a favorite email hoax or urban legend you'd like to share?

The Blue Screen of Death

2007-05-19T08:01:00.000-05:00

Do I need to say more?

My not-very-old laptop quit on me Thursday. I'd been working on the first chapter of The Naked Baron, trying to get into the characters. I was on my umpty-umpth (yes, that word is in the dictionary) revision and had gotten something to work. It was brilliant! I went off on a reward break to check email on another computer. When I came back....

The Blue Screen of Death.

I had to go out to buy a new dishwasher--obviously, this is a bad time for MacKenzie machines--so I turned the laptop off, said a prayer over it, and hoped it would be all better by the time I got back.

It wasn't. I didn't even get the Blue Screen of Death. Just this ominous message: "Read failure on internal hard drive. No bootable devices...."

The Geek Squad guessed that it was a bad hard drive and the chances of recovering my brilliant prose were only 50-50. About the chances of recovering it from my onboard computer, my poor head.

It could have been a lot worse. I think everything on that computer was backed up. (I always back up now before I turn the machine off for the day and often email the work to myself so I can get it if something bad happens to my backup disk.) So I only lost the day's work which wasn't that extensive. Brilliant, yes (at least it seems brilliant, probably because I can't recall it) but not really that much of a disaster.

I did have a moment of nostalgia for my old electric typewriter--no blue screen of death there. It was only a moment. Well, more a nanosecond. I never want to go back to the land of liquid paper fumes, where "cut and paste" meant getting out the scissors.

So I'll continue to back up at the end of the day and hope the new laptop has a long life and doesn't go belly up at a really bad time. But first I have to register all the darn software, hope I can manage to get my OED to load on, and figure out Vista.

Sigh.

Anyone want to share a computer disaster story? Misery loves company!

Dirty Dancing, Anyone?

2007-05-18T09:26:00.000-05:00

DIRTY DANCING, one of the fun-est (is that a word?) movies of all time, is twenty years old.

Unbelievable.

I was in college when I first saw it, and I clearly remember the rush of scandalized excitement from the great music, the dancing, and, most of all, the love story between Baby and Johnny Castle. BTW, I don’t know if the producers could have come up with any campier names, but that’s not the point. I ran right out and bought both soundtracks on tape and listened to them endlessly in my car.

Those were the days.

To celebrate this twenty-year milestone, I recently bought, and watched, the DD DVD. I gotta tell ya, the movie holds up. I still love Johnny and Baby, and I still cringe, but in a good way, when Johnny says that dumb line at the end, right before they dance the finale, “No one puts Baby in the corner.”

Here are some other great dance movies, in no particular order:

Saturday Night Fever (duh!);

Footloose;

Save the Last Dance; and

Dance With Me.

Anyone else love Dirty Dancing? What’s your favorite dance movie?

Weird or Wonderful?

2007-05-16T23:26:00.000-05:00

What do you think of this ring?
Too simple?
Not flashy enough?

Okay, how about this bracelet? It's kind of pretty, right?

These are Memory Jewels. They are made from (get ready for it) . . . your loved one's remains.

If someone you loved died, would you consider using their ashes to make a piece of jewelry? It has some practical uses. After all, in an urn your loved ones don't get out much. This way you can have them with you, even on you, forever.

You could have a complete collection ... Dearly Departed Aunt Mary circling your finger, Grandpa Bob dangling from your earlobes and your cat Fluffy on a pendant around your neck.

Would you? Could you?

Unpaid Endorsement

2007-05-16T09:40:00.001-05:00

I spend most of the winter in a desperate and usually futile effort to keep my hands from feeling like sandpaper. I think I’ve tried every lotion on the market at least once, and only one or two of them ever really did the trick.

Still, hope springs eternal, so the other day, when I was roaming the mall instead of *COUGH* writing, and wandered into Restoration Hardware (what a name!) I was interested to see the following: No-Crack Hand Cream.

Yeah, right. I’ve heard THAT before.

I tried a little from the tester jar and … fell in love. The stuff WORKS. And it smells good, too—wonderful scents like Sweet Orange, Cucumber Mint and Shore.

I LOVE it—so much so that I bought a jar, and then, when I needed more for the car and my nightstand, I went back and bought 2 more jars.

Whew. I just needed to share. Restoration Hardware's No-Crack Hand Cream. Love it.

So what about you? Discovered any new beauty essentials lately?

ADHD, anyone??

2007-05-15T13:34:00.000-05:00

Recently, my oldest daughter was diagnosed with ADHD--not a big surprise, as we've sort of thought she was ADHD all along. It was very hard to diagnose her, because she doesn't have any of the things that frequently accompnay it--learning disabilities, oppositional disorders, etc. In fact, she's an excellent student, very compliant, and very, very bright. She was one of those babies that was speaking in complete, sophisticated sentences by twelve months, reading by age three...you know the type. But she was also constantly in motion, like a little wind-up toy that just never stops. She talks all the time, and loudly. Is distracted. Loses things. Has to be reminded several times to finish a simple task (even getting dressed!). She's also impulsive, blurting things out in school, touching everything, distracting those around her.

Each day is a struggle for her, and she feels badly about it--she really wants to please her teachers/parents, to 'be good.' But sometimes she just can't. And when she is able to keep herself together and focused, it's totally exhausting and draining. That's not fun, for a kid. To have to work that hard, just to keep your impulses under control. Her self esteem should be soaring--she's smart, funny, interesting, and a real leader. Instead, her self esteem suffers daily, because she feels 'different,' as if something 'isn't right' with her.

The past few weeks have been filled with evaluations, testing, interviews, and consultations. And the long and short of it, she does fit the profile for ADHD--quite strongly, actually--and the only proven treatment, they claim, is medication.

Which, frankly, frightens me. My husband, particularly, is anti-medication--the guy has to be almost completely incapacitated before he'll break down and take cold medicine or even simple pain relievers. He's researched several 'alternative' treatments, though, and while some seem interesting, like biofeedback, none have actually been proven effective.

So...today we walked out of the neuro-psychiatrist/pharmacologist's office with a prescription in hand, but I have to say, I'm still feeling totally freaked out about the whole idea. Granted, these meds have been around a long time and have been proven safe with no-long term affects. In theory, that sounds great. But this is MY kid we're talking about.

Anyone have any experience with a child/friend's child/relative with ADHD? If so, was the child put on medication? How did it work out? Any stories to help me feel better about this decision?

THE END

2007-05-11T08:44:00.000-05:00

There are some parts of writing a book I love: the first scene between the hero and heroine, the first kiss, the moment one of them says the big three words "I love you"...but by far the best thing is writing THE END. Because you're done. DONE. Nothing comes next. Well, sure, there's proofreading and maybe some revising and editing, and you never know what the editor will say so there might be loads more work ahead of you. But for the that moment, that one shining, glorious moment, you are done.

Finishing a book is the last day of school, the last day of work, Friday afternoon in the summer when you have a beach house for the weekend, and Cinqo de Mayo, all wrapped into one. Why Cinqo de Mayo? Because there are extra-large margaritas. Fiesta time! It's also like crawling to the finish line of an extra, extra, EXTRA long marathon, through the snow, with no clothes on, dragging a fifty pound weight behind you, uphill all the way.

And I...just...finished...this...week!

Now I can do all the things I haven't done for six months while I was writing/thinking about writing/agonizing about NOT writing/deleting huge portions of writing because it stunk/fantasizing about writing a completely different, new, book/writing, writing, writing. Here's my To-Do list:

1) Lie in hammock and read book. Any book I have not written. Perhaps TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL, if only I could get my hands on a copy...

2) Fix myself an especially tasty lunch (finishing a book seems to require large amounts of junk food, but now I can go back to eating good food)

3) Clean house...cut grass...blah blah blah...at some point.

That's pretty much it!

What's on your list? How do you celebrate Something Big?

Prom Time

2007-05-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to start a new book. Whine, groan, grumble. I am not an author who delights at an empty computer screen.

Rather than bore you all to tears with my whining, I'll introduce a new topic--it's also prom time at the MacKenzie house. Since the prom goer in this abode is male, there's not a whole heck of a lot of excitement here. No shopping for clothes--the kid has already gone to rent-a-tux. I remembered to order the corsage--yes, I suppose the kid should be doing this, but I'm thinking of the girl here. I've been trying to pry some bits of a plan out of him, and I've supplemented those efforts by calling the parents of his friends. Since he goes to an all male high school, this means I'm talking to mothers of boys--the blind leading the blind--but whatever. I'm happy to say the picture is beginning to come into focus. Nice, since prom is tomorrow.

Anyway, in honor of the event, I invite anyone who dares to share a detail or two of his or her prom experience. I'll start, shall I? I went to an all girls high school. One of my friends set me up for the senior prom. I spent the pre-prom dinner upstairs in my friend's bedroom, in agony with killer menstrual cramps (can we say that on this blog?). My date was an aspiring priest who worked after school at a funeral home. (No, I am not making that up.) He came up to hold my hand and practice being sympathetic. When we finally got to the prom, he promptly deserted me to go minister to a boy who was throwing up in the men's room.

As to the rest of the evening? Hmm. I can't say I remember--the noteworthy stuff really happened up front. And then he invited me to his prom a few weeks later, but it was just a normal prom. I don't remember a thing about it.

So, any amusing--or touching--prom stories out there in cyberland? Was it a dream come true? (That includes nightmares.) Or did you, like my husband and third son, just give it a pass?

Truths About Publishing...

2007-05-09T09:29:00.000-05:00

A few people have asked me about publishing and how an author 'makes it big', so I thought I'd address it here. Readers--the first thing you should know is, you are a very powerful force! As far as commercial fiction goes, the market is driven by what you buy, not by what you enjoy.

For example, say a book comes out about a tree frog's romance with a horned toad. Let's say the book is awful, just horrible, but people everywhere are talking about it. Suddenly, all over the 'net, you'll hear people saying, "Gee, my curiosity is piqued. I've GOT to buy this book, to see just how bad it really is." So the sales soar, even though the reviews suck. Next thing you know, publishers will be putting out tree frog/horned toad romances by the boatload. Forget the other romances out there--the ones with the excellent reviews. "Everyone wants tree frogs!" the publishers say. And that's what readers will get. "But I hated it!" a reader might protest. Truth is, that doesn't matter as much as the fact that they bought it.

It's all about NUMBERS--and by numbers, I mean sales. In 'ye olden times'--a.k.a. five to ten years ago--an author was allowed to build a career. Oftentimes, they'd put out ten, twelve books before 'making it'--hitting a bestseller list a decade after they'd begun their career. Nowadays, an author has two, maybe four books to break out, or they're in serious danger of 'game over'. Nowadays, there is no 'midlist.' There are bestselling authors, and there are new authors. Not a lot in between. If you don't make the cut, and quickly, you're in deep doggie doo-doo.

So, as a reader, what can you do to support your favorite authors? First off, buy new when you can. It's totally understandable that this isn't always an option--and yes, I firmly believe that libraries and used book stores can also help an authors' career (how many times have you checked out a book from the library--a new author to you--and enjoyed the book so much that you subsequently purchased the author's upcoming titles or backlist? I've done this!). But simply put, buying new is the only way to make your 'voice' heard by publishers and booksellers.

Also, buy a book during its official week of release (you can generally find out a book's release date by looking it up on Amazon.com, or by visiting the author's web site). Bestseller lists are generally computed by sales velocity, measured during the week of a book's release, rather than by actual sales totals. So, a book that sells 10,000 copies all total--all during its release week--will 'do better' than a book that sells 30,000 copies over the course of a month (meaning, that author is more likely to get offered a subsequent contract). Oftentimes, a book will trickle out one or two weeks before its actual release date, and those early sales actually hurt an author's chance of making any bestseller lists. So, best time to buy a book? The week it comes out!

What if you go into a bookstore and see that your favorite author's new title is sold out? Ask them to order more copies! They can, and they should--but if the demand isn't there, they won't.

Lastly, if you love an author's work, tell someone! Word of mouth is probably the best advertising there is. Tell your friends, your co-workers, your family. And don't loan them your copy--make them buy their own! Post a positive review on Amazon.com for a book you've loved. Talk about it on message boards and blogs. Write the author and ask if they have bookmarks they can send you. They probably do, and they'll be thrilled to send you a stack to hand out to your friends or to local booksellers. In fact, you'll probably make their day.

Spreading the word about a book you've enjoyed creates 'buzz' and buzz sells books--and selling books means that that author will have the chance to write more books for you to enjoy!

In fact, let's start here--now! I'd love to hear about a book you've read recently and really enjoyed. Doesn't have to be romance--it can be any genre!

I'll go first...I just read Tracy Anne Warren's THE HUSBAND TRAP, and loved it! Even though the plot set up is rather cliched (twins switching places), Ms. Warren managed to make it totally fresh. Both the heroine and hero were extremely likable. I actually don't read a lot of historicals these days, but I was hooked on this one from the very first chapter. I definitely plan on buying the other two books in the series--THE WIFE TRAP and THE MARRIAGE TRAP--to read on vacation next month!

Free Paris!

2007-05-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

If you’ve been looking for a worthy cause to support, search no more.

Forget the tragedies in Darfur, the AIDs crisis in Africa, the tornado victims in Kansas, the families of the Virginia Tech massacre victims, and those citizens still struggling because of Katrina. No, friends, there is a worthier candidate for our collective energy these days.

I’m talking, of course, about Paris Hilton’s petition for a pardon from the Governator.

Yes, you, too, can go to Paris’s MySpace page, click the link, and sign your name to the petition. Maybe if enough of us sign, Governor Schwarzenneger will have mercy, and she will be spared that horrendous 45-day jail term to which she’s been sentenced.

Can a Paris Hilton legal defense fund be far behind?

What, still here? What’re you waiting for?

Anyone else besides me feeling a little nauseous about poor Paris’s travails?

Devotion

2007-05-04T08:48:00.000-05:00

We went to the ballgame last night, so you'll have to forgive me for being a) late in posting; and b) braindead. It was a very exciting game, lots of runs scored, first by the visiting team (Seattle Mariners) and then by the home team (Boston Red Sox), and a late inning game-winning home run. We stayed to the glorious end, which meant getting home pretty darn close to midnight.

I was all set to let my kids sleep late this morning and just go to school late--I can't do anything when I'm half asleep, so it seems hypocritical to require them to learn in that state--but to my shock they sprang up even earlier than usual, ready to go. All they could talk about was the game: "Remember when the Red Sox were down by five runs?" "Yeah, but then they scored 7! And Manny hit TWO home runs!" "I know, that was amazing!" "I'm so glad we got to stay until the end!" At least, I think that's what they were saying; I was dozing against the wall, using a dish towel as a pillow.

This is the way it is with Red Sox fans, though. It's not just a sport, it's an obsession. I wasn't born a Sox fan--converted when I got married--but we are surely raising two devoted little fans. I have learned to warn teachers at school after a particularly heartbreaking loss at Fenway; my son roots hard, and he carries a grudge. When the Sox won the World Series, it was a month-long high.

So what's your team? Do you stay up late to watch them or do you have a TiVo?

zzzzzzzzzz.....

Back in the saddle again....

2007-05-03T10:18:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to ballet class. Not *just* to an hour-and-a-half ballet class, but I also stayed and took a half-hour pointe class afterward. Why is this a big deal, you ask?! Only because it has been SEVENTEEN MONTHS since my last ballet class. In fact, it's been seventeen months since I've done any sort of exercise whatsoever. Which wouldn't be such a big deal, except that I had been taking three or four ballet classes a week prior to that. I *was* in pretty good shape. And then my schedule got complicated, a slew of kids' birthday parties kept me from my weekend classes, and then the more classes I missed, the harder it was to go back. Time passed. My dance bag got stuck in the back of my closet. I put on 20 lbs., which is a lot on my small frame.

Finally, last week, I'd had enough. I saw pictures of me taken at a recent event, and I almost didn't recognize myself with that added weight. I'm tired all the time. I have no energy. My body aches. I just feel blah, uninspired. For months, I've thought about going back to ballet, but worried about surviving that first class; about having the stamina to get through it. About putting on a leotard and tights and having to watch myself in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors. I even worried about all my ballet class pals having moved on--what if I didn't know anyone?

But yesterday, I finally did it. I put on the leotard. I dug out my dance bag. I found my tattered old ten-class-card, with one remaining class. Drove myself to class, and, my knees knocking with nerves, walked into the studio. Lo' and behold, there were my old buddies at the barre, smiling and welcoming me back. The teacher went easy on me, knowing it had been way too long since my last class. I made it through class, only wimping out during the petit allegro--that would be the combination of small, fast, tricky jumps. I thought I was going to drop dead at the end of class from sheer exhaustion--but I did it! Not only that, I succumbed to peer pressure and dug out those pointe shoes and stayed for pointe class. No, it wasn't pretty, but it's a start. I pledged to my friends that I'd come to class every Monday and Wednesday morning--two classes a week is a good start. Maybe after that, I can add a third class. I bought a new ten-class card! I'm back in the saddle again, so to speak!

In the end, the class itself wasn't nearly as bad as the anticipation/anxiety leading up to it. Why did I take so long to get back to something that I love so much? That my body sorely needed?

Have you ever done this--quit exercise class, or yoga, or painting, or pottery...whatever your passion is? And then missed it terribly but found it difficult to go back to it? Did you finally find your way back? I'd love to hear your stories!

And for the record, yeah, I'm in AGONY today. Honestly, I can barely walk. But it's worth every ache and pain!

On a totally unrelated note, I wanted to tell you about a special contest I'm running on my web site from now till June 5th. The grand prize is this gorgeous ruby bracelet set in sterling silver, a $150 value, from Ross Simmons.

I hope you'll take a minute to check it out HERE.

Review: THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

2007-04-30T09:52:00.000-05:00

This weekend I saw director Kevin MacDonald’s brilliant and painful story of a Scottish physician’s interlude with Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin, The Last King of Scotland. I highly recommend this movie, which, along with, say, Schindler’s List, is one of those I’m glad I watched but don’t ever want to see again.

James McAvoy plays newly-minted Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, the idealistic, criminally naïve, self-destructive, yet oddly endearing Scot who spins a globe, sticks his finger on a spot, and finds himself in Uganda immediately after Amin’s coup. A chance meeting with the charismatic and childlike Amin leads to a job offer—personal physician to the paranoid dictator—that the good doctor can’t refuse. Garrigan enjoys the power, influence, and high-living a little too much, until he slowly begins to realize that Amin is brutal and unbalanced. As if his situation isn’t precarious enough, Garrigan’s own foolishness sends him careening from the frying pan into the fire.

This harrowing story has memorable characters and painful choices, not to mention the hauntingly beautiful backdrop of Uganda, a country I knew almost nothing about.

I didn’t dare blink while watching this movie, for fear I’d miss something, and two days later I’m still thinking about it. Don’t miss these incredible performances, including Forest Whitaker’s Oscar-winning turn as Amin.

Anyone else enjoy this movie? Anyone else have a recommendation to make? Anyone else looking forward to this week’s release of Spidey-3?

Egads.

2007-04-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

As a child of the '80s, I was as much a Top Gun fan as the rest of my college friends. Yes, I admit to thinking Tom Cruise was hotter than Hades--no,wait, I never really thought that--and even had a fondness for Val Kilmer, even though he was the baddie.

(*cue* "Take My Breath Away....")

But holy cow! What has happened to those two?

Well, I know what happened to Mr. Crazy--er, Cruzy--er Cruise...but what about Mr. Kilmer? He was so hot in The Doors. And I loved him in Willow, too.

But, look at them now! Eeeeegads.

(Yes, that is Val Kilmer, April 2007, looking like a frigging beached whale. This photo is exactly what prompted this blog entry.)

And here's Mr. Cruise, who looks like he needs some...er...support. Not to mention a haircut, a bride who doesn't look like she's trapped, and a new religion.

And, okay, just for fun, I have to post this. It's a classic! (I'm still wondering why Oprah didn't give Tommy boy the same treatment she gave James Frey. Jus' sayin'.)

So, er...admit it. What do you think of Tom Cruise? And when did you fall off the Val Kilmer bandwagon? About the time he went bad-ass and blond?

Which Princess Are YOU?

2007-04-25T08:27:00.000-05:00

Disney has joined forces with a designer to fill a serious gap in their marketing umbrella: princess brides. What? You thought Disney Princesses were imaginary figures like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, the inspiration for hundreds of puffy pink and white, child size 4 costumes at Target? Not anymore. Now grown women can be a princess, too- on their wedding day.

Apparently the Disney princesses are actually archetypes of feminine beauty and character (take THAT, Barbie, you pathetic wannabe). Ariel-AKA The Little Mermaid- is "sultry and alluring" and the Ariel inspired gowns are "ideal for the bride who feels comfortable with a more form-fitted look." [Hmm. Wonder how long until Disney joins up with health clubs to help brides get ready for the form-fitted look. Can we imagine a "Pirate Fantasy Workout?" Raising the sails, swordfighting, running from angry natives, chasing Johnny Depp, etc.?] According to Disney's press release, "a mood and fashion sensibility was assigned to each princess-themed gown: Cinderella is for the classic glamour bride; Sleeping Beauty is about pretty romance; Snow White is sweet elegance; Ariel is sultry allure; Belle is stylish sophistication; and Jasmine is bohemian chic."

Here I am modeling my favorite of the gowns, the gown I long to wear at my own wedding...if only I hadn't gotten married a long time ago already, in a gown that had absolutely no princess associations whatsoever!!! Curse you, Disney; where were you...uh...a long time ago when I needed you? It's a Snow White gown (keep it to yourself, Ann), sweet and elegant, just like me (shut up, Sally).

So which princess are you? Are you a princess at all, on your wedding day or any other day? And I'm really hoping SOMEONE posts that she don't need no stinkin' princess dress, she wants to get married in blue jeans and a Big Papi jersey at home plate in Fenway Park.

I'm in the News ... Kind of

2007-04-23T23:12:00.000-05:00

I have key words set up on Google Alert so that I can be notified when there's mention out there in cyberland about me or my books. It works great. Some of the time. With book titles such Dating Can Be Deadly and The Remains of the Dead, it's inevitable that such words turn up on blogs and news with, um, unique stories. Today alone I've received the following alerts:

* in BEIJING — a crocodile shot to death in south China during a search for a missing 9-year-old student was found to contain the child’s remains.

* A Santa Barbara News-Press editor was smeared by publisher

* news about a dead bug taped to art paper

* an article (and a cartoon) on dowsing in the middle ages

Now I could become far more specific in the wording of my news alerts and weed out much of these kinds of notifications. Truthfully, most of the time I enjoy them. I never suspected that dowsing (divining rod stuff), for example, was still so huge in the U.S. and Canada. See, I learned something new :) Have you learned anything new today? Or do you know anyone who has ever dowsed (or performed dowsing) and you want to share?

Regency Ladies' Weekend--Follow-up!

2007-04-23T18:20:00.000-05:00

I think I can safely speak for Sally when I say that we had a BLAST at the Regency Ladies' Weekend at Riversdale House! I went expecting to have fun, but I had no idea that I'd actually learn so much useful information, too--about Regency-era furnishings and household items, clothing, food, cooking methods, games and dancing. I can now play the dice games Hazard and Newmarket and the card games Sept and Faro (and I can safely say that, had I been a Regency lass, I would have been addicted to the dice games and to Sept!).

I also know what it feels like to spend an entire day (or most of it) wearing a corset and other period trappings (note to those who might want to try a corset: make sure you put your stockings and slippers on BEFORE your corset is laced up and your gown is put on, because it's awfully hard to bend down to reach your feet once you're laced and clothed!). Pretty much everyone wore period clothes all weekend, which was a lot of fun. I even got a heretofore-reluctant-to-dress-up Sally to don a period evening gown for Saturday night's festivities!

Other highlights: the food--it was all simply delicious, particularly the sweet potato pie. What made it different? Rosewater! Gave it a very interesting (and wonderful!) flavor. The company--I met so many nice ladies--period reenactors, clothing experts, literature experts, aspiring authors. By the end of the weekend, we were all hugging goodbye and exchanging e-mail addresses.

Another fun highlight--the 'hurrahs and huzzahs' movie night on Friday. We watched a made-for-TV movie from 1987, based on a Barbara Cartland novel, Hazard of Hearts (starrting Helena Bonham Carter, looking about 12). It was so bad it was good--in a campy way. I'm talking EVERY possible romance novel cliche, thrown in for your enjoyment! Even the characters' names are funny (Lord Vulcan?!). Netflix it if you can, just for fun--if nothing else, you'll certainly laugh! Seriously, though, I actually enjoyed it--a lot--as bad as it was.

I'll leave you all with a group photo of ladies on the house's front stairs, in our finery (I'm wearing blue, standing on the top row between authors Janet Mullany and our own Sally MacKenzie)...

...and one last question, inspired by my viewing of Hazard of Hearts. Are there any movies that you *know* are terrible, yet you love anyway? You know, movies so bad that they're good? If so, share!

USA TODAY!!

2007-04-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

Okay, I can't wait any longer. I had a nice little blog started on the book signing party my pal Debbie is throwing for me tonight, but I'm starting over. On a lark I went to the USA Today best seller site last night to see if the Earl by chance had made an appearance and--mirabile dictu!!--there he was. My jaw dropped. I asked Kristina to check, and she confirmed my eyes weren't deceiving me. As I write this, you have to click on "This week's printable list" in the upper right to see the list for the week ending April 15. The Earl is at #126. Yee haw!!

I am definitely jazzed. This means someone--many someones--are buying the Earl. (And, hopefully, reading and enjoying it.) But then I was trying to remember back to when I was "just a reader" before I got into the publishing biz. Here's a question for the assembled multitude in cyberland--do readers notice USA Today or New York Times bestselling author on book covers? And do those few words entice you to give a book a try?

The Winner Is....

2007-04-19T09:54:00.000-05:00

Wendy Roberts!

Wendy has won a copy of an ARC of Rises the Night. (I know she's a Muse/News gal, but I used Random.org and she came up.) (All's fair here, you know.)

Sorry this post is a day late. I forgot to draw the winner. And I'm posting this below Sally's fantabulous news so the Earl can sit there on top for a day or so, as he well-deservedly should!

Regency Ladies' Weekend

2007-04-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I'm leaving my flooded house behind and traveling to Riverdale Park, MD to Riversdale House, a historic 19th century home, for a "Regency Ladies' Weekend" (along with fellow Loose Screw Sally MacKenzie!). Sounds fun, huh?! From Friday evening at six till Saturday night at ten, we will experience Regency-era dining, entertainments, and accomodations (apparently there is one modern shower, however--though only one, and we have sign up to use it!)

On Saturday, we could choose from actitivites such as games and literature, collections tour, cooking, and bonnet making (I'm doing games and literature and touring the collection). Though it won't be an authentic 19th century English country house party, it should at least give me a taste of what one might have been like in such a grand home. Almost like traveling back in time!

My question to you is this: if you could travel back in time for one week and one week only, what era/location would you choose to travel to?

For me, it would certainly be Regency-era England, but only if I could be a 'lady'--not a scullery maid! Second choice would be an early Virginia settlement or another southern colony (because I can't take the cold!), just to see how wonderously beautiful this land must have been back then.

Tell Me Something Good

2007-04-17T09:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, as you know, a gunman went to the Blacksburg campus of Virginia Tech and killed 32 people before killing himself. Twelve other people are currently being treated for injuries. My thoughts and prayers are certainly with the families affected by this incident.

This terrible tragedy, on top of the whole Don Imus debacle last week, has me wondering, and not for the first time, what the hell is wrong with people.

I don’t know about you, but I could use some good news right about now. Does anyone have any to share? Has peace broken out in anyone’s corner of the world? Anyone won the lotto? Anyone’s cat given birth to a litter of adorable kittens?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

I’ll start with my own small personal triumph: yesterday, after a week off for spring break, I successfully returned my kids to school. No tears were shed, no threats uttered, no recriminations made. Just a quiet, orderly transition. I’m so proud.

What about you? Please, someone, tell me something good.

Auto-buys and a Contest

2007-04-16T08:07:00.000-05:00

I posted about this on another blog the other day, but since there's a whole new audience here, I thought I'd bring it up again.

There are certain authors who continue to delight me that I've placed on my aut0-buy list--meaning that I'll pick up and buy a new release (or pre-order it) without
1) reading the back cover,
2) caring what it says on the back cover,
3) even noticing the title,
4) or thumbing through the book

I love it when an author who's on my auto-buy list has a new book coming out! I usually rush to the store the day of the release.

So....who's on your auto-buy list?

If you list them, I'll enter you in a drawing to win an Advance Review Copy of the second book in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles--Rises the Night.

Rises will be released in June, and it's already getting great reviews from people who have and have not read the first in the series, The Rest Falls Away.

Publishers Weekly called it, among other lovely things, "A fast-paced carnival ride of a book."

So tell us who your auto-buys are (and flattery will get you everywhere with the Muse/News gals....) and I'll pick a winner on Wednesday! (Randomly...so flattery won't get you that far!)

Deja vu....

2007-04-15T11:26:00.000-05:00

Have you ever experienced it? That funny feeling of rememberance? Of a glimmer, a shade, of a prior memory? It's a weird feeling. To some, maybe weirder than others. I've experienced it loads of times-nothing of significance, but just of random memories, something from my subconcious that I didn't remember until That Excact Moment. It might sound wacky, but I've experienced it so strongly, my stomach ached-almost like being on the Parachute Drop at Six Flags. At times, it's almost knocked the wind out of me. And for what reason? I don't know. Like I said, from what I can recall, everything I've "remembered" has been insignificant little things-a conversation I'd had before, reliving a "scene", like walking into Kroger and passing a sale sign for canned pineapples and one of the cans falling to the floor, etc. VERY EERIE, but as far as I know, meaningless. Have you ever experienced deja vu? Ever get a stomach ache from it? Ever "remember" something extraordinaire? Let's hear it!

What's in a name?

2007-04-13T08:17:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week Julia London blogged at Romance: Buy the Blog about the beauty of a man in a a suit, and then Monica McCarty at Fog City Divas blogged about the beauty of a man, period. To continue in the same vein, and get even shallower, I want to talk about names. Guy names.

From a writer's point of view, choosing the hero's name is really important. For better or worse, names pick up certain undertones, not always related to what the baby naming books say a name means. When a reader picks up a book and reads that your hero is named Horace, ripping abs and a chiseled jaw are probably not the first thing that spring to her mind.

Of course, sometimes all it takes is one hot famous man to make a name hot. George does not strike me as a 'sexy' name...except for George Clooney. Orlando made me think of that Virginia Woolf book or that sprawling town in Florida...until Orlando Bloom. Clive...I never loved it until Mr. Owen. It works in books, too. I wasn't fond of the name Stuart until I read Judith Ivory's Untie My Heart, and then...well, the hero of my first book is named Stuart. Same for the name Simon, which a friend of mine told me she associates with Simon Lagree, from Uncle Tom's Cabin, and she didn't think it was sexy at all. But read Julia Quinn's The Duke and I, I urged her, and she came around to loving the name, too. Just don't start thinking of Simon Cowell.

Why is that? Why does the name Sebastian make me think of dark, dangerous bad boys (like in Devil in Winter and The Rest Falls Away) but the name Albert doesn't? Why does Sam seem cool, sexy, and smart (Mr. Perfect and Sam Spade) but no such association springs to mind for Howard? Am I completely the victim of association-by-romance-novel when it comes to names? Because of course there can be smart, hip, sexy guys named Bob and Ralph, just like guys named Duncan and Colin are not, in fact, automatic hotties in real life.

So what's the worst hero's name you've ever read? Why did you hate it? Conversely, what are some of your favorite names, the names that come pre-packaged with sexy auras?

(and yes, I did have fun looking at pictures of guys named George, Oliver, Hugh, and Clive)

Warning Labels

2007-04-11T23:03:00.000-05:00

The other day I was having coffee with a friend at a small, independent coffee shop. They had a large sign on their counter that stated, Warning: unattended children will be fed espresso and given a toy drum. Definitely enough to strike fear into the hearts of parents everywhere LOL.

I recently read at Paperback Writer's Blog about warning labels on our books. There are a number of great ones given, my favorites being "Warning: this novel has a realistic ending" and "Plot twists may be larger than they first appear."

If I had to put a warning label on Colleen's book, Rest Falls Away, it would have to say, "Warning: This book is seriously addictive and highly entertaining."

If I had to put a warning label on my upcoming release, The Remains of the Dead, I'd probably say "Warning: Although I seriously considered it, no person was murdered in the making of this mystery".

What kind of warning label would you put on books you've read recently?

Starting a new book

2007-04-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's time for me to start writing a new book. Actually, I've started. I'm not writing yet or even planning, really. I'm just getting to know the characters.

This is my fifth book and if you'd asked me a few years ago, I would have been of the opinion that writing books must get easier. Once you've done it, you can do it again, right?

Aieeee!!

Sorry. Anxiety attack.

Maybe writing a book is like childbirth--amnesia sets in. I mean, I've had four kids--and four books....

Ack! Is there a parallel here?? No, no, no!!!

Deep, cleansing breath.

Frankly, as with labor, sometimes I'd have been happy to delegate the job to someone else. There were definitely points when I just wanted to quit. Obviously--at least with childbirth--I couldn't. And I do love the final product...well, most of the time. (My blood pressure is not faring so well recently, what with the triathlete wiping out on his bike in Honduras and the high school senior getting mugged in Madrid.)

There are some writers who love to start books. I met one once. She said she was so excited by all the possibilities when she looked at that blank screen.

I was very proud of myself. I didn't strangle her.

So now I'm trying to ignore the fact that I have 400 double spaced pages to pull out of the ether, and I'm just musing about the characters. Who are they? Who are their parents, their families, their friends? What makes them special?

Oh, and by the way, I'm taking a break from musing tonight to chat at Romance Junkies (9 PM EST), so if you'd like to stop by, I'd be delighted to "see" you.

Weekend Movies

2007-04-09T10:43:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd follow up my TV post with some weekend movie reviews--since I'm in an 'entertainment' frame of mind. With the kids out of school the last (two!) weeks, I got to see a couple kids' movies--I'll start there (Grandma took them to see Meet The Robinsons, so I missed that one, but it got a thumbs up from my kids, ages 6 & 7).

ARE WE DONE YET?
Well, the reviewers universally panned it. Yeah, it's predictable, yeah, it's formulaic, and no, it's certainly nothing new. But hey, I like Ice Cube, and I find it particularly amusing to see him playing a 'dad' in a family-friendly movie (sometimes he'd say something, and I'd get this weird deja vu, remembering his rapping days--the NWA hardcore stuff--now he's a family guy?!). Anyway, maybe it was just the right timing for me, since we're currently going through home repair issues, I don't know, but I was perfectly diverted for a couple hours. I thought it was pretty funny, the kids thought it was pretty funny. It wasn't THAT bad.

THE LAST MIMZY
Oh my gosh, I *loved* this movie. I thought it was so interesting, so different...and exactly the kind of fantasy that appeals to kids. It's definitely what I call a 'quiet' movie--fairly slow developing plot, no out-there revelations, cool but low-key special effects. The 'message' was a good one, but they weren't beating you over the head with it. My kids loved it, though my *very* sensitive 7-yr. old got a little upset at a couple parts (scary Orcs running people through or Gollum trying to kill Frodo doesn't upset her--that's clearly 'fantasy' to her, but kids seemingly in peril or being bullied really gets to her). Both kid actors were particularly good, IMO, and Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) as the hippie-dippie science teacher was a particular stand-out performance. I read the reviews (somewhat mixed) and my favorite quote was from the Boston Globe: "True to the emotional reality of its young characters and young audience and flattering the latter into thinking way outside the box. There are worse things to teach than intellectual ambition." So true! I definitely give it two thumbs up!

I also saw a new-to-me movie on cable this weekend--THE INSIDE MAN, with Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster (what a cast!--as if that's not enough, Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe were in it, too!). It's directed by Spike Lee, but he didn't write it. It's more of a genre-flick--a bank heist turned hostage situation, but with some really interesting twists, terrific acting, intriguing plot. It's one of those movies that I was *still* thinking about the next day. Very clever, very smart. I liked it a lot! I will confess, though, that I'm one of those (rare?) females who doesn't find Clive Owen attractive. Part of it might be the roles he chooses (CLOSER, anyone?! Blech!), I don't know, but he just doesn't do it for me. That said, *this* was a good role for him. Definitely thumbs up.

Oh, but the best part of my movie watching experience?! The trailers!! Talk about whetting my appetite! Saw the trailer for Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, which leaves me positively salivating--I *cannot* wait for that movie! I mean, I'm literally counting down the days. And I also saw a trailer for SPIDER MAN 3, yet another movie can't wait to see. Even the trailer for the new FANTASTIC FOUR movie looked pretty good.

Any upcoming movies you can't wait to see?!

TV and plots

2007-04-05T10:07:00.000-05:00

Recent TV watching has gotten me thinking about 'popular plots' and how they work in romances. Right now, I'm counting down the hours till The Office 'supersized' episode tonight (that would be in 9 hours--I'm DYING here! I've been obsessively watching this video over and over again all day!). Pam told Roy she kissed Jim before she broke off their wedding, and he freaked, and the the last episode ended with, "I'm going to KILL Jim Halpert," and.....oh, sorry. I got carried away. But The Office reminds me of the "Two friends but one is involved with someone else and one is secretly pining after the other, and then the other starts to have feelings, too..." plot. I personally LOVE this plot. I'm trying to think of a romance novel that utilizes it, but am drawing a blank. I know they must be out there, except it would mean a bit of a love-triangle and that usually doesn't fly in romance--unless the 'third wheel' is an obvious bad guy-girl so that there's no chance of readers rooting for the 'wrong' person. I'm actually using this plot in the first book of my newest trilogy, one I just started working on. But I've thrown in one more favorite element--older woman, younger man. You know, where they knew each other as children/teens, and the guy secretly worshipped the older girl, but the girl just thought of him like a sometimes-annoying little brother?! I guess that's yet another 'popular plot.'

And then there's LOST and Sawyer. Sigh...... I LOVE Sawyer--the tortured bad-boy. The rogue. The inveterate rake. We've seen, through flashbacks, how Sawyer (aka James) came to be the man he is today--a bad guy--and we *understand*, don't we?! Our poor hearts twist over what he went through as a boy. We've seen the bad things he's done, and yet we love him anyway, because we want to REFORM that bad boy. We want him to find love and happiness, don't we?! Of course, it doesn't hurt that the producers seem to find a way to have him shirtless and sweaty in just about every episode, or, even better, wearing those adorable reading glasses. He's the bad boy with secret pain, with depth. Definintely a popular romance plot: reforming the rake. My upcoming novel, TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL, uses it. I only wish I had the help of whichever writer comes up with the "Sawyer-isms," because, without a doubt, he always gets the BEST lines in the show!

Those are my favorite two, both used in recent television shows. What about you? Any favorite 'popular plots'?

P.S. Check out that last picture--am I the only one that was totally disturbed and freaking out when that Other's dude had the gun to Sawyer's head, about to kill him, and Kate told him she loved him 'cause she thought he was about to die--and so did I! I swear, I had my hands over my eyes, I couldn't even watch!

Target, the Root of All Evil

2007-04-04T13:14:00.000-05:00

I love Target.

I hate Target.

I love it more.

Love the bright, cheerful, uniform décor. Love the fresh popcorn-y smell. Love the dollar bins right when you walk in, which always have 5-10 dollars’ worth of things I didn’t know I needed one minute ago, but now must suddenly have.

Things I also love about Target, in no particular order:

The pharmacy, which is prompt and professional and doesn’t tell you a prescription will be ready by X o’clock, and then act like you’re crazy when you show up at X o’clock to get it;
The clothes;
The shoes;
The pillows;
The linens;
The international market, when they have it;
The school supplies in the fall (LOVE school supplies!)
The Christmas and Halloween decorations, which are always cool;
The toy department, which generally has whatever I need;
The small electrics; and
The books, of course.

Things I hate about Target, in no particular order:

The popcorn, because I always have to have it, even though I don’t NEED it;
The toy department when I can’t drag the kids out of it; and
The fact that I can’t step foot in the place without spending WAY more money than I need to.

What about you? Any other Targetphiles out there? What’s your favorite thing about it?

The Earl is out!!

2007-04-03T05:49:00.000-05:00

Yes, today is The Naked Earl's official release date. I hope you find the book, buy it, like it.

I find this time rather nerve wracking, a strain on my poor blood pressure. Some people will like the book--I hope!--but others will not. That's just the nature of writing for publication. Positive reviews are much pleasanter than negative ones--especially those of the scathing variety--but at the end of the day, a writer can't really be swayed by other people's opinions. (Well, unless the "other people" is her editor!)

So, I'm off to get started on the next book--well, the next after the next, since the next is already handed in. But first I have to answer a few questions lovely Miss Caroline has given me. She's been nagging me. Look for them shortly (I hope) on her site.

VERY funny, Miss Caroline!

2007-03-28T07:21:00.000-05:00

Turn my back for a moment, and little Caroline gets into mischief!

I'm stopping home for a day to do laundry, run errands, and replenish the money supply. The kid has picked his college and I've survived driving with Caroline. (No, no, it was the OTHER drivers that caused my near heart failure, really.) I will also tell you that Miss Caroline has a charming husband, an entertaining dog, and a superior cat. (The kids were already in bed by the time I arrived.) Tomorrow I hop the train to New York City for the PASIC conference.

And since we are talking about lists, here's a very cool one--the Borders Group/Waldenbooks Romance bestsellers. Check out number 10 on the paperback list.

Can you hear me screaming? Yeehaw!!

Things You Might Not Expect To Find in The Naked Earl, But Will

2007-03-27T07:53:00.000-05:00

I feel pretty safe making this list today because Sally should be several hundred miles away from me by now, as she continues her road-trip college and conference tour.

Anyway, in honor of Ann and Wendy and their sick little "organization" compulsions...and also because I have been working feverishly on a book and haven't thought of anything else to blog about...and because I managed to talk Sally into letting me read this book a few weeks ago, while the rest of you lucky readers can only get it now...I offer the following list, color-coded for Ann:

1. A Very Virile Butler
2. Whips and Chains and Manacles, Oh My!
3. A Young Lady Engaged in Tipsy Self-Discovery
4. X-Rated Shrubbery
5. Naked People Everywhere
6. Botanists in Love
7. Hell Freezing Solid (so we are told)
8. A Desperate Duchess
9. Stage Fright...so to speak
10. The Ruins of A Windswept Castle (Eve, you should be so proud of Sally! It has a dungeon and everything!)

What are you waiting for? Go forth and read!

Calling All Anal-Retentives…

2007-03-26T09:14:00.000-05:00

Judging by yesterday’s post and some of its comments, I am NOT the only uptight list maker hanging around this blog.

Me? I like being organized, and I also like color-coding. This leads to me making endless lists on… wait for it … Post-It Notes.

Love them. Have them everywhere. In the car for when story ideas hit. On top of the fridge for when I run out of a foodstuff. In the bathroom for when I run out of toiletries. On storyboards for plotting out books: pink for the romance storyline, blue for the first subplot, and yellow for the second.

The beauty of sticky notes is that you write yourself the little note, stick it somewhere to remind yourself (the bathroom mirror works great), then throw it away when you’ve done the thing you needed the reminder about. My new favorite thing is to stick one on the door to the garage—“don’t forget snack!!!”—so that we remember to take things with us when we leave. I’m now training the kids to do their own sticky-note reminders so that my OCD tendencies won’t skip a generation.

Oh, and does anyone else use the grocery lists that come with Microsoft Word? Love those. I use them for a more formal list, when all the items I need at the store won’t fit on a sticky note.

And what about Memo to Me? Is that a brilliant organizational tool, or what?

And don’t get me started on all my colored highlighters, which I use for outlining books on writing craft.

It’s a sickness, I know.

So what about you? What are a few of your favorite organizational tools?

Lists!

2007-03-24T00:29:00.000-05:00

My name is Wendy and I'm a Listaholic. Yup. I make lists about EVERYTHING. Just got back from a few days away and it took many lists to accomplish the mini holiday.

- a list of what clothes to pack
- a list of the food to bring
- a list of what we'd do on Vancouver Island
- a list of restaurants to try.

And, yes, I'm aware that I just made a list of my lists. It's a sickness. I just feel that I can't get a thing accomplished if it's not on my list. My list for today?

- write this blog
- take the kids to see The Last Mimzy
- get caught up on all the laundry created from our time away
- tweak the synopsis for book 2
- touch up chapter 4

So tell me, are you a fly by the seat of your pants kind of person or do you write lists too?

Spring has Sprung!!

2007-03-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

Hallelujah--spring is here at last!!!!!! I'm one of those people who *hates* winter. I absolutely despise everything about it, and since I live in the northeast, I'm forced to suffer through several long months of it (I grew up in the southeast, and even though I've lived up here more than a decade, I don't think I'll *ever* come to appreciate true winter weather). In fact, I'm fairly certain that I suffer from S.A.D.--seasonal affective disorder. All winter long, I feel as if I'm in a funk. But as soon as the warm weather hits and the leaves begin to bud on the trees, I feel as if a veil has been lifted, and my overall mood improves a hundred fold.

We always spend a week in Miami Beach at the beginning of spring, and I look forward to it every year--sort of puts spring in motion for me. We always celebrate my youngest daughter's birthday there, and even though she's only turning six this year, she's already got her favorite trendy South Beach restaurants in which to celebrate. There's something about Miami Beach--the sun, the sand, the archtitecture, the pastel colors....it's like the polar opposite of New York City (where we live).

Anyone else as excited about spring's arrival as I am? Any other S.A.D. sufferers, and if so, any tips of getting through it?

Odds and ends

2007-03-20T06:36:00.000-05:00

I walked into my neighborhood Borders yesterday and, lo and behold, there was The Naked Earl! It's not supposed to be released until April 3--and it wasn't at Barnes and Noble--so it was a bit of a shock. But it was definitely at Borders, sitting very purple and regal amongst all the other romances on a table and then again upstairs in the romance section. So if you are on the lookout for it, you may spot it. Let me know, will you?

I've been taking some time before I start writing my next book to dig through my office, trying to sort and tidy. Since I'm unearthing papers with a 2001 date on them, I guess it's been a while since I've done this exercise. Certainly the dust bunnies--actually giant dust rabbits--strongly indicate that I've not cleaned recently. It's been a somewhat fun stroll down memory lane, though--I came upon the emails I wrote to my Golden Heart 2004 loop when I got The Call and sold my first book.

I also found some letters my grandfather wrote to my grandmother in the early 1900s. (No, it hasn't been THAT long since I've cleaned--my cousin sent them to me...a while ago.) I read through one or two, though I felt a little like I was snooping. (Memo to self--destroy those letters my husband sent me back in the day.) And the diction back then was certainly different. Who writes letters anymore? I use the keyboard so much, I find I have a hard time getting my hand to move in a cursive manner. And then my brain gets ahead of my hand and I make mistakes which I can't just delete with the push of a button.

So here are my questions for you all in blogland--Is reading someone's private letters "snooping" even though the writer's been dead for years? I never met my grandfather, and I find the glimpse into the past fascinating, but still...the letter was obviously not intended for me. (Though I assure you, these missives weren't "hot" at all.) Certainly historians learn a lot about the past through letters--but would the letter writer want people pawing through his or her private correspondence? And do you still write letters? Do you save letters if you get them? Or has email replaced letter writing completely? And if it has, has something important been lost? Do we write and think differently when we write a letter versus an email?

YA, Anyone??

2007-03-19T13:49:00.000-05:00

Because I've been working on some YA (a.k.a. Young Adult--books for teens) projects lately, I've been reading a lot of YA lately. Some new stuff, and some of the YA books that I read and loved in my youth. I must say, I'm REALLY enjoying it. There's a lot of interesting things happening in YA right now, and it's a fun genre to read, even if you're an adult (like me!).

My whole YA kick began when I read TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer a couple of years ago. I can't even say *why* I bought it--at the time, I wasn't reading YA. I simply walked by it on the shelf at at Waldenbooks, and the cover (a hard cover!) caught my eye. I picked it up, read the back blurb, and knew I HAD to buy it. I started reading it that night, and pretty much stayed up half the night reading it. It was, in a word, fabulous. The best book of any kind I could remember reading in a long, long time. It's paranormal--with a vampire hero--but really a 'human' story.

So, I started looking for other YA books, and discovered Libba Bray's A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY. Again, the cover caught my eye--it looked like what I had envisioned for my debut book, UNLACED. It's also paranormal, but historical. It's a very intelligent book--one thing I particularly like about Libba's books (and Stephenie's, too) is that I don't feel like they are written in a 'dumbed down' fashion for teens. These are smart books for smart kids.

I've since read the sequels to both--Meyer's NEW MOON and Bray's REBEL ANGELS, and eagerly await the next books by both authors, now auto-buys for me. I've also read and enjoyed Meg Cabot's MEDIATOR series (SHADOWLAND was the first), and BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE by Annette Curtis Klause.

And then I ordered reissued copies of the paranormal YA books that I remebered reading--and loving--from my own youth, and this is pretty much *everything* by Lois Duncan (especially STRANGER WITH MY FACE and SUMMER OF FEAR--both those books have stayed with me all these years!). I'm happy to report that they were all as good as I remembered them, even now, though they are somewhat dated.

Even if you're way past the YA target age, I still recommend that you give some of the modern YA a try--I think you might be pleasantly surprised. I've seen a wide range of sensuality, from nothing but kisses, to kisses with a *hot* undercurrent of sexual tension (that would be TWILIGHT and NEW MOON, particularly!), to older teens having sex (though it happened 'off stage' in the book I read).

My question to you is, were there any YA books you read in your youth (i.e. pre-teen, early teen years) that made a strong impression on you, that you *still* remember? If so, have you tried re-reading them, and what did you think this time around? Any contemporary YA authors that you've read and enjoyed?

Heroes....

2007-03-18T08:11:00.000-05:00

Heroes. The come in all shapes and sizes. Some are the big, buff type (see Herman Munster), some are the sweet, sensitive, funny type (see Gilligan), and some are the stoic, intense, swarthy type (see Duncan MacLeod). While all are vastly different, they all certainly hold appeal for someone. Granted, most would go for the swarthy Duncan, but Gilligan's charm and humor surely won my vote as to "who I'd marry out of all the guys from the S. S. Minnow" (I was younger then). And there was something about those groovy white sailor's britches. :) And Herman? Well...he could swing that big foot and kick a solid wood door down, not to mention he had the best laugh ever! Is there a non-typical hero-type you like? I confess-I'd love to have Herman/Gilligan/Duncan all rolled into one!

2007-03-16T10:37:00.000-05:00

All Vamped Out?

Yesterday my friend and fellow Kensington writer HelenKay Dimon blogged about the paranormal trend in romance writing and wondered if readers had reached a saturation point.

This morning I was trolling the Waldenbooks at the mall and saw more paranormal books on the front shelves than I could shake a stick at. I also bought a vampire book, Stephenie Meyer’s TWILIGHT because Bam recommended it a while back.

This got me thinking about a narrower question than the one HelenKay raised: are we sick of vampires yet?

Apparently I’m not. I just finished reading J.R. Ward’s LOVER REVEALED, and, like I said, just picked up another vamp book today.

What about you? Are you sick of the bloodthirsty creatures yet? Have you read all the variations on the theme that you can stand? Or, like me, do you still need your fill of dark heroes with secrets and nasty little habits?

But do you love kid sports?

2007-03-15T07:30:00.000-05:00

Since Caroline brought up sports....

My "baby" is a high school senior, so we are doing the last round of kid sports. I have four athletically-inclined sons--I've done a lot of sports over the last 18 or 19 years. (And I do mean "I," since I'm the driver, equipment purchaser, and icky clothing washer.) Soccer, basketball, flag football (only because I forgot to sign the kid up for soccer), baseball, swimming, cross country, track--I think that's it. The oldest is now a professional triathlete--he's moved out, but not before managing to get bike grease on the new carpet.

We used to do multiple sports with multiple kids, but now we're down to "only" swimming--though after a weekend of trials and finals, dragging to the pool by 6:30 am, coming back at 4:30 pm, and leaving at 9 pm I feel like an amnesia victim. Huge chunks of my life are gone.

So, have any favorite kid sports? Found a particularly good way to manage the mayhem? And what do you think about those over involved parents--the ones who are shouting their heads off, yelling at their kids and the ref, embarrassing everyone around them?

Why I love sports

2007-03-14T08:41:00.000-05:00

The Beckhams are coming! The Beckhams are coming!

OK, so David is a lot more interesting to most people than his wife (Posh Spice) and any kids they might have. And many people want to know: can he raise MLS to a major league sport in the US? Is this the superstar needed to bring in the fans? Because it's going to take a lot of fans in a lot of seats to pay off his $250 million contract. Can he do it.

My thoughts: Yes. Yes, he can. Because the one thing America can never have too many of, is hot athletes.

It would be fine with me if the local MLS team signed some similar players. How about Fabio Cannavaro? Cristiano Ronaldo? Why should Europe get all the hot--I mean, very talented--soccer guys? We would even call it football for you, except we've already got Tom Brady.

(Yeah, Indianapolis, you can keep Peyton. We're all set here in New England, thanks)

So which athletes do you like to watch? Purely for their talent, of course.

Great Escapes

2007-03-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

I am so lucky. As a writer I get to choose my escapes. I've spent my last couple of books in Seattle. Dreary but the perfect setting for my series. I've been other places in my writing escapes. Maui. Greece. And every day I can choose to escape to different locals in my mind.

Lately though it's been so rainy here in Vancouver, I've been thinking a lot about my top five. There are five places I still want to see for real. I feel a calling to them in my soul. They are:

The Great Barrier Reef
Venice
Rome
Angel Falls in Venezuela
Great Wall of China

I know it'll be years before I make these trips so I'm savouring the sensation of them in my mind. How about you? Where do you travel in your dreams? What worldly location speaks to your soul?

INSPIRED BY LIFE

2007-03-11T13:05:00.000-05:00

There are many things in life that I find inspiration for in my stories and characters. Sometimes it's unexpected, sometimes it's planned. Alot of times, just meeting someone by chance can lead to a new character. And then, there's something you may have been privvy to all your life, and one day, WHACK!-something happens, and presto! Inspiration! EXAMPLE: My baby sister, Tracy. The picture here was taken on the Battery in historic Charleston, SC. Tracy had never been to Charleston before, and being Savannah's sister city, we went together. Not the best of days, weather-wise. As you can see, it was quite windy! (note: inverted umbrella) I had no idea when I snapped that photo (you know, the old-timey kind, with film and stuff) that it would be not only one of my most favorite pictures, but that it would become the inspiration for one of my characters. Just the moment, the hysterical look on her face, makes me laugh every time I look at it, and soon became the core for building probably my most favorite of (my own) heroines. Totally unexpected, that inspiration. My favorite kind.

Nooooooo! Don't tell me!

2007-03-08T09:19:00.000-05:00

Not too long ago, I read a book. A good book. A book that was actually on the verge of a great book. There was action, sharp dialogue, sexual tension, and suspense: pretty much everything I like. The story was ripping along at a can't-look-away pace. There were two men, one of whom had to turn out to be the 'hero' of the story and one of whom had to be the 'villain.' Both of them were telling the lead female character things about the other man indicating that guy must be the villain, and she was somewhat attracted to them both; her job, not to mention her life, depended on her making the right call.

And the best part was, I couldn't tell which guy was which! It was awesome! In one chapter it would be the hot young guy who seemed so bad he must be good; in the next, the sophisticated older guy would seemingly be the one who was good. Back and forth it went, and I could NOT put this book down for wanting to see who and how and why.

Then...it happened. Out of nowhere, a chapter appears in the true villain's point of view. It reveals who he is. It reveals his evil plot. It lays out his whole, utterly wicked motivation. It spells out his total and complete contempt for both of the other characters, eliminating any shred of a chance that he'll be so conflicted later by lust or friendship that he'll be interesting again. Swoosh. There went the story, down the drain for me.

I don't really know how to label the book; it wasn't strictly romance, and it wasn't a thriller. I knew the heroine was going to end up with one of the guys at the end, and that she'd probably have to do battle with the other guy at some point. I just didn't want to know which was which so early. Before that chapter, it was a fascinating puzzle; after that chapter, I could pretty much guess what would happen (and yeah, my guess wasn't too far off).

Am I the only one? Have you ever read a book that had a definite moment when some revelation spoiled the ending for you? Do you like to be kept guessing as long as possible, or do you want to know up front where the forces of good and evil align?

Blasts from the Past

2007-03-07T20:22:00.000-05:00

This has been an interesting week--first, I got a phone call from a sorority sister, my very first college roommate, and someone I haven't spoken to in, oh, about SIXTEEN years! I kid you not! Talk about a blast from the past! She still lives in Mississippi, where we went to college, and is still very involved with the sorority. They're getting a new house there on campus, so she was calling to discuss the fundraising efforts, and to suggest I come to Homecoming this year, even saying maybe they could arrange a book signing to coincide with my visit, where all the Phi Mus could turn out en masse. A great promotion idea, actually. Through MySpace, the Phi Mus have just 'discovered' me--some were fans of my books, and by visiting my MySpace page, realized I was a Phi Mu, too. Some wheels were set in motion, and not only did it get me back in touch with my old roommate, but it sounds like the alumni magazine might do a story on me. Woo-hoo! The Phi Mus are rallying behind me!

Then, later in the week, I got an invitation to my high school class's 20th reunion--the class of 1987--which makes me feel REALLY old. An e-mail followed, with the itinerary and hotel information. On the one hand, I'm tempted to go--after all, I haven't been back in Ft. Walton Beach since...well, since not long after I graduated from high school! The reunion hotel is right on the beach (and Ft. Walton is GORGEOUS!) and the activities sound fun--bonfires, family beach parties, boat parties, a dinner buffet, 80's music party. On the other hand, I'm not particularly in touch with ANYONE from high school. Oh, there's the occasional e-mail with former classmates, and I went out to dinner with one when she visited NYC, but that's about the extent of it.

So now I'm batting around all these ideas...college homecoming, where I can see all my old sorority sisters, or a high school reunion, where I can see all my old classmates. I'm curious, I guess, but enough to travel to Ft. Walton Beach, FL, or Hattiesburg, MS, neither of which can be reached via direct flight from New York (a definite down-side)? Is it really worth it? Will I have *anyone* to talk to? Will anyone remember me? And could I possibly lose any weight before either event?

Right now I'm really leaning toward Homecoming--I'd like to see the new sorority house, and the Phi Mus are being *so* supportive of my writing career, now that they know about it. The high school reunion...I just can't muster up enough enthusiasm, I'm afraid.

Have any of you been to any of your high school reunions, particularly if, like me, you've long since moved away from the town in which you went to school? If so, was it worth it? Were you glad you went? Did you renew any meaningful friendships? Or was it a waste of time and dieting?

Idol Addict

2007-03-06T10:13:00.000-05:00

It’s my turn to blog, and I really should be talking about the new book I have out, Just About Sex, but I have more important things to focus on. Still, I can’t totally ignore my marketing duties--so here’s the abbreviated spiel about JAS: it’s about a sex therapist/columnist who runs afoul of a lawyer when she prints a letter from his disgruntled ex. He calls her on it, they argue, he takes extreme measures to get a little revenge … yada, yada, yada … they fall in love and live happily ever after. Please buy several dozen copies of the book at your earliest convenience.

Okay? Okay. End of marketing spiel. Now on to more important things.

You’re watching American Idol, right?

For years I’ve avoided jumping on this bandwagon, but no more. My kids insisted on watching it, one thing led to another, and now the whole family is engrossed in the unfolding human drama.

In general, I think the voting has been right on point, but last week had me scratching my head. Here’s why: Sanjaya is still here, and so is Antonella.

WHY are they still here? Has anyone listened to them SING??? I have, and I’m still shuddering.

True, Sanjaya has great hair and seems like a really sweet kid. True, Antonella is really pretty and has those nude photos on the internet.

But isn’t this a SINGING competition? Shouldn’t we vote for the best SINGERS? I’m just saying…

Me? I love Blake, the human beat-box, Jared, even though he’s a little full of himself, Chris, Sundance, Jordin, Lakisha, Melinda, Sabrina, Stephanie … oh, and A.J., who was voted off last week in favor of Sanjaya of the beautiful hair and weird Michael Jackson vibe. Can’t wait to watch the fellas tonight.

So what about you? Are you mesmerized by the Idol drama? Who’s your fav?

OOOH-SO YOU WRITE THOSE KINDS OF BOOKS

2007-03-04T15:56:00.000-05:00

Being a writer, and a gabber, I'm rarely at a loss for words. Recently, though, the unexpected happened: I didn't know what to say when someone I'd known for quite a long time and hadn't seen in a while, who just found out I'd written a book, said, as she looked at the bookmark I gave her with the cover on it, "Ooooh-so you write those kinds of books."

I stumbled-and it took me a moment, but I recovered. I put on the look I use when trying to catch my kids weasle out of something, (eyes stretched wide open, lashes batting) and said, "What kind of books, exactly?"

It's quite funny, really-the reaction romance novels have on the general, non-reading of romances public. They're either thought of as a "naughty little secret", or, well, one of those kinds of books.

I was more taken aback by this particular person than anything. For all those writers out there, have you had this question posed to you, and if so, what was your response?

What's in a Name?

2007-03-01T22:50:00.000-05:00

I must confess that I am title challenged. I can write the 400 pages of a manuscript easier than I can come up with a reasonable title. I am more than happy to listen to my editor and agent bounce ideas around to come up with a title for my book. Just so they know that I really do care, everyone once in a while I'll offer a suggestion. Usually the sound of crickets follow or else a very polite, let's just keep trying, email. I'm fine with that. At least they don't agree with my awful titles and allow me to go ahead and make a fool of myself.

I recently read an article called Stranger than Fiction: Books whose titles range from weird to hilarious. Here are just a few of the titles:

What's Wrong With My Snake?
Movie Stars in Bathtubs
Walled Up Nuns
Scouts in Bondage

My editor gave me my new title yesterday and it's a relief to no longer call it "that book". From now on it will be called THE REMAINS OF THE DEAD. Much, much better than Walled Up Nuns.

My favorite title of all time is Pride and Prejudice. I wonder if Jane Austen got to choose her title or if it was handed to her.

So share, what's your favorite title?

Kristina's Top-Ten "Eye Candy"

2007-03-01T11:03:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be totally shallow today, and post about my favorite "eye candy"--as in, hunky guys. I know, pathetic, right?! I admit, I'm a very visual person, and I *like* to look at men that intrigue me with their looks--they don't have to be classically handsome; sometimes it's their personality--or perceived personality--that attracts me. But you should see my screensaver--a slideshow of all my favorite eye candy. My husband is very indulgent, and luckily, he's never complained. Sometimes I wonder how I'd feel if *his* screensaver was a slideslow of gorgeous women....nah, let's not go there. Okay, without further adieu....

1. Colin Firth. Who could resist Mr. Darcy?! He's simply adorable--charming and endearing. A British accent is always a plus.

2. Colin Farrell. This one's easy. Say what you may about him, but he's an amazing actor (anyone see Phone Booth? Or Tigerland? Or A Home at the End of the World?). He's devilishly handsome, to-die-for charming, and then there's that Irish brogue...

3. Hayden Christensen. Okay, I know he's young. Very young. I'm old enough to have been his babysitter. But hey, he's cute. Really cute, in a boyishly sexy, mysterious way. Even if you hated the new Star Wars movies (it's not Hayden's fault--the dialogue was just *bad*!), you have to admit he's nice to look at.

4. Ryan Gosling. Another young 'un. Another fabulously talented one (if you haven't seen The Believer or Half Nelson, you have no idea just how talented he is!). I was *so* proud of his Oscar nomination this year!!! There's just something about his eyes....

5. Hugh Dancy. Not as young as he looks! I wonder how many young moms out there discovered him in Ella Enchanted? I know I did--he made watching it over and over and over again with my daughters a pleasure! He's just gorgeous--almost *too* gorgeous. He was great as Essex in Elizabeth I, and astounding on Broadway in Journey's End. I predict that he is a star on the rise.

6. Tony Stewart. "Who?", you're asking, unless you happen to be a fan of NASCAR (or married to a fan of NASCAR!). He's the reformed 'bad boy' of racing--much like the reformed rake of romance. Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but he does it for me. Maybe it's his talent combined with his intensity--I don't know.

7. Richard Armitage. If you haven't seen the BBC miniseries North and South (based on the Elizabeth Gaskell novel), you are *seriously* missing out. This guy can brood. I heard that after the miniseries first aired, some website devoted to him crashed from everyone and their long lost sister logging on at once. He's definitely worthy of such devotion! Oh, and there's the British accent thing again.

8. Edward Norton. I call him the 'thinking woman's eye-candy.' It's something beyond his looks--maybe the fact that he's smart, a Yale graduate. Or that he's just so frighteningly talented, always playing these super-intense characters. Whatever it is, I like it!

9. A three-way-TV-tie: John Krasinski (Jim Halpert on The Office), Josh Holloway (Sawyer on LOST), and Matthew Fox (Jack on LOST). Okay, so I couldn't seem to limit myself to ten--so sue me. But these three sure make TV-land a better place!

10. And I saved the best for last.....my husband! I think he's very hunky, and he gets better by the year! He's smart, funny, and a terrific husband and father--what could be better?! Plus, he puts up with me and all my neuroses, and doesn't mind my celebrity ogling. A true keeper!

And since I couldn't seem to get the pics in the right places, from top to bottom, they are: Hayden Christensen, Richard Armitage, Ryan Gosling, Colin Farrell, and Tony Stewart.

Now tell me, who are *your* top ten???

Men in Tights. And Heels. And Wigs.

2007-02-28T11:09:00.000-05:00

My husband and I went to the Hasty Pudding show the other night (hey, I don't live near Broadway; this is the closest I can come to competing with Kristina's show reviews). For those who don't know, the Hasty Pudding is Harvard's answer to RuPaul: college boys in drag. Here are a couple of them kissing up to Ben Stiller, in a very skanky bra and headband. The show they put on is what you might expect from college boys: some slapstick, some bad jokes, some self-deprecating jokes, a lot of awful puns, and a woman with three breasts. If this doesn't sound funny to you, well, that's why I recommend a two martini minimum. Everything is a lot funnier after two martinis, but especially a group of guys trying to dance in high heels (bonus: one guy lost his wig during it!). Also, it really mellows you out while trying to find the lone unoccupied parking space in Cambridge, and then squeezing your car into it.

Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, copy Kristina's reviews. The show this year is called The Tent Commandments. A freak show and a circus are existing, testily, side-by-side, until they actually read the Tent Commandments (the tablets look just like the ones Charlton Heston had), and find out that they can't exist side-by-side. There's a subplot about a Frenchie who wants to assassinate an elephant, a witchdoctor who can't quite get her spells straight, and a lovelorn three-breasted woman who wonders why she can't find a man who loves her ("Because nobody's got three hands!" the other characters tell her). Even the names are jokes: the trapeze artist is named Will U. Bellomy. Say it quickly. Emphasize the O.

So we're watching this show, groaning at times, laughing at others (remember the martinis), and what should appear in this show, written by college guys, starring college guys, performed by college guys in dresses, but romance. Not one, not two, but three romantic relationships! Four, if you include the elephant's unrequited passion for the French guy. And it made me think (much later--those were good martinis) that romance pops up way, way, way more than people think. Star Wars. Terminator. Every sitcom and medical drama on TV. For all those condescending stories about 'bodice rippers' and 'chick porn,' there's an awful lot of romance woven into every genre of entertainment.

So where's the most unexpected place--TV show, book, movie, YouTube clip--you've seen a romance play out? And did the romance help or hurt the rest of the work?

Extrovert or Introvert?

2007-02-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Many, many years ago, I took the Myers-Briggs personality test. It indicated, among other things, that I'm an introvert. I tell people this and they don't believe me. Even my husband doesn't believe it. (Well, he is probably more introverted than I am.)

It's true that I can pretend to be outgoing. With four sons, I haven't had the luxury of hiding in my cave. I've run the swim team and the cub scouts. I'm not afraid of a microphone, and I can stand up in front of a crowd and give a speech if I have to. I even enjoy it, sort of. But it's a stretch for me.

Take conferences, for example. I like meeting new people, but I can only take so much of it. I'm not good with names for one thing, and there always seems to be that moment when I insert my foot in my mouth and chew vigorously all the way up to my kneecap.

Actually, I think my life goes in cycles. There are times when I have to get out there. (This is one--my next book, The Naked Earl, comes out April 3, so I've been working on online interviews and other promotion.) But then I'm eager to retreat from the world--even from the Internet. I curl up on my living room loveseat, my laptop--purposely sans Internet card--on my lap, look out the picture window at the park and the people walking by, and leave reality, getting into my character's heads and hearts.

What about you? Extrovert or introvert? And what do you think marks the difference?

Just About Sex

2007-02-25T22:30:00.000-05:00

My first book for Harlequin/Kimani Press, Just About Sex, debuts March 1^st. JAS is the story of Dr. Simone Beaupre, a sex therapist and columnist, who runs afoul of attorney Alex Greene when she prints a letter sent in by his disgruntled ex. Greene demands an apology, and when Simone refuses, he sets out to teach her a little lesson. Naturally they fall in love.

I had lots of fun writing JAS, and especially thinking about sex therapists and how they’d help couples improve their relationships. Which got me to thinking, and this is the topic for the day: what one question would you pose to a relationship expert if you had the chance? I’ll start, so here goes: is it true men only hear every third word their wives say? Or is it that they only hear the verbs and not the nouns?

What about you? What relationship question have you always wanted to ask an expert?

Music & Lyrics

2007-02-23T11:07:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting for a week to see this movie, and I'm going with a couple of friends this afternoon to celebrate the fact that I just turned in my latest book to my editor (yay!) and can play hookey with a clear conscience!

I'm a big Drew Barrymore fan, and I think Hugh Grant is the cuteness. I really liked him and Liz Hurley together, but, ya know, if you can't figure out how to get sex without paying for it (being Hugh Grant, yet!), you deserve to lose a gal like Liz.

My favorite Hugh Grant movie is Sense & Sensibility. I just adore him in that movie.

What about you? Fave Hugh Grant flick?

A Wonderful Tea Party

2007-02-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to an "Old Fashioned Tea Party" at Fort Meade. Kim, the woman in the middle of this picture, organized a fabulous event for the Ft. Meade Officers' Wives' Club. Kathryn Falk from Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine was there as well as a host of authors--Cathy Maxwell, Mary Jo Putney, Rebecca York, and others including me and Diane Perkins/Diane Gaston. (In the picture, I'm the tallest one on the left and Diane is on the right.) Everyone was invited to wear vintage clothing. There was quite a variety of hats, gloves, pearls, and pins.

Diane and I drove together--well, Diane drove and I navigated. We got there a little late--blame the Washington, D.C., area traffic--but there was still time to mingle before we had to report to our assigned tables. I truly lucked out--I was seated at the "Best Scones and Tea" table. This is not an exaggeration! Pam, our table hostess, baked all the goodies herself and they were to die for! (I'm afraid I had to give myself a dispensation from Ash Wednesday fasting--to do otherwise would have been rude, and surely rudeness is a sin....) She also brewed a very creative selection of teas.

I have a few friends who are part of military families, but my contact with the services is really very limited. What struck me yesterday was the strength of the women in the room. They knew how to manage their families on their own, how to move across the country or the world and make new friends--and how to have a good time while doing it all! (Perhaps I should own up to the fact here that I have basically lived my whole life in one little corner of Maryland.)

So here's a shout out to all our men and women in the military--especially those in combat--and to their spouses who keep the home fires burning!!

PS--Happy 90th anniversary to Ft. Meade!

PPS--Diane grew up in a military family and has a wonderful article about her mother here.

Puppy love

2007-02-21T10:13:00.000-05:00

This is my dog. I took this picture to show her as the spoiled little princess she is, right down to the tiara (provided by my daughter). She sat still for it because I had a large dog biscuit in my hand; otherwise the tiara would have been a bit of mangled plastic in approximately 2.4 seconds, and the dog would have been romping all over the room, because...well, because she's spoiled and we thought it was so cute when she was small we didn't train her out of it. Now we have a 65 lb beast running wild in the house, over, under, and around us all.

When I read about the climbers who slid down the mountain and survived thanks to the dog they brought with them, I was not surprised. The dog, a Labrador retriever mix, lay on top of the climbers to help them keep warm in the sub-zero temperatures until they could be rescued. What a great dog! What protective instincts! Yup, all true, but... My dog's numero uno, A-#1 favorite place to be is right on top of me. She'll settle for my feet, but in her perfect world, in her little doggy fantasies, she is allowed to get right up on the couch and drape herself across me as I try to work, with her head on my shoulder (so she can lick my ear from time to time). In fact, she's at her calmest and most docile the closer she is to me (or to my husband--she's also a daddy's girl). I think she's a smart girl and knows she'll be kicked off if she wriggles around, but I also think she's just about reached her nirvana and doesn't need anything else. Not even dog biscuits. And boy, does she put out warmth.

So now I know: if I am ever climbing a mountain*, in the winter**, without a team of rescue mountaineers right behind me***, I'll take my dog.

*Not likely
**REALLY not likely
***Oh, @%&?# NO

You Go, Girls!

2007-02-19T20:04:00.000-05:00

Did anyone else notice the plethora of romance novelists—current and former—atop the NYT print lists for the week of February 25? I did, and I counted fourteen. That’s right. Fourteen. Janet Evanovich, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Lisa Gardner, Barbara Delinsky, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Sherrilyn Kenyon, just to name a few. Yeah, Nora’s on there, too.

I’m not sure why I’m so excited about this. I don’t know any of these women personally (although I DID meet Susan Elizabeth Phillips on an elevator once and she was perfectly lovely), and I’m certainly not getting paid to endorse them. Maybe it’s because of all the snarky comments we romance authors get—“when are you going to write a REAL book?” etc., etc.--that makes this feel like a wonderful validation. The New York Times reports that romances account for 55 % of all mass market popular fiction sold every year. This isn’t news to the millions of people that read and love romances, but it’s still cool to see the rest of the world recognizing what lots of us already know: there are a lot of damn good romance authors out there.

So I say: you go, girls! WTG!

Which of your favorite NYT bestsellers were on the list this week?

Puffickly Ha-YOOOGE Inspiration

2007-02-19T14:42:00.000-05:00

Most writers have an inspiration in some form that they reflect on. Keeps them going, at times, or makes them strive for something higher in the long run. I have a few, but one of my biggest inspirations is the writings of Stephen King. He is, to me, a puffickly ha-yooge master of his craft. PUFFICKLY HA-YOOGE belongs to Mr. King, and it's one of my favorite phrases in the latest of his books that I'm reading, LISEY'S STORY. If you're a King fan and you haven't read it yet, go for it. It's fantastic-enough that, without REALLY being blunt with his horror, he can, hours later, even (IF you like this sort of stuff!), creep you out! You may not even know you're BEING creeped out until it's already happened. For me-NINE days away from my deadline, I probably shouldn't be reading the darn thing. I'll read a chapter, go to sleep, and then WHACK-it has me tossing and turning and FREAKING OUT! Lol!

Who's your inspiration? And if you're a reader, is there that one particular author who just really does it for you, in a Puffickly Ha-Yooge way?

Mommy madness

2007-02-16T12:07:00.000-05:00

I've been AWOL around here lately, but I do have an excuse note from the doctor. Actually, it's not from my doctor, it's from the surgeons who recently took care of one of my kids. The kid is doing great now--you know a kid is feeling like himself when he starts fighting with his sister again--and finally, I am, too.

Before this surgery, we tried to be pretty calm and matter-of-fact about it to our kid. By this, I mean my husband ordered me not to cry in front of him, because I was a nervous wreck. All the logical truths in the world did not erase the fact that it was my baby who was going into the OR. Every newspaper in the world seemed to be filled with stories of surgery gone wrong, complications and malpractice and death. Little kids, big kids, kids whose cute pictures were in the paper: "this child left paralyzed...in a coma...brain damaged...DEAD... by incompetent doctors." Even though I knew, and fully believed, that my son had an excellent surgeon (one of the top specialists in his field), that the surgery would be done at an excellent children's hospital (one of the best in the country), that the odds of anything remotely bad happening were very, very small, and that this treatment was the right decision for our child...I was still a nervous wreck.

Before they operate, the hospital gave me the consent forms to sign, all those papers that are legally obligated to inform you of the risks, however small, of paralysis, brain damage, blindness, seizures, and DEATH from the anesthesia. For myself, I read the paper and sign it. For my child, I wanted to cross it all out and write instead, 'hurt him and I will kill you all.' Just so everyone knew where we really stood.

There's something fundamentally irrational about being a mother. I'm not even talking about the original supposition of bearing children, which is that the mother has to endure fifteen hours of labor while the father talks football with the obstetrician. I'm over that (really, honey, I am. No, really. It was VITALLY important that we handicap the Superbowl while I was screaming in agony). There's a sort of madness that overtakes a woman when she holds that tiny little creature next to her heart for the first time, and if the madness ever lifts...I haven't hit that point yet. It's not a question of biology; my father was adopted, and my grandmother had the same madness. It's definitely something else, more like the way hard drugs permanently change your brain. Once you get a hit of that maternal feeling, you can't go back. You're not quite sane anymore. Let something or someone threaten your child, and that person or thing is toast, no matter what. Not for nothing did Kipling write:

When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail,
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

Go, she-bear.

Theater Review--Journey's End with Hugh Dancy

2007-02-15T13:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had a blizzard here in NYC--our first big storm of the season. On Valentine's Day, no less. Oh, how I wanted to stay safely warm indoors all day, in my jammies. However....the day had come, at last!!!!!! About a month ago, when I first heard that actor Hugh Dancy (you might know him as Prince Char in Ella Enchanted, or as Galahad in King Arthur, or Essex in the Elizabeth I miniseries with Helen Mirren) was making his Broadway debut in the classic play, Journey's End, I knew I HAD to go. ASAP. While the play was still in previews (it opens Feb. 22nd). So, I called hubby at work and said we must go see *this* show, on Valentine's Day. That would be my present. He said, "Okay, but I'm not sitting in the second row." Grrrr. Okay, I got eighth row. We got a pre-theater dinner reservation at a restaurant we'd been dying to try, Chef Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne, and everything was rosy. Till 5 p.m. yesterday, when I had to trudge through the blowing, icy snow, down mostly unplowed streets, across huge drifts of snow to the subway station. As if that weren't enough, just walking from the 42nd Street station over to 44th and 5th was a nightmare--there were piles and piles of dirty slush everywhere, in every intersection. Blech! Finally made it to dinner (a half hour late--luckily hubby made it there on time so we didn't lose our precious reservation!). Dinner was fabulous, and then we moseyed over to the theater and settled into our seats (while I cursed that I *could* have had second row).

Okay, you're wondering....was it worth it?! Was it better than hunkering down at home in my PJ's?! Two words...OH YEAH! It was fabulous! The play, a WWI drama, was written by R.C. Sherriff and was first produced in 1929, with the then-unknown 21-year-old Laurence Olivier playing Capt. Stanhope, the role now played by Hugh Dancy. It was very powerful, very moving (and probably was more so just after WWI), and VERY well acted by the talented ensemble cast. The entire three-act play takes place in a dimly-lit bunker in France, near the British front lines (with the Germans just across 'no man's land'). It was probably one of the first portrayals of the harsh realities of war--where the men were scared half out of their wits, yet incredibly brave at the same time. It seemed very real, very human. And yet so civilized. ("Would you like a nice cup of tea, sir?" "Why yes, quite.") For me, the real indicator of the show's success was the fact that I absolutely believed that, just beyond the bunker, past the door and up the stairs, were lines and lines of British soldiers, standing in trenches dug into the French coutryside. The pounding guns in the distance seemed so real, and the danger felt palpable. I cared about these characters, about who would live and who would die.

Anyway, kudos to Hugh Dancy on a terrific Broadway debut--I imagine there will be many flattering comparisons made to the young Olivier in the same role, and any praise will be well-deserved. He had an incredible stage presence (and he's a big guy--much bigger than I expected him to be), and his performance was sympathetic and moving--an excellent 'tortured hero' as we in the romance world like to say. And, of course, there's the fact that he's just simply gorgeous.

Sigh.......

OH, and I almost forgot!!!!! Check out the mini-teaser trailer for my upcoming book, TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL, on YouTube! Just click on the arrow below to play, and let me know what you think.

A contest! A contest!

2007-02-15T10:04:00.000-05:00

We're going to be having a big contest here on Muse/News next week, but in the meantime, get your contest mojo going by stopping by my blog...where I'm giving away an Advance Review Copy of Rises the Night, the second installment in the Gardella Vampire Chronicles (due out in June).

You have until Saturday to enter!

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

History states that the martyr, St. Valentine, died on February 14, 269 A.D. and left a goodbye note for his jailer's daughter, who he'd befriended. The note was signed "From Your Valentine". It's probably safe,though, to assume that most people don't think of martyred saints when they think of Valentine's Day.

Personally, I think first of chocolate.

Next I think of Zeus the son of Jupiter and Venus, usually known as Cupid.

I feel a little awkward about Valentine's Day as a holiday to profess love because, quite frankly, aren't we supposed to do that all year? My head tells me that it's a contrived money grab and society reinforces it with stores filled to the rafters with Valentine paraphernalia and television commercials for heart-shaped diamond pendants. Still, I admit I get sucked in. I want something on Valentine's Day. Not diamonds (though I wouldn't throw them away ha ha) but a romantic, sentimental card and, yes, chocolate.

How about you? Are you hoping for flowers, chocolate and romance today, or do you ignore all the hoopla?

Yeah. Right.

2007-02-13T08:52:00.000-05:00

So apparently, this restaurant in London is offering free food to models. (Read complete story here.)

Um. Can I say I'm just not blown away by their generosity?

First of all, skinny models don't eat diddly. So it's not as if the restaurant is going to be giving away any great donation.

Secondly, if models wanted to eat, they'd eat. Hell-o!

And third, which is the part that grinds my butt the most, is: if they want to give away free food, why the heck don't they give it to people who can't afford it? Like, say, the homeless?

I'm sorry, but I'm ticked. This restaurant is using the whole skinny-model scandal to try and create a PR moment, which I generally have no problem with--but for crying out loud....why not do some good if you're going to donate things?

It's like offering ice to eskimos. Only tackier.

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

2007-02-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

I think it's fun to find out the wide-spread interests of writers and readers. Some people chronically read the same type of books, same genre, same sub-genre. Others (like me!) have a severely wide arc of reading interests.

Note the photo: that's my nightstand. Not the greatest of pics, but I didn't want it to look staged! I've got everything from Peter Pan in Scarlett (GREAT book!), to This Is All I Ask (LOVE LYN KURLAND!), to Fire and Hemlock (great young adult!) to Lisey's Story (LOVE STEPHEN!) to my latest TBR addition, Hannibal Rising (SHUDDER!).

My husband shakes his head at my teetering reading pile, and can't understand why I have to have so MANY there. Well, because one night, I might want to fly in a pirate's ship over olde London, or pretend I'm the heroine whose hero is blind but the most absolute strongest, handsome knight in all of Medieval England, and the next night, pull the covers up to my eyes so the scary words of Stephen King blurs enough so not to freak me totally out. Lol!

What's on YOUR nightstand? Do you stack your TBR's right next to you, or do you chose them at random and read them all the way through?

Now, there are a few exceptions with me. When I've been waiting on my favorite author's newest release, I will set aside all other reads to start/finish that particular one. Otherwise, it's whatever grabs me.....

What's SEX got to do with it?

2007-02-09T06:40:00.000-05:00

Remember that Tina Turner 1984 chart topper "What's love got to do with it?" Sex and love--certainly not synonyms, but so often...um...entwined.

I write romance, so the question of sex and love crops up frequently. What's a proper balance? The genre allows a wide range of variation, from inspirationals (love, but no sex) to erotica (which some people would say is sex, but no love--well, many people would say pure erotica is outside the romance genre entirely, but you get my drift). I would venture to guess, however, that the amount of sex in your middle-of-the-road, garden variety romance has increased markedly since I was a young teen in the, um, well, let's just say the latter half of the 20th century, ok? Certainly the amount of sex in the general media--radio, TV, cinema--has.

Is there too much sex in romance novels now? I've heard some readers say they just skip over the sex scenes. They'd be happier if the bedroom door stayed firmly closed, thank you very much. Hmm. Well, that's not me, though I do sometimes find myself scratching my head, thinking, "Is that physically possible??" And I'm not a huge fan of "insert tab A into slot B" scenes, either. I mean, I want to read a romance, not a sex manual.

As I writer, I don't mind writing sex scenes--just don't ask me to read them aloud! I like writing interactions between my characters, whether they are arguing, teasing, or making love. Action shows emotion--and the act of sex can reveal the nature of the characters' love for each other.

So, what about you readers and writers out there in the blogosphere? What's sex got to do with it? Is there too much in today's romances? Should we close--and lock--the bedroom door? Have things gone too far...or have they not gone far enough?

Top Ten Quirky Things I’ll Bet You Didn’t Know About RISK

2007-02-08T08:05:00.000-05:00

Angela, the heroine, has no maternal instincts when she sets out to adopt Maya, her 3.5 year old orphaned niece;
Angela is a control freak who believes children should be seen and not heard, children should NOT watch TV, and children should not make messes (*snicker!*);
Angela is a neat freak who frequently goes overboard with her orange cleaning spray;
Justus, the hero, loves children and is a devoted uncle to Maya;
Justus teaches Maya to play chess with a Wizard of Oz chess set;
Justus falls in love with Angela at the wedding reception of his brother and her sister;
Justus is seventeen at the time and Angela is twenty-four;
Ten years later, Justus relentlessly pursues Angela;
Justus believes that, “A woman’s body is a complicated instrument… You don’t blame the Stradivarius if the violinist can’t play”; and
Justus is a virtuoso who wins Angela’s heart and sets her skin on fire.

So what about it? Have I convinced you to run right out and buy ten or twelve copies of Risk? What are some of the quirky things you love in your favorite romance novels? Commenters will have a chance to win a signed copy of Risk at the end of the day.

It's got to be a guy thing...

2007-02-07T08:48:00.000-05:00

I love men. I really do. I mean, they make life frustrat--er, interesting. Not to mention spicy, if they're behaving. You know?

But recently, I've heard of two really dumb things that a couple of guys that I know did. Tell me, would a woman do this?
Yeah, I have to admit a genetic connection to the guy whose truck is pictured here. It's my uncle, who lives in the very cold, very snowy Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And, yeah, he's a mature guy--not a youngster who shouldn't know any better.

He was out checking the ice for a big ice-fishing thing, and saw tracks on the ice. So what does he do? Figures it's okay and drives his truck out onto the ice.

The minute he heard the crack, he was out of the truck--dog in tow--and slogging back to the shore (thank goodness it was near the shore of an inland lake). He had to walk 4.5 miles in 0-degree weather, wet from the waist down, to get to shelter. D'oh!

I'm sure he's not going to be able to get the truck out 'til spring thaw...which, in the UP, is May.

And here's the other D'oh! moment I witnessed a few weeks ago. (This guy, thankfully, isn't related to me.)

My Music Man and I went to see this band play at a bar. We're sitting near the front, and we know the guys in the band. Including the lead guitarist, Bo, and his wife, with whom we sit and chat for a few minutes. She leaves to go home and put their kids to bed.

So about a half hour later, she returns and sits down near the front of the stage. The band has been playing this whole time, and so they're winding down for a break. Bo yells into the mike, "Ya'll having fun tonight?"

Everyone responds, "Yeah!"

Except one gal, in the front row in a tight t-shirt and a generous rack, says, "No!"

Bo looks at her. "What?"

She says, "I just wondered what you'd say if someone said no!"

He just looks at her and says, still into the mike, "Well, I don't really care what you said, 'cause I've been distracted all night, looking at your chest! [although I think he used a different word]" Then he kind of looks up and says to the rest of the bar at large, "I can say that 'cause my wife went home!"

Ooops. Apparently, he hadn't noticed she'd returned. Poor Bo. I wouldn't want to be in the car with him on the way home that night!

Okay, so. Is this a guy thing? Doing stupid things like this? Or are women just as nuts?

Ghosts, Specters...and Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

2007-02-06T07:32:00.000-05:00

Ghosts. Specters. Apparitions.

Spirits.

Some claim to have seen them.

Some claim to interact with them.

Some claim to live with them.

Obviously, some claim to whole-heartedly believe in them.

Of course, there are those who don't believe in ghosts, in any form, lingering on Earth for whatever reason, at all. Which, is totally okay. The Professor on Gilligan's Island was an extremely intelligent man. He didn't believe in all that hocus-pocus, nonsensical rubbish, either. But the guy could make a two-way radio out of some scooped out coconut shells and palm grass.

Then, of course, aside from the whole-hearted Believers and the No-Wayers, are the OTHERS: Those peoples who see-saw on the edge of believing/disbelieving. Some won't admit they see-saw. Some probably don't think about it until they're asked, or perhaps when that tingling sensation hits them again--you know, the sensation that makes your skin break out into goosebumps, and you look over your shoulder for no apparent reason? A rush of adrenaline that soars through your veins, makes you look this way and that when you're completely alone? Yeah. That sensation.

The photo above is of The Myrtles Plantation in Lousianna. It's one of the most highly-recognized haunted places in America. I've never been to it, but I'd love to go with a load of girlfriends to stay overnight at their B&B, which is located in the main house. A newlywed couple stayed there their first night as husband and wife. Although they had reservations to stay the entire weekend, by that next morning they were packing up and hauling BUTT. (and no, it wasn't the hysterical woman leading the way--it was her new husband!)

Why? They didn't actually see anything. It was because weird things, unexplained things, had happened all night long and into the morning. Water wouldn't turn off. The door locked on its own. An open closet door slammed shut during the middle of the night. The hot water in the bathroom sink turned on by itself and fogged up the mirror. And both reported they felt someone watching them.

Yep! I'd like to go visit the Myrtles Plantation!

I've experienced a few weird things over time. Nothing seriously concrete, but enough to make me go hmmm. When I'm not writing full time, I'm working as a critical care nurse part-time. I work in an old hospital. In Neuro-ICU, there have been multiple reports over the years from patients who have awakened from sedation and claimed to have seen a little girl in an "old-timey" dress and stockings playing jax in the corner of their rooms, or running around giggling, or bothering the IV pumps. They always question the nurses, since ICU is a No-Kids unit, why we would allow this girl to run around. Willies! There are other times, just as recent as last weekend, when "someone" bothers the IV pump, changes the rate by pushing buttons, etc. And you have to wonder, how do all these patients, admitted over different time periods, all say the same thing?

Weird.

Of course, I don't work that particular unit. I'm a cardiac nurse, 4 floors down, but lo, the little old-timey girl has sought me out (sort of!). She's "most active" during the winter months, and apparently "travels" from unit to unit. Recently, the nurse I was sharing a hall with came out of her patient's room, white as a sheet. The patient had frantically asked her "who is that little girl over there in the corner? Could you ask her to leave, please? I"m trying to get some rest."

There were, of course, no little girls on the floor. EEK!

According to some very old records, now on microfilm, a little girl, name unknown, had died in that particular area of the hospital at the turn of the century after a long illness.

Another experience was one of those unexplained sensations. Some fellow writers and I stayed in a supposed haunted B&B in Ashville, North Carolina. We rented the top floor, which had been turned into a massive suite. A hundred years earlier, it had been two separate rooms. One of those rooms had been occupied by a party guest who'd had a run-in with the home owner's daughter over a fella. The daughter, in a rage, pushed the guest--a young woman now engaged to the daughter's ex-fiance fella--over the balcony where she fell to her death. Now, I didn't see anything, but there was definitely something there that gave me the complete willies! In particular, an armoire, situated in the main bedroom, along with a tall dormer window. Something about that area kept me awake all night. I constantly felt as though someone was looking at me through the armoire (did I mention this armoire's front was a tall mirror?), or that at any minute I'd see something at the dormer window. I was completely freaked out! (Yes, I DO write ghost stories!). I was skeered!!!

The next night--nothing. Zilch. Funny sensation GONE. Skeeriness, bye-bye. Over-active imagination? Maybe. Or, maybe not.

What makes some people see apparitions, and others not? Is there a plane of existance between time and place as we know it, and an alternate plane where spirits reside, and only certain people are privy to it?

There are those of the Believers status who would consider it.

There are those of the No-Wayers who would laugh at the notion.

And there are those of the Others status who might just go hmmm.

Until...

Cindy

www.cindy-miles.com

Calling Central Casting

2007-02-04T21:47:00.000-05:00

Justus Robinson, the college-basketball-player-turned-personal-trainer hero in my current novel, Risk, is tall, broad-shouldered, dark-eyed and mischievous. I have, as you can imagine, spent hours and hour with Justus, and although I can’t think of anyone in real life who looks exactly like him, actor Henry Simmons, formerly of NYPD Blue, comes pretty close. You might remember Henry. He’s the one with the gleaming skin and flashing white smile. Poor guy. He’s just not that attractive, is he? Ah, well. What can you do?

If I had to cast an actor to play Mike, the hero in my first novel, Trouble, it’d have to be Shemar Moore of The Young & the Restless. I guess he’ll do, huh? If you like those glittering eyes and heavy brows. Some women seem to go for that stuff. Go figure.

No one’s asking me, but if I had to cast an actor for the role of James Fraser in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, I’d pick Ingo Rademacher from General Hospital. Of course he’d have to dye his hair red for the role, but something about his blue eyes and dimple seem to drive women wild.

And if I had to re-cast the ultimate romantic hero, Gone With the Wind’s Rhett Butler, I’d choose … George Clooney. Couldn’t you just see him telling Scarlett that she’s no lady?

I hesitate to put this much masculine perfection on one web page—I don’t want to hurt anybody—but these actors would be my choices. What about you? Which actors would you cast to play which heroes, and why?

Kristina's Top Ten....New iPod Playlist songs

2007-02-03T18:48:00.000-05:00

Top Ten songs most recently added to my iPod playlist...

1. Best of My Love by The Emotions

2. White Lines by Duran Duran (this is their cover of the classic Grandmaster Flash song)

3. Perfect Way by Scritti Politti

4. Africa by Toto

5. Owner of a Lonely Heart by YES

6. Groove is in the Heart by Dee-Lite

7. Obsession by Animotion

8. Cactus Tree by Joni Mitchell

9. SexyBack by Justin Timberlake

10. Back To Life by Soul II Soul

Today I’m Dreaming

2007-02-01T09:09:00.000-05:00

It’s been cold. Not the frozen tundra of my memories growing up in Winnipeg but cold just the same. There has been frost on my car in the morning and my teeth have been chattering as I drop the kids off at school. It’s February 1st and I know it won’t be long before my tulips are visible. Still, my soul can’t separate the date on the calendar with the dreary darkened days outside my window.

So I’ve been dreaming of a tropical paradise. Palm trees. The look of a fine young man serving me a drink with an umbrella in it. Sigh. The fantasy is almost complete until the timer sounds on my washing machine LOL!

I’ll tell you a secret, a little dab of coconut suntan oil under your nose can transport your mind to warmer days. It immediately relaxes me. A good book is also my oasis and I can't wait to get my hot little hands on Ann's new book, Risk. That cover makes me warm all over he he.

Are you tired of the drab days of winter? What’s your secret to getting away from it all in your mind? Are you reading anything that takes you to far away lands?

Oh, By the Way…

2007-01-30T19:56:00.000-05:00

Sooo … have I mentioned I’ve got a book out?

Risk, my second novel, is hitting bookshelves everywhere right this very second, and I’m thrilled to pieces.

When I’m not biting my nails off with the nervous jitters, that is.

Here’s how I describe Risk, in case you’re interested:

When tragedy reunites bad boy Justus Robinson and control freak Angela Dennis, the smoldering passion between them finally erupts—with devastating results. Suddenly both their hearts are at risk…

Here’s what the reviewer for Romantic Times BOOKreviews said about Risk:

Sometimes tragedies bring out the best and worst in those affected by them. That’s what happens in Christopher’s brilliant and tasteful novel about love, tragedy, heartbreak and forgiveness. The author delves deep into her characters, and this touching story will have readers looking into themselves and reexamining the way they react to those around them. (4 ½ Stars)

Have I piqued your interest at all? Yes? No?

What if I tell you a little more about Justus? He’s tall, dark, handsome, devilish, and moody. Since he’s a bad boy, he’s not above a little manipulation here and there, and he has a tendency to do outrageous things. How outrageous, you ask? Well, for one thing, he follows Angela into the ladies’ restroom in a fancy restaurant and talks to her when she’s upset.

I just love reading—and writing about—unpredictable heroes. Don’t you?

I’m in a giving mood today, and I’d like to get LOTS of comments from you lurkers out there, so here’s what I’m going to do. At the end of the day, I’m going to give away a copy of Risk. To be eligible to win, all you have to do is answer the following question:

What’s your favorite “most outrageous thing” a hero in a romance novel has done?

Grocery store rants

2007-01-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Rant #1--I picked my 22-year-old up from the subway and swung by the grocery store on the way home. Matt grabbed a few things we needed while I went to the prescription counter. When I caught up with him, my jaw dropped. There was a milk jug in his cart with a pink cap. "You got the wrong kind of milk," I said. "No," he said, "this is the skim milk."

I was horrified. My family was horrified. (I live with five men--pink is not a color much seen in my house.) Who thought putting a pink cap on skim milk was a good idea? Or am I the only person in the world who has definite feeling about pink? Blue is fine--the old skim milk had a blue cap. Blue doesn't scream "boy" to me, but pink? Pink definitely leans to the girlish in my mind, though my youngest son--the fashion maverick of our family--does have a pink dress shirt. I'm sure pink can be very manly...umm, can it?

Rant #2--The pink milk cap appeared in my grocery store because--I think--the grocery changed milk suppliers. Sometimes I think manufacturers change packaging just to mess with my mind. I shop on autopilot. I buy the red box of garbage bags. One day the red box is gone and now there's a green box. Argh! Is this what I like? I don't know.

Rant #3--Do we really need all those different kinds of breakfast cereals, most of which are loaded with sugar? Could we feed the world or cure cancer if we took all the energy and expense devoted to cereal production and redirected it? (Of course with my luck, it would be the one cereal I like that would be discontinued.)

Rant #4--You now need an advanced degree to use coupons. You have to read the fine print--hard for my old eyes. You need two--or more! (Do they think we all live in houses with ample storage space?)--of an item or you need the fancy version or you need to buy it with something else to get the 50 cents off. Can't we just drop prices and can the coupons?

Rant #5--Life is just too complicated. I buy the "happy bear" brand of toilet paper...but now I think there are about 4 different kinds of "happy bear" and 4 different roll sizes. I kid you not. I'm looking at the package right now--there's a chart. A chart to buy tp!! Good grief.

2007-01-28T19:13:00.000-05:00

Love Those Gothics

Did you watch it? Last night? No, not the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Who cares about that? Jane Eyre. Did you watch Jane Eyre?

I sure did.

Loved it. Loved Ruth Wilson as plain but luminous Jane. Loved Toby Stephens as Rochester, mostly because he made Rochester a little less forbidding and gave him that biting wit that can be so much fun to watch. Loved Thornfield Hall, which was as creepy as it needed to be.

Don’t you love gothics? They have all the elements to make a truly great romance:

· A moody, secret-keeping hero, who may, or may not, also be the villain;

· A vulnerable but strong heroine who is alone in the world and forced, therefore, to rely upon the hero;

· The heroine is often trapped, with nowhere else to go; and, of course;

· The creepy house.

What could be better?

So here’s my question for you—what’s your favorite gothic? Jane Eyre? Rebecca? Anything by Victoria Holt? One of my personal favorites is Holt’s The Devil on Horseback. Anyone remember that great story?

"Fan" Moments...

2007-01-28T13:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, you know the feeling...you're standing there--somewhere--just mnding your own business, and then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot someone. OMG... is it?! Nah, it can't be...Wait, maybe it is!! Your heart starts racing, and you finally realize that it IS a celebrity, there in the flesh, standing mere feet away. Next follows that "should I/shouldn't I?" moment, that, if you are a New Yorker like me, usually ends with, "Nah, I shouldn't. Be cool." I mean, in New York City, you see a LOT of celebrities, and the usual New York reaction is, "Yeah, whatever." But what if it's not just any celebrity, but one of your favorites? I admit, I've broken the code of NYC coolness a few times, though I'm always left feeling slightly foolish. Anyway, I'll share my favorite 'fan' moments if you share yours!

Fan Moment #1--I was in grad school at the time, putting the final touches on a HUGE research paper that I needed to turn in by the end of the day. I was also fighting a bad migraine, and had just taken some strong meds, and so was feeling a little woozy. My husband called and said we'd been invited to a restaurant opening that night--a client of his was a 'special events' person running the opening, and the restaurant was our favorite chef's (Daniel Boulud) newest place. Very swanky! Well, like I said, I was feeling crummy, exhausted from the research paper, and headachy to boot. I said nah, I didn't feel like it. But a couple hours later, once the paper was done and the meds had kicked in, I figured, what the heck, I had to go turn in the paper anyway, and once I was out, we might as well go. It was nice--a red carpet opening, and we saw Paul Garfunkel going in ahead of us. Not bad! A little later, we're standing in a buffet line, and my husband says, "Hey, there's your boyfriend!". Okay, rewind a couple of weeks. I was on a Bill Paxton kick--don't ask me why. He's a perfectly good actor but not a *great* actor, but something about him really does it for me. So I'd rented a ton of his movies--Aliens, Weird Science, this small indie he'd directed and starred in called Traveller, and forced dear hubby to go see the awful Mighty Joe Young in the theater. And who was walking by, there at the restaurant opening?! Yep. Bill Paxton. With his dad (who I recognized from his bit part in Traveller!). The New York "coolness" kicked in, and I resolved to say nothing. But when he walked by us, my HUSBAND said something like, "Oh, Mr. Paxton, I'd really like you to meet my wife. She's a HUGE fan of yours." My face went scarlet; I wished the floor had opened up and swallowed me whole. He kissed my hand. I introduced msyelf. My husband volunteered the information about me making him watch all those movies. We talked about his movies; he was really surprised we had seen Traveller (like I said, a very small indie movie!). We joked about the ape movie. I don't remember what else. Eventually he moved on (maybe 15 min. later). Apparently he didn't really know anyone there, because several times that night, he was back at our side, just chatting like a long-lost friend, having dessert with us, etc. After he'd gotten his coat to leave, he came over to tell us good-bye. I don't remember much, except he kissed my cheek, shook my husband's hand. A hundred points for the hubby--because it turns out Bill Paxton is an incredibly nice man, and I never would have known that if my husband hadn't embarrassed me like he did.

Fan Moment #2--Like so many Regency-set romance authors, I worship Pride & Prejudice. I've watched the BBC movie version with Colin Firth a zillion times. Literally. I simply *adore* Colin Firth, and there's not a movie he's made--even obscure, made for British TV stuff--that I haven't seen. So I was excited to go to an advance screening of Girl With a Pearl earring, where he was doing a Q&A along with Scarlett Johannsen after the movie. Got there early to get third row seats (I wouldn't dare be so obvious as to get front-row seats!). After the Q&A ended, I went to the ladies' room while my friends waited near the escalator, and when I came out, there was Colin himself, chatting with a couple people. They walked away just as I walked by, and....okay, I couldn't help myself. I don't even remember what I said, but somehow I ended up standing there chatting with him, mostly about kids (my daughters and his sons). I told him that even my daughters loved Mr. Darcy. I think he said something like, "Well, shall I autograph something for them?" DUH. So I rummaged around in my purse, but couldn't come up with anything for him to sign save the email confirmation for the screening. So, I folded up that rumpled sheet of paper and had him sign it to my daughters (at least I had a pen!)--the best part is the two little x's he added.
When I walked off and found my friends, they pointed out that I had a blotchy red rash covering my neck and decolletage. Talk about embarrassing--I always get what I call my 'nerve rash' when I'm really upset/excited. Colin had given me a nerve rash! Think he noticed?! The autograph is now framed and hangs in my older daugther's room.

Fan Moment #3--This is an interesting fan moment, because I wasn't particularly a fan of the celebrity at the time, but now I am. Anyway, this one involves yet another advance movie screening, for Alexander (which I found diverting enough, mostly because it was so beautifully filmed, but yeah, it's a pretty bad movie). All I knew about Colin Farrell at the time was that he had a 'bad boy' reputation. Supposedly a womanizer and partier. I hadn't seen him in anything, except bits and pieces of Phone Booth, which my husband always seemed to be watching on cable, and I was always yelling at him to turn down the volume before the kids heard the *colorful* language that Colin's character uses throughout. So I was taken by surprise when he spoke a bit before the movie...and had an IRISH accent! I hadn't even realized he wasn't American. Anyway, so after he and Oliver Stone spoke but before the movie began, I ran out to the restroom (hmmmm, there's a theme here). Hurrying back to the theater, I bumped into someone, who reached for my shoulder and said, "Oh, sorry, love." Okay, call me weak, but I'm fairly certain that NO woman can resist Colin with his Irish accent, calling them "love." Seriously. A short chat ensued, most of which is a blur. I do remember he kept smoothing his (long!) hair back out of his eyes, and my gaze was drawn to the weird bracelets and rings he was wearing (very sexy!). At one point he shoved his hands into his pockets and said something like "I really hope you like the movie" and he, too, kissed my hand before leaving me standing there speechless. What really surprised me was how totally humble and polite he was--and how different he seemed from the 'bad boy' image I had in my head. He actually came across as quite boyish--like a little boy hoping to be 'liked.' Needless to say, I spent the next week watching EVERY movie he had been in, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that he isn't just a good actor--he's a *great* actor. Phone Booth, A Home at the End of the World, Tigerland, even The Recruit--some terrific movies with some terrific acting. I'm sold!

Okay...your turn! I love to hear about celebrity 'moments'! Oh, and the picture at the top, that's me and Paul Leyden from As The World Turns! But I'll save that for another post!

Cue the Eerie Music

2007-01-24T16:11:00.000-05:00

I’m doing some research for Dead Last, the second in my series about a medium who does crime scene clean up. Doing paranormal research is always fun, interesting and, yes, more than just a little weird. For me, it can be difficult to distinguish fact from fantasy when reading the accounts of various, shall we say “unique” people. Sometimes I laugh out loud. Other times I get a case of the heebie jeebies.

I’ve been focusing my research on Washington State hauntings since my novels take place in Seattle. Today alone I’ve read about:

The McAlmond House: A mansion built around 1861 that is haunted by a poltergeist that has a problem with teen-age girls.

A Cemetery in Maltby: Supposedly the cemetery was built long ago by Satanists. There are 13 steps, called the steps to hell that appear to lead to nowhere. Legend has it that if you walk the steps you'll die.

The Bush House: Supposedly haunted by a young woman named Alice who hanged herself there when she thought her lover was killed in a mining accident. It is told that her lover hadn’t been killed but came home to discover her dead. She's been walking the halls ever since.

There are thousands of people who attempt to add credibility to these types of happenings by adding their own claims. Some of these people appear relatively normal. So my question to you is this, are you a believer? Have you experienced any supernatural happenings in your own life or do you scoff and move on?

Little Miss Sunshine

2007-01-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a big news day, and I’m not talking about the State of the Union Address. Think BIGGER. That’s right—the Oscar nominees were announced. And my new favorite movie, the screamingly funny indy, Little Miss Sunshine, received best picture and best supporting actress nods.

Yay!

LMS, in case you didn’t know, is the tale of an adorable seven year old beauty pageant-loving girl, Olive, who unexpectedly gets the chance to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Her family members, a collection of losers so quirky that calling them dysfunctional seems like a compliment, unite in their desire to see Olive compete, load up the family’s ancient yellow VW bus, and hit the road for the 800 mile trip to California from Arizona. Drama and hilarity ensue, including the pressing and hysterical issue of whether the old bus will even make the trip.

HOW dysfunctional is this family, you ask? Well, there’s Greg Kinnear, who plays the passive-aggressive motivational speaker dad; Steve Carrell, who plays the formerly suicidal gay Proust scholar uncle; Paul Dano, Olive’s voluntarily mute teenage older brother who writes notes to communicate; Alan Arkin as Olive’s heroin-addicted choreographer/grandfather; Toni Collette as Olive’s frazzled mother; and the VW bus itself, a vehicle with heart that becomes a character as vital as any of the others.

Needless to say, all the characters endure a huge amount of conflict, disappointment, and growth during the course of the movie. I dare anyone to watch Little Miss Sunshine and not fall in love with Olive, whose inner beauty practically makes her glow. I luuuuuved this movie, and I hope little Abigail Breslin, who played Olive so wonderfully, wins big.

So what about you? Did any of your favorite movies of the year make the Oscar cut?

Does age matter?

2007-01-23T08:42:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'll fess up...I think, looking at our current list of bloggers, that I'm the oldest by, ahem, a few years. I got my first minivan more than 20 years ago when I daresay little Caroline was still in pigtails, pedalling her pink bike with the straw basket in front and the pink streamers flying from the handlebars around the block.

So, being a little longer in the tooth gives me a slightly different perspective on many things...including heroes, for example.

I have been at a swim meet six of the last 21 days--and I'm going to another one this afternoon. This means I've been spending a lot of time looking at male teenaged butts--I'm usually a lane timer, so there's no avoiding the view. If I were a high school girl again, I'm sure I'd be swooning--these are pretty cute guys. But I'm a mom. To me, these are kids.

I was out with a bunch of romance writers at dinner once. Some of them found our waiter very attractive. He was the same age as one of my sons--I wanted to protect the poor baby from these women.

I do vaguely remember, though, when I was a young teen, reading Georgette Heyer and realizing many of her heroes were in their early thirties. That seemed so old! I couldn't think about it or the hero just wouldn't be attractive.

So how do I get around this age thing when I write my heroes? Well, I don't really think about age a lot for the main hero. I love the guys as people, not hunks, and try to get inside their heads. (Yes, I'm sure it's a very romanticized view of what goes on in a male mind, but I do write romance!) And then I try to have some secondary, older guys around, so there's a lot of variety.

What do you all think? Do you pay any attention to a hero's age? Do you just picture him the age you prefer? If you're young, do you like older heroes? If you're older, do you want heroes closer to your age...or are the young ones more attractive? Or does age really not matter at all?

Farewell, sweet youth...

2007-01-22T09:13:00.000-05:00

This is my new car.

Notice it is not actually a car, but a minivan.

As minivans go, it's pretty nice. All kinds of buttons and controls, a thumping stereo with about 15 speakers, multi-zone climate control, and more cupholders than a soccer team could use. They've done a lot of work to make you think you're driving a semi-luxury car instead of what it actually is: a bus.

I admit my feelings about minivans are pathological and not rational. I grew up in a large family and we always had minivans, because regular station wagons just weren't big enough. When I reached that all-important age, 16, and got my driver's license, I had to drive the minivan--if I got lucky enough that my mom didn't need it. Is there any car un-cool-er than a minivan? My dad tried to tell me now I could give my friends rides (he preferred my driving to theirs, for some reason), but that was cold comfort. As if I wanted all my friends to see me driving a minivan. Kill me now and get it over with.

So I swore I would never, ever, purposefully and willingly get a minivan. We have kids, but only two. Two kids fit just fine in an ordinary car, even with carseats and all the junk that seems to accrue to kids like white pet hair to a black skirt. Then we got a dog, a big dog, and that made the car a little more crowded, especially when we went on longer drives. (Don't ask why the dog had to go with us instead of staying at a kennel like normal dogs do) Suddenly my nice ordinary car was too small. We need something bigger, my husband said. Something that has space for the kids, maybe a couple of friends, their stuff, and the dog. Something that will hold everything we take on vacation without requiring a day's worth of careful, crafty packing to make everything fit. Something we can haul 4'x8' pieces of wood in.

So we have a minivan. He was the one so excited about it, yet I'm the one who has to drive it. His new car, by the way, is a car. A car with heated leather seats and XM radio. A car that does not practically fly a little flag overhead: Middle-Aged Mom At The Wheel! Our kids love it; one of them actually said, "Boy, I can't wait to go for a long car trip in this!" If a minivan can keep them from trying to kill each other every time we leave home, I suppose it will be worth it. And whatever my husband plans to build that requires all these 4'x8' pieces of wood, will probably also assuage my suffering somewhat.

But it still makes me feel old.

So am I the only one? What youthful vows did you make, determined never ever to be that un-cool, and then break a decade or two (or more) later?

Kristina's Top Ten...Beauty Products!

2007-01-21T17:45:00.000-05:00

Since my earlier post was more of a PSA, I thought I'd pop in once more with a bit of entirely useless information. First, a confession....I am a GIRLY GIRL. Yes, I admit it...fairly high maintenance, meaning I don't usually leave my house without make-up applied and hair freshly washed. You can blame my Mom--maybe it's a southern thing, but she used to say things (actually, she still does...) like, "You're going out with no lipstick on?". Makeup, perfume, bath products, hair products....ask any of my friends about going into Sephora with me (hard to drag me out). Okay, so, without further adieu, Kristina's Top Ten Beauty Products, or, The Ones She Can't Live Without (in no particular order):

(oh, and you can click on the product name for more information--I've included links!)

1. Benefit Dandelion Powder. It's a blush. It's an all-over glow. Whatever the heck it is, I don't feel fully 'dressed' unless I've brushed some of this gloriously pink powder all over my face.

2. Tarte cheek stain--Flush. I'll never use regular blush again. Ever. This stuff goes on smooth, stays on all day, is nice and sheer, and the best part?! It *smells* delicious. Like rasperries. Love it!

3. Michael Kors HAWAII eau de parfum. This is my newest obsession. It doesn't even officially come out till Feb. 2007, but I scored some samples in the Michael Kors store a couple weeks ago--YUM. I am no longer happy unless I smell like HAWAII.

4. Eyelash Curler. Okay, this is *so* elementary that I hate to even mention it, but c'mon, why bother with mascara if you don't first curl those lashes?!

5. Sky High Curves Mascara--washable, very black. Speaking of mascara, I've been on a life-long mission to find the perfect mascara. This is it. And please, ladies, don't buy waterproof mascara. Ruins those lashes. I boo-hoo at movies, and this stuff doesn't run at all. Stays on till I take it off.

6. Olay Daily Facials cleansing cloths. How did I survive before this product came along?! I've no idea.

7. Kiehl's Lip Balm SPF 15--I like the tinted ones (hue #30G is my personal fave). The best lip balm ever! Great for times that I don't want to wear lipstick, but still want a little sheer color and gloss. And it's GREAT for chapped lips. Bonus: it smells really good.

8. Urban Decay Flavored Body Powder--Marshmallow. Okay, folks, get your minds out of the gutter! Yes, I know they call it 'flavored' body powder, so I suppose it is meant to be licked off one's person , BUT....it's all sparkly and glittery and great for brushing across your collar bones and decolletage when you're all dolled up. Bonus: it smells delicious--like roasted marshmallows! Who could resist?!

9. Aquaphor. Discovered when I had babies with diaper rash. Still have a tub or two around at all times. The best stuff EVER for chapped skin, chapped lips, dry hands, etc. How *anyone* can survive without this stuff is beyond me.

10. Jergen's Natural Glow Daily Moisturizing Lotion. Self-tan without fear! At last. A must for me in the summertime. Use it every day, and you'll gradually darken your complexion bit by bit. No fake-orange looking skin, just a natural, healthy glow. I love this stuff!

Now tell me, is there any beauty product that you simply cannot live without?! Because I'm *always* on the look-out for the next best thing!

Celebrate Romance!

2007-01-21T12:28:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd tell everyone out in blogland about an upcoming romance conference that's a lot of fun--Celebrate Romance. It's a small, intimate conference run entirely by volunteers (who LOVE romance!) that's first and foremost a reader's conference--a chance to mingle with authors and readers alike. I went a couple years ago, when CR was held in Baltimore, and had a really great time. This year, it's in Kansas City, and I'm trying to arrange my travel schedule so that I can go (I'm 99% sure I AM going!).

Here's the details:

When: March 2nd-4th

Cost: $150

Where: Kansas City, MO
Sheraton Suites Country Club Plaza

The list of attending authors so far looks impressive, too:

Lorraine Heath
Cherry Adair
Anne Stuart
Kay Stockham
Cathy Maxwell
Shirley Karr
Carla Cassidy
Patricia Rice
Cait London

What makes CR special, you might ask?! Well, here's what the organizers (all lovely ladies!) have to say:

"Unlike other conferences, CR’s only agenda is to support you and promote romance. No suits, no meetings, no pressure, and no segregation. With the exception of a booksigning on Sunday morning, authors are just like all the other attendees – fans. This allows you to hear what romance readers really think first-hand while sharing your own thoughts on the genre. It’s a wonderful place to gain new readers and make friends."

I totally agree--and hope you'll consider attending, especially if you live in the Kansas City area!

For more information, visit Celebrate Romance.

Hope to see you there!

The Way to an Author's Heart

2007-01-20T00:37:00.000-05:00

Because I'm new at this (sheesh...am I the newest of the contributors at Muse/News? I think so!), I thought I'd share the things people have done or said to me that made me feel all wiggly/excited/thrilled in relation to my book. (Which is out in stores now!!)

1. Tell the author you couldn't put her book down.
2. Tell the author you read it in one sitting.
3. Tell the author you stayed up wayyy past your bedtime to read it.
4. Tell the author you can't wait until her next book comes out.
5. Quote a line from the book back to the author.
6. Tell the author you were late getting back to work from your lunch hour because you were reading her book.

Things that haven't happened to me, but that would really, really make my day (and might even score the person an Advance Review Copy of the next book....):

1. Give the author chocolate.
2. Send the author flowers.
3. If you also are an author, offer a great quote about the author's book.
4. Offer the author a night with Johnny Depp.
(Or Clive Owen.)
(Or Gerard Butler.)

Jus' sayin'.

Oh the Horror

2007-01-18T01:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday when I dropped my children at school in the morning I encountered a cluster of little girls circled conspiratorially. Curious, I approached them and noticed that one was reading the newspaper to the others. I became nervous because, let’s face it, most of what’s in today’s paper is not suitable for eight year olds.

“Hey, what’s new in the news?” I bravely asked.
“We’re just reading our horror-scopes,” announced a wide-eyed brunette.

Further discussion ensued because I wanted to know if they actually believed what was written about those darn horror, I mean, horoscopes. The vote was about 50/50. They asked my opinion but, truthfully, I didn’t have one. Yes, I’ve successfully made it into my forties without giving much thought to the zodiac.

However, not to be outdone by a group of third graders, I tore out my horoscope for comparison at the end of the day. When reviewing yesterday's prediction with what actually happened, this is what I found:

A friend or acquaintance might really surprise you today: Hmm. Okay, well, I met a friend for coffee in the morning and she surprised me with some good news about her writing and then surprised me with more good news about someone else so, we’ll give that a check.

You might meet someone new who is unconventional or Bohemian. Now this would’ve been nice but it didn’t happen, so it gets an X.

You will find people interesting, although sometimes you’ve had enuff of interesting. Okay, I’m not even sure what this means because I like interesting people so I’m giving it an X.

On the Moon Alert, the moon is in Capricorn, we have the all-clear today to shop and make important decisions. Alright, I confess that I hate to shop but now I’m wondering if I should’ve done it yesterday rather than putting it off. Is it too late? Will something bad happen if I choose to shop today. Can my kids live without milk if I wait until tomorrow?

So how about you, do you horrorscope?