Accidental Potatoes

Have I mentioned that we have a small worm farm? My mother, my niece and I love to fish with live bait for shellcrackers and bluegills, among other things, and red worms are the go-to bait for these feisty little sunfish. However, we found that often, when we were done fishing, we had as much as a whole box of worms left over.

A box of worms can cost as much as a dollar or more, so it seemed a waste to just pour them out in the ground once we were finished fishing, and we knew they didn't thrive in the small cardboard boxes, so I decided to look up worm farming on the internet to see if it was something we could do at home.

Sure enough it's very easy to raise your own redworms. You just need good soil, a large container, a sunny but temperate area to put your container of soil and worms, and table scraps like potato peels, fruit peels and cores (don't use citrus--it makes the soil too acid), and other vegetable scraps like the woody ends of asparagus or the wilted outer leaves of lettuce or cabbage.

So we started our worm farm, adding new additions to the gene pool for a while when we'd have leftover worms from fishing. And now, we have a big flat plastic container full of worms and dirt.

You need to change out the dirt now and then, but that's also a plus, really, because the worm castings in the old dirt are a fantastic natural fertilizer for plants. We changed the dirt early in the spring and then used the discarded dirt to use in planting our vegetables for the summer. Yeah, there were a few red worms left in the old dirt; hard to get them all. But that's good, too, because redworms do the same thing in the plants that they do in soil naturally--eat the leaves that fall off and excrete a natural fertilizer.

What we found, to our surprise, however, was that there was something else in the soil besides the worms and their castings. There was apparently a piece of red potato with an eye still in it, because one of our planters that we hadn't planted anything in yet suddenly began sprouting a potato plant. It's big, lush and responding beautifully to nothing but occasional watering. A couple of weeks ago, it bloomed, and today, I harvested the first four baby red potatoes from the accidental potato plant. We're going to have them either for lunch or dinner.

We're thinking about planting potatoes on purpose next year. They seem to thrive in our climate and being in the container rather than the ground doesn't seem to faze them.

Forbidden Territory

My first book, FORBIDDEN TERRITORY, is very hard to find new online, and y'all know how I feel about buying new if you can.

Powell's Books has one available. First come, first served!

What is Patience Smith Really Like?

The lovely folks at Pink Fuzzy Slippers Writers give you a chance to find out with their interview with the Silhouette Romantic Suspense senior editor.

I love my editor and writing for Intrigue, but this interview really tempts me to pitch a few things Patience's way, just so I could work with her.

There. Are. No. Words.

The Top Five Awful Disney Crossover Toys.

I'm an unapologetic capitalist, but...dude.

If you were stranded on a deserted island...

(Crossposted from the Intrigue Authors blog and the eHarlequin Intrigue Authors Blog)

We're doing our spring cleaning at home a little late in the season, in order to turn a basement den into a small apartment for my sister. Unfortunately for me, the basement den is where I've stored about half my books, so now I have to find room for them upstairs. Except, if there were room upstairs for the books, they'd have already been up here. So you know what that means: it's time to cull.

Culling out books is hard for me. I'm a collector by nature, and many of these books I've had since childhood. But as I go through the books, I'm finding that many books that once meant a lot to me I can now get rid of without much pain.

Writing books have been some of the more obvious casualties, now that I'm published and know more about what it takes to be a writer. The books that were once so valuable to me for their information and support are now headed to charity or the local library in hopes that they educate and inspire other aspiring writers still reaching for the brass ring of publication. Also gone are the piles of romances and other novels I bought over the years as I tried to find my niche as a writer. Not all of them, of course; the ones that spoke to me, that helped me find my genre and my voice, stay on my shelves in an honored place.

I have books I bought as reference material for a specific novel that I'm now getting rid of because the novel is written, or the reference book turned out to be useless. I have books that I'm getting rid of because they're literally falling apart at the seams or they duplicate, in some way, other books I have. (I have a large Shakespeare compendium I bought in college that's in wonderful shape; what's the point in holding onto those little paperback versions of specific plays?)

The classics stay, even if I didn't enjoy them, because I have nieces in grammar school who aren't too far from needing those books for their studies. I have books that I seldom read but keep for sentimental reasons, like the books written by a writer friend who passed away tragically early from cancer. I kept my college textbooks forever, but I'm finally letting some of them go--Algebra, Trigonometry--while I hold onto others--Zoology, Spanish, all my English textbooks--because I think they might be useful to me yet. Who knows when I might write about a hunky biologist and a sassy English professor who end up on the run in South America? (...jotting that idea down in the idea file...)

I've often played along with the old game, "If you were stranded on a deserted island, what's the one book you'd want to have with you?" It's fun to speculate. It's not so much fun, however, to have to reduce your book collection by nearly half. I can attest to that personally.

However, I do think I could probably come up with a list of five books I'd have to have with me: The Bible, Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE, THE STAND by Stephen King and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. (But I sure would miss ROBERT FROST'S POEMS, PERSUASION, JANE EYRE, the Harry Potter books and THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN).

So, what about you? If you had to trim your book collection drastically, what would go? What would stay? Or is this a subject too horrifying to contemplate?

Introducing...Cooper Justice

Coming from Harlequin Intrigue in 2010:

COOPER JUSTICE

The Coopers of Chickasaw County, Alabama believe in truth, justice and family. They also want to believe that love can last forever—but danger has a way of finding each of them at the worst possible moment...

CASE FILE: CANYON CREEK, WYOMING
January 2010

On the trail of the killer who murdered his wife, Wyoming cop Riley Patterson finally has the break in the case he's been waiting for—a real, live survivor. But while pretty tourist Hannah Cooper can't remember anything about her attacker, he remembers her. After a second attempt on Hannah's life, Rileyoffers himself as her personal bodyguard. But will his growing attraction to Hannah put his case in jeopardy, especially if his best chance to catch a killer puts Hannah directly in the crosshairs?

CHICKASAW COUNTY CAPTIVE
February 2010

Someone is targeting Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Sam Cooper— and using his family to do it. After an attempted kidnapping leaves Sam's four-year-old daughter Maddy traumatized and his teenaged niece in a coma, Sam knows he needs help protecting his family and finding out who's behind the attack. But is a young, female police detective with a notoriously tragic past really the person for the job?

Literary Nightmare

Last night, I dreamed that my editor wanted me to write a short book (67 pages) with another author's hero (but Intrigue had the right to use the character). The hero's name was Dominic, and he'd appeared in two books by a now-deceased author. (Helpfully, she'd sent me the two books by that author in which Dominic had appeared). It seemed that Dominic was a time-traveling immortal who, at one point in his time-traveling history, had raped a woman. Oh, and in the first two books, he'd had a torrid affair with the same woman, so readers might expect him to end up with her or something.

You might think that part of the dream was the strangest. But no, for my editor showed up in person to discuss it with me, and turned out to be not a female, as I thought, but Adrian Paul dressed in a very natty suit. Which, I admit, might normally be seen as the best part of the dream, except in my dream, he was clearly batting for the other team.

(Only I would have a dream about Adrian Paul in which he was gay. Sigh).

Then I woke up.

Bigger Books

Having just turned in the second book of a two-book contract, I'm now contemplating what to do next. I do have two more book proposals under consideration with my editor, and I'm planning to write three more books in the Cooper Justice series so all the brothers have their own books. But given the rate I'm writing these days, I could easily be finished with all of the Cooper books by early 2010, even though the books themselves will be spread over 2010 and into 2011.

What that probably means is that I'll have time to contemplate a bigger book if I want to write one.

There are definite benefits to writing a bigger book. I'm not as limited by subject matter, type of hero/heroine, language, etc. as I am writing for category in general and Intrigue specifically. I can delve deeper into the areas of the story that aren't directly related to either the mystery plot or the romance, allowing me to explore other relationships for the hero and heroine--family, friends, etc.--as well as delve a little more into their own personal histories and issues. That's also quite tempting to me, as I sometimes have to leave things out of Intrigues that I might have liked to include in order to flesh out my characters a little more.

Plus, whether it's fair or not, single title authors get a little more respect from readers as a whole than category writers do, despite the fact that I believe some of the best writing happening today is happening in category, especially Intrigue--Dana Marton is hands down one of the best writers I know, and all the Intrigue authors out there flat out know how to tell a great story. I feel completely humbled to be included among them and it's a challenge to live up to their examples. The money for a single title author is hit and miss--but when it's a hit, it can be very good money. Who wouldn't want to be Norah, Jayne Ann, Suzanne or Susan Elizabeth?

On the other hand, there are also drawbacks to consider. First, I'd have to interest a whole new editor. And I'd almost certainly have to get an agent. I'm not sure how I feel about having yet another person to please, on top of a new editor, just to write a longer book. Pleasing the editor I have is hard enough! Also, there's a certain security in writing for Intrigue--you know there are going to be six monthly slots to fill, and if you're an established writer and you write a good book, you have a more than decent shot of landing in one of those slots. But becoming a debut single title author? It's like starting all over again.

I know several Intrigue authors who've either made the jump to single title or write single titles and category novels simultaneously. I know others who happily and successfully write only category books. I love writing category, and it's not a stretch to imagine myself writing Intrigues for the rest of my career.

So I guess I'll keep pondering this question until the Cooper Justice books are done, and then maybe I'll have an answer.

Deadlines...and World Building

I've just printed out and packaged not only the second book of my current contract (thus completing my obligation to my publisher) but I also printed and packaged the proposal (three chapters and a synopsis) for another book that my editor wants to pitch to the senior editor as the second of another two-book contract. So wish me luck!

I'm in a position where I don't want to continue forward with those two books without having agreed to a contract (when you start selling, you soon learn that you shouldn't waste too much time writing something that's not earning you money). So I'm thinking ahead to even proposals. The two contracted books are the first two books of a new series, Cooper Justice. The two proposals I just finished are also Cooper books, and the next three will be as well, to finish it out. So it's probably a good idea to get those last three proposals worked up to pitch a three-book contract next time so I'll know what I'll be doing with my next couple of years as a writer. ;)
After that, however, I haven't really decided what the next group of books will be about. I've created several fictional places within my story world that I can work with, however. And who knows? Before the Cooper Justice series, I may create even more.

Fantasy and Science Fiction authors are the ones best known for world-building, but a lot of writers build their own fictional worlds to play in. For me, I needed to create places where I had control of the terrain, the political structures, the histories and the current affairs of the places involved so that they would meet the needs of my particular stories. But once those places exist in my story world, I've enjoyed using them to give depth to my other stories.

In my book FORBIDDEN TERRITORY, I created the Alabama city of Borland, Alabama. Though I haven't revisited Borland, outside of mentions in the two books that completed the Forbidden trilogy, It's a place I can certainly go back to now if I want to. In the third Forbidden book, FORBIDDEN TOUCH, I introduced the Caribbean island of Mariposa, a tourist mecca with a seedy side, and the Central Asian republic of Kaziristan, a former Soviet satellite with a history of tribal unrest, Islamist terrorism and constant political volatility.

In COWBOY ALIBI, I created Trinity, Idaho and Canyon Creek, Wyoming. I revisit Canyon Creek in my January 2010 book, CASE FILE: CANYON CREEK, WYOMING. I may go back to Canyon Creek before all is said and done. Who knows?

In my upcoming February release, which is currently without a title but will probably be called CHICKASAW COUNTY...something, I introduce Sanselmo, a South American nation on the Caribbean coast that combines the oil resources and volatile political history of Venezuela with the terrorist threat of Columbia. A nascent democracy with a history of both right wing dictatorships and Marxist juntas that have nearly destroyed the country over the past fifty years, Sanselmo's elected government is in a deadly power struggle with a leftist rebel group called El Cambio, which once espoused democratic ideals when it was trying to overturn a brutal dictatorship but now has shown its own totalitarian instincts by opposing honest statesmen trying to build their country into a true liberal democracy. I also revisit Kaziristan as part of Sam Cooper's backstory.

Kaziristan also has a role in the backstory of former Marine officer Luke Cooper, the hero of the recently proposed third book in the Cooper Justice series. And Sanselmo and Kaziristan feature prominently in the proposed fourth book (and the island of Mariposa gets a mention as well).

Here are some things I've discovered about world building in contemporary, earth-bound fiction such as romantic suspense:

1) It's easier to create fictional countries in areas where national borders are constantly in flux.
Thus, Kaziristan is in the Central Asia, where many countries were part of the Soviet Union as recently as the 1980s, and where borders are constantly in dispute (see also Kashmir).

2) It's easier to create fictional countries in areas that are not immediately familiar to most readers.
Can you really be sure there's not an island in the Caribbean named Mariposa?

3) If you're going to create a nation in a more familiar areas, make it plausible.
I couldn't have made Sanselmo an oil-producing nation on the Caribbean coast of South America if a country like that (Venezuela) didn't exist already. And I couldn't have created a quasi-Marxist rebel group like El Cambio if terrorist groups like FARC (Columbia) and Shining Path (the Maoist rebel group in Peru) didn't make such a thing plausible for that part of the globe.

4) A corollary to #3: If you're going to create a city or town in a state that people have visited, make it plausible.
Trinity, Idaho is plausible, because I based it largely on a real town, Stanley, Idaho. I used real landmarks like the Sawtooth Mountains and Boise to ground it more in reality. Canyon Creek doesn't exist, either, but I placed it in the ranch country just east of Jackson Hole, where similar towns do exist. Likewise, Gossamer Ridge, Alabama, the setting of my February 2010 book, may be fictional, but it takes on characteristics of two towns in northeast Alabama that do exist: Guntersville, Alabama (which is the inspiration for Gossamer Lake) and Ft. Payne, Alabama (which supplies a lot of the geographical features for Gossamer Ridge, including its beautiful mountainous terrain. As I did with both Trinity and Canyon Creek, I grounded Gossamer Ridge in real places like Birmingham (where Sam Cooper commutes to work and parts of the story take place).

So, how about you? If you're a writer, how have you handled world-building? And if you're a reader, which fictional worlds (and their writer/creators) have had the most impact on you?

Squeeeeee!

Chuck has been renewed!

I can live with the budget cuts, if they can.

Folks, if you've never given Chuck a try, please do it this coming season. The show is funny, touching, romantic and exciting—a smorgasbord of 1-hour dramedy delight.

Garden Adventures: May 2009

Today on Garden Adventures, watch Paula work on a container garden for her back deck. Pretty pretty tomatoes and peppers. Look at the lovely herbs (cilantro, basil, chives and parsley). See Paula plant the flowers—marigolds, salvia, impatiens, begonias. Oh, look, lizards sunning themselves and playing courtship games...

Hey, wait a minute, is that a black widow spider in that pot?

Why, yes. Yes, it is.

For a little while, I thought I was jumping to conclusions. Yeah, big round black abdomen, and yeah, when she moved around you could see a flash of something red on her belly. But really, a black widow spider in my container garden? Come on.

But then she flipped over and there was the red marking on the underside of her abdomen, just like this. And she also had a big round egg sac just like the one in that photo.

Normally, I'm a live and let live kind of person. She was outside in her own habitat. But she was also laying eggs and making more black widows. And we have kids and animals here. Plus adults trying to have a nice little container garden who don't need to stick their hands into a pot of dirt and come back with a possibly fatal bite.

I hated to do it, but the spider is no more. And neither is her egg sac.

I just hope she was a loner.

Top 10 Bits of Trivia about COWBOY ALIBI

While I'm waiting for my new books to come out in 2010, I suppose it doesn't hurt to talk about my last book, COWBOY ALIBI. So here's my Top 10 Bits of Trivia about my September 2008 Intrigue:

10. It's the first of my books that takes place entirely outside the state of Alabama. (The epilogue of FORBIDDEN TOUCH took place in Alabama, though the story was set in the Caribbean).

9. It's the first of my books with a cowboy hero.

8. The town of Trinity, Idaho, is loosely based on the small town of Stanley, Idaho, located near the Sawtooth Mountains.

7. While the hero, Joe, turns out to be a whiz at Blackjack, I'm not a gambler and I had to do a little research to find out how a good Blackjack player might react to the hands Joe was dealt.

6. I'm endlessly fascinated by con artists and how they work, so it was fun to incorporate a con artist into the heroine's background.

5. I deliberately wrote a rain scene into the book, despite the notoriously arid climate of the Idaho/Wyoming area, in order to keep my streak of rain covers going.

4. The original working title of the book was TARGET: JANE DOE.

3. I didn't know that Joe's best friend, Riley, was going to be a widower whose wife had been murdered until I actually got to the scene near the end where Joe and Jane meet up with him. His backstory just popped into my head as I was writing the scene. I went back and worked his backstory into previous chapters before I turned the manuscript in.

2. The horse Jazz is actually named after my friend and critique partner, Jenn, whose nickname in college was Jazzy Jenn (because of her affinity for hip hop music).

1. COWBOY ALIBI is still available for purchase at Amazon.com. If you haven't purchased a copy, I hope you'll consider it, especially if you're planning to read my January 2010 book, CASE FILE: CANYON CREEK, WYOMING, which takes us back to Wyoming to give Riley Patterson his own happy ending. You can read CASE FILE: CANYON CREEK, WYOMING without reading COWBOY ALIBI, but it's a lot more fun if you know how Jane and Joe got to where they are by the time Riley's story rolls around.

Congratulations to my Southern Magic Sisters!

The Daphne du Maurier contest for unpublished writers has announced their finalists in the Daphne, and three of my Southern Magic chaptermates made the finals! Congratulations to Marie Campbell, whose category-length romantic suspense, AGAINST HER WILL, made the finals in the Series Mystery/Suspense category and Pamela Bolton-Holifield and Julie Johnstone, who made the Historical Mystery/Suspense finals with their books THE DECEIT OF DESIRE and DECODING DECEPTION, respectively.

Way to go, ladies! Best of luck to all of you.

Blast from the Past

While looking for a picture I'd posted to my blog about three years ago, I ran across two blog posts that amused me greatly, if for no other reason than their proximity to each other.

August 2, 2005

August 3, 2005

Just goes to show you, a door closing doesn't mean another won't open.

Bohemian Electronica

Stuff like this amuses me.

Check Out My Food Blog

I mentioned a while back that I had started Weight Watchers. At the time I posted about it, I'd lost 16 pounds. Since then, I've lost another 24 pounds, for a total of 40 pounds. I'm still going strong, still really enjoying the program and still feeling confident of reaching my goal, despite how desperately far I have to go.

Anyway, I promised I wasn't going to turn this blog into a food blog, but I have started a separate food blog, if you're interested. It's mostly going to be about the food, more than about my personal food issues, and I'm going to try to share my favorite low-cal foods, how I incorporate "no-nos" like chocolate and potato chips into my food plan, and a few delicious recipes I come up with that work out well enough for me to want to share.

If you love food but want to eat healthier, too, you should check it out: The Kitchen Curse.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Sometimes, a girl's just gotta blog about the things that make her happy. So, in no particular order, here are a few of my favorite things:

Chapstick Medicated Lip Balm

My lips tend to dry out and chap, especially since I sleep with a fan on most nights, so I couldn't do without lip balm. But I also have very sensitive skin, so when I find a product that works and manages not to irritate my skin at the same time, I become a very loyal consumer. For me, that product is Chapstick Medicated Lip Balm. It works as well as some of the tub balms like Carmex and Blistex, but the stick is so much more convenient to carry around than those little tubs.

Sephora Apple-Pomegranate Body Butter

Sure, it's a little on the pricey side, but the jar is large and a little body butter goes a long way. I have dry skin issues, and for a while my skin felt like old leather. But now, I just smooth on the Sephora body butter after I bathe and my skin stays as soft as a child's. The Apple-Pomegranate fragrance is my favorite—its crisp, clean scent is like aromatherapy when you apply it, and it lingers very subtly on your skin for most of the day.

Pringles Light Sour Cream and Onion Potato Crisps

Yeah, they contain Olestra. But Olestra doesn't bother me, and the reduction in fat and calories make this a mostly guilt free snack for me now that I'm on the Weight Watchers Momentum plan.

Hershey's Kisses

Yes, I eat chocolate on Weight Watchers. I'm trying to teach myself moderation, and that includes enjoying foods I have always enjoyed in a more sensible way. I add them to my food plan in small portions, at calorie counts I can live with. I don't "diet." I eat sensibly.

Kashi's Southwest Style Chicken

The first Kashi product I tried was one of their cereals. Hated it. It tasted like cardboard. I didn't try any Kashi products for a long time after that. But recently, I tried their southwest Style Chicken dinner, and it changed my view of Kashi forever. The dish is delicious, very filling and relatively low in calories and fat. It's a fast, easy and satisfying addition to my weekly diet. It also goes great with...

Guacamole and Baked Whole Wheat Tortilla Chips

Forget worrying about the fat in guacamole. Avocados are a very fatty fruit, true, but it's good fat, and in moderation, homemade guacamole is a nice addition to your diet. I make my own chips by slicing whole wheat tortillas into wedges and baking them until crisp in a 350 degree oven.

Want my super easy recipe? Here you go:

1 ripe avocado
2 green onions, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup diced tomatoes

Halve the avocado, remove the pit and scoop the green flesh from the rind. Mash the avocado until it's smooth (or leave it a little chunky if you like it that way). Add the diced onions, chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes and lime juice. Blend it all together until thoroughly mixed. Makes two servings. (If you're counting Weight Watchers points, 1 serving is 3 points).

So those are some of my favorite things. What are some of yours?

Titles, titles, titles

I've blogged about book titles over on the Intrigue Authors blog. Gimme a little comment love!

So I dreamed I was on Lost Island

Sawyer had pulled a coup and driven both the DI and the Hostiles off the island, and now we were all going to create our own democracy (with him as our elected leader)...and we were doling out jobs, and I just knew he was going to make Kate his right hand woman, but dude, he picked me!

And then I woke up, darn it.

Staying Relevant

I was bummed when I realized I wouldn't have a book coming out in 2009. I think 2010 is going to be a great year, because I already know I have two books coming out, and I'm about to pitch a third book to my editor which almost certainly would come out in 2010 as well. Plus I have two more in the wings, one that's nearly finished, so there's even a possibility of a four-book year for me.

But that doesn't really help me in 2009, does it?

So I've been giving a lot of thought to the idea of staying relevant even when you don't have a book on the shelves. How do you do it? How do you keep people thinking about you when you're not front and center?

I'm not a social person, as anyone on my list of Facebook friends can tell you. I'm not big about just sharing anything on my mind. Part of the problem is that the two things I feel most passionately about, religion and politics, are the two things I steer clear of in my public life, for the most part. Another part of the problem is that I'm a classic INTJ, which means I'm not big on small talk, among other things. I prefer to spend my time actually working on my books rather than rubbing elbows with people to make connections.

Networking is a chore. In fact, I actually created a networking spreadsheet the other day to force me to make the effort to connect through websites, forums, blogs, etc. If I'm honest, one of the main reasons I'm blogging right now is that there's a blank mark on my spreadsheet that desperately needs an "x" on it.

So, back to the question of relevance. What can a writer do to stay relevant when she doesn't have a book on the shelves? I'm trying to work on my networking skills, create a routine of checking out the more visible blogs and commenting, trying to get more involved in forums where readers might go, trying to step up my posting on MySpace and Facebook, etc. But I'm always open to suggestions if you have any.

Also, I'm seriously considering posting an unpublished novel of mine to my website in serialized form. It's a book I think is a good story, but for various reasons, elements in it make it a bad fit for Harlequin Intrigue (though it's definitely an Intrigue-style story). And I don't have any desire to try to make it into something bigger to fit the single-title market. So right now it's just languishing on my hard drive, doing me no good whatsoever.

What do y'all think about that idea? It's 16 chapters long, so we'd be talking about a chapter a week for 16 weeks, which is a nice chunk of the year right there. I could set it up so that I start doling it out about 16 weeks before the publication of my January book, which would hopefully keep people interested in my writing enough to be ready for my new book then.

Is that a good idea? Have I lost my mind?

And do you have other ideas for ways I can stay in people's minds while I don't have a book on the shelves?

March in Alabama

Not always daffodils and sunshine:

The above is a picture of the two tiny snowmen my nieces Ashlee and Melissa made this morning. The snow is still falling—we're hoping for maybe an inch or two on the ground.

Update: Some more snow pics:

A view from the back deck:

Down the street:

My dog Buddy, the Lab mix, enjoying a little snow:

Snow on the back deck:

Mild white-out in the neighborhood:

Here are a few more Alabama snow pictures from a local news site aggregating viewer photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abc3340weather/show/

The Weight Game

I joined Weight Watchers online at the beginning of February. I'm not one of those people who needs to lose just a couple of pounds, either. I've never had a lot of luck on diets because mentally, I just can't stand feeling deprived. It's a major mental block for me.

The sad thing is, I actually love the foods that are supposed to be good for you, like vegetables and lean meats. I don't care for pork or beef, and I love fruit. It's just that dropping by Taco Bell on the way home was so much easier for my crazy busy lifestyle, and that adds up.

Anyway, I joined WW online and as of this past Saturday, I'd lost 16 pounds. And it's not been at all difficult. I haven't felt deprived or hungry, and many days I haven't been able to finish up all the points allotted to me (although I know I should). Usually by this point in a new diet, I'm starting to struggle. But that's just not happening this time.

I've been trying to figure out why, and I think this article sums it up about as well as any.

Weight Watchers Online fixed two problems I had with the old version of the program, which I tried about 20 years ago. First, I'm not a social person, so not having to go to the stupid meetings, for me, is a blessing. I don't need the peer support, and I don't need the kumbaya aspect of weight loss. It works wonderfully for a lot of people, but it was a negative for me. Second, being able to track my points online, and play around with my daily menu to add and subtract points as my daily diet plan changes, gives me the flexibility I need for my hectic lifestyle. I had planned for eggs and grits this morning but changed it to an egg salad sandwich. All I had to do was go to my online tracker, make the changes, and voila. I was done.

The program also allows you to have fast food, as long as you account for the points. What this does for me is make me think hard before I spend those points on something at Wendy's or Burger King. Wouldn't I rather save the points and have a really great salad at home? Or maybe I'd rather have that seven point Subway sandwich instead of the eleven point Milo's hamburger, and then I can also have a piece of fruit and a couple of graham crackers. *I* make the choice, not the diet. It's retraining me to search for nutrient rich, low calorie, high fiber choices. And I'm mentally and emotionally satisfied, because I know I could have the hamburger if I wanted it; I just chose something else instead.

So, I'm not going to turn this into a diet blog or anything. I just came across that article comparing Weight Watchers to an RPG and thought I'd share.

How Fast is Your First Draft?

Okay, that blog entry title stank. I'm not good at titles, as my editor would happily tell you. But my topic today is first drafts, a subject much on my mind at the moment, since I finished my first draft of the book currently known as COWBOY JUSTICE.

First, I guess I need to address the fact that, yes, I did write a second cowboy book. Kinda. Riley Patterson isn't a rancher or anything, although his father was. He's another cowboy cop like Joe Garrison in my book COWBOY ALIBI. In fact, Riley is Joe's right hand man at the Canyon Creek, Wyoming, Police Department. And if you read Cowboy Alibi, you should know that Riley has a tragic past to overcome—his beloved wife Emily was murdered three years earlier.

Riley definitely wanted his own story, but I had already started thinking about a series revolving around a family of six brothers and one sister named the Coopers. So I sort of put Riley on the back burner while I developed the ideas for the Cooper brothers. But when I got to the Cooper sister, Hannah, it occurred to me that she just might like herself a cowboy. So COWBOY JUSTICE was born.

The idea came to me back in the late fall. I turned in the proposal to my editor well after the first two Cooper book ideas I proposed, but it turned out to be one of the two she chose for my upcoming contract. It was also a really fast write for me—44 days of total writing, although there was a fairly large break between the first 11 days and the other 33 while I waited to hear from my editor on the proposal.

It was a pretty brutal writing schedule, especially since for most of that time, I was working a pretty brutal schedule in my day job as well. I made time to write in the mornings, during my lunch breaks, in the evenings, and on weekends. I made myself write when I was fighting off colds and when my arthritic knees were flaring up. I wanted to get the book done so I could get it in for 2009. While that didn't happen, I did finish the book well before my editor expected I would. I met my own deadline and I have until March 1st to turn it in.

So now we're down to the nuts and bolts of writing—the first draft revisions. This is where I re-read the book, pen in hand, and edit out the junk, retool the sentence structure to make things flow more easily, ruthlessly replace cliched turns of phrase with wording that's more imaginative, descriptive and true to the characters and situation. Some of this stuff I could have done in the writing phase, had I been writing more slowly. But I find it easier to finish at a dead run and then go back to edit, rather than linger and risk missing my deadlines.

Also, by writing at a clip this way, it makes the revisions easier for me, because as I'm re-reading the manuscript, I find that there's a lot in it that I don't consciously remember writing. That comes from being "in the zone," as I call it, while writing the first draft. When I'm in the zone. the words just flow right from my brain to my fingers, and they seem to bypass parts of my memory. So sometimes I'll read a scene in the edit stage and I don't really remember writing it. It's a weird sensation, but I find that my best writing happens in the zone, so I don't complain much.

So, that's probably more than you ever wanted to know about my writing process. But I just thought I'd share.

Writing While Working Full Time

This is what's known as a "bleg"--begging on a blog. I'm playing around with an article for my local chapter newsletter (an article which will probably be made available to other chapters) examining the work habits of published writers who don't quit their day jobs. It's a subject close to my heart, since I work full time at a demanding day job while still trying to write two to three books a year.

So here's what I'm looking for. If you're a published author (sorry to limit it to published authors but I'm trying to focus it specifically on people who have to meet deadlines or they don't get paid), and you also work full time or worked full time during a period of time when you were also published, I'd like you to email me the answer to the following questions:

When do you find time to write?
Do you have any tricks or techniques for making the most of your limited writing time?
How do you balance your job, your family obligations and your writing time?
Have you ever thought of giving up writing because it's too much to handle?
Do you have plans to eventually write full time?
Has your day job ever suffered because of your writing?
Has your writing ever suffered because of your day job?

If you do email me, please include your latest (or upcoming) book so I can plug it in the article.

My email address is listed in my blog profile.

Sold!

Harlequin Intrigue has bought my next two books, to come out in January and February of 2010.

I have no idea what the titles will be, although their working titles are Cowboy Justice and Small Hostage, respectively.

Cowboy Justice is about a man whose determination to find his wife's murderer becomes complicated by his growing feelings for a woman who survived the killer's attack once but has now become the killer's obsession.

Small Hostage is about a female police detective with a tragic past who reluctantly takes on the task of protecting a child targeted for kidnapping. With a past like hers, the last thing she wants to do is fall for the little girl, or the child's sexy, burned-by-love father.

Long Time, No Blog

It's been crazy between work and the holidays, so I've been a bad little blogger. Part of it has been that I'm waiting for a final official offer from my editor on my next two books. I've already received word that an offer is coming, but that hasn't really made the waiting any easier.

On the upside, I'm moving ahead full steam with the first of those two books. So far I've been doing a good job of meeting my daily page totals. Over the weekend, I decided to kick it up a notch and increase my daily totals to see if I couldn't have a rough draft finished by the middle of February and the full, polished manuscript ready to go by the end of February. I really, really want to get a book on the shelves in 2009, and finishing up in February is about the only way to do that.

Did everyone have a good holiday? Mine was pretty good. I got my annual New Year's cold, but it was milder than most I've had in the past. Mucinex is a wonder drug.

Scamming and Piracy

I don't know if readers think that we authors make a boatload of money on our books, but let me assure you, the vast majority of us don't. We get in the neighborhood of 6% royalties of all books sold. When your book costs about $5.00, we're talking 30 cents a book. You have to sell a heck of a lot of books just to make your advance. And these are books that writers spend months writing, sacrificing clean houses, hot meals, family times, going out with friends, taking vacations, sleeping more than five or six hours a night, and goodness knows what else to make their deadlines and deliver stories that people want to read.

All we ask is that people buy these books new. Buy at discounted prices if you must, but please, if the book is available new, buy it new. Otherwise, we won't see a penny for our work. I know that some books can't be found new, and I'm okay with your buying them used in that situation. Or checking them out from the library. But if you want the writers you love to keep writing the books you love, save up a few bucks and buy new, please. It's what makes writing feasible for us, financially. We do write because we love to write, but it's also a business.

Anyway, this post is supposed to be about scamming and piracy. Specifically, this website: http://www.download-provider.com/en/

It purports to be a site where you can download top movies, books, music, etc. for a membership fee. That automatically makes it piracy—downloading copyrighted material for free that you would otherwise have to pay for. It's like stealing from someone, in that the person or persons involved in creating that book, movie, or music is being denied royalty payments on those items.

But more than that, it seems to be a scam site, because it claims to have books that haven't even been written yet. So you pay your money to sign up with the site to download books that don't exist. I suspect it's the same for the movies and music they claim to have. So here's a warning. If you're going to ignore the requests of authors to buy their books new rather than buying used and denying them royalties, don't do it at this site unless you want to be robbed yourself.

Merry Christmas!

Hope you're all having a Merry Christmas!

Best Christmas Movies?

Here's the Chicago Tribune's selection of the top 25. Do you concur?

I agree with #1, but beyond that, I'd probably rank them differently.

Gifts for the Weird

What does it say about me that I would love to get almost any one of the gifts listed here?

I particularly like the knife earrings, the emergency car kit, the bacon adhesive bandages and the barb wire plates.

And while we're on the Lemondrop site, this is also pretty amusing.

BTW, I blogged today on the Intrigue Author's blog. Want to win one of my backlist? Go comment. You're automatically entered.

Pennies Screaming for Mercy

My mom would tell me that I come by my thrifty nature honest, since my father would pinch a penny until it bled. I think I come by it honestly, too—because I pay the bills in this household, and I'm more aware perhaps than anyone else just how much things cost and how much money we have to spend.

So naturally, when I can get something for free? I'm there!

Thanks to Discover card's Rewards program, where you earn money back the more you spend, we had $100 in rewards to redeem. (And yeah, we won't go into how much we had to spend to get $100 cash back, but veterinarian bills were involved).

I chose Overstock.com (in retrospect, probably not the best choice, because they really aren't the cheapest place around) and Sephora.com. The $100 actually translated to $115, thanks to the extra cash back from those vendors. Anyway, here's what I bought:

2 pairs of earwire earrings
2 books (Dean Koontz, Dick Francis)
1 body spray for my sister
1 X-Files series compilation DVD (Covering mythology eps from seasons 8 and 9)
1 Typing game software CD (for the nieces to learn)
Bliss hand cream
Schweppes Pink Grapefruit lip balm
Sephora Apple Pomegranate gift set
Plus three free samples - Donna Karan body mist lotion, DKNY Be Delicious and Red Delicious body lotion combo, and a Lab Series daily face wash and moisturizing lotion combo.

Total out of pocket expense (which includes shipping): $10.38.

I also bought my sister a pair of jeans which were marked way off. Total cost there was around $11, including shipping.

I love freebies.

December Intrigue Blog Blitz!

To quote my friend and fellow Intrigue author Julie Miller:

It's that time of year again, folks… time for the Intrigue Authors 2nd Annual Holiday Blog Blitz!

That's right. All through the month of December, the Intrigue Authors will be blogging and giving away books every day. Many of your favorite Intrigue Authors will be stopping by to talk about the holidays, books, upcoming projects, research, writing and more. And each day that author will be choosing a winner from among the readers who post a question or comment to their blog.

The author will post the winner's name in their comment section that night or perhaps the next day. And just in case your holiday season is busy time of year for you (whose isn't?), yours truly will keep a list of winners to post periodically, just in case you missed your name the first time around. I'll also post a complete list after the first of the year in case you're really busy--or just curious to see how many of you terrific, loyal readers we have taking part in the blog blitz. If your name is selected as the winner, all you have to do is email the author--email addresses are available at our websites if you can't pull it off of the Intrigue Authors site--with your name and snail mail address, and we'll get your book sent to you.

Comment as often as you like. Join us every day in December if you can. We'll try to spread the joy so that as many of you as possible get the chance to win. And even if your name isn't selected on a given day, we'll be having lots of fun just hanging out and chatting together.

If you love Intrigue. If you love romantic suspense. If you love books and romance, the Intrigue Authors site is the place to be all through December. Please join us for the blog blitz.

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

So drop by all month long! Meet some of your favorite Intrigue authors, ask us questions about writing for Intrigue, or about your favorite characters and books, or just general questions about writing in general.

Sweet!

Bama 36, Auburn 0.

Give a Gift that Lasts

I think this suggestion is an excellent idea. Keep local bookstores alive and kicking by giving the gift of books this holiday season.

And don't forget the online bookstores, too. Where you can find wonderful gifts like this and this. :)

Seriously, books are wonderful gifts that never stop giving. This weekend, I came across an old Reader's Digest Condensed Books tome and discovered the joy of Dick Francis and his jockey protagonist Sid Halley. I just ordered the other Sid Halley books as part of my Christmas gift to myself.

The nieces who live with me usually get books for Christmas (Harry Potter was big over the last few for my older niece, and my younger one will read anything with a princess or a dolphin in it). I also try to give books to my younger nieces and nephews who aren't in school yet but can still appreciate a good picture book.

So do yourself and your loved ones a favor this year. Take them on a wonderful trip of the imagination. Buy them books.

Linda Howard Award of Excellence

If you're unpublished (by RWA standards) and you want a chance to put your book in front of some top editors, I happen to know that the Linda Howard Award of Excellence is a great contest to enter.

NOTE: Postmark/Electronic NEW DEADLINE - Saturday, November 29, 2008

Here are the categories and the editors who'll be judging the finals:

Series/Short & Long Contemporary
Romance-based series novels.
Word count: 40,000 to 90,000
Final Judge: Susan Litman, Editor, Silhouette

Single Title
Romance-based novels published as individual titles. All publishers of individual titles of romance.
Word count: 90,000 to 110,000
Final Judge: Selina McLemore, Editor, Grand Central Publishers (formerly Warner)

Suspense (series or single title)
Romance-based novels that include an element of mystery or suspense.
Word count: 40,000 to 110,000
Final Judge: Megan MeKeever, Associate Editor, Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster)

Historical
Romance-based novels with non-contemporary settings, including regency & gothic romances. Word count: 40,000 to 110,000
Final Judge: Alicia Condon, VP, Editorial Director, Dorchester

Unique Genres (Paranormal, Futuristic, Fantasy, Time Travel)
Romance-based novels of any time setting that contain elements such as time-travel, paranormalor fantasy themes. All publishers of individual titles of romance.
Word count: 90,000 to 110,000
Final Judge: Melissa Singer, Editor, Tor

Sensual and Sizzling (Erotica)
Romance-based novels that include a high element of sexual tension or sexual play.
Word count: 40,000 to 110,000
Final Judge: Raelene Gorlinsky, Editor, Ellora's Cave

Young Adult
Romance-based novels published for the Young Adult market.
Word count: 90,000 110,000
Final Judge: Jennifer Heddle, Editor, MTV Books (Pocket/Simon & Schuster)

Inspirational
Romance-based novels published for the Inspirational market.
Word count: 40,000 - 90,000
Final Judge: Tina Colombo, Editor, Steeple Hill (Harlequin)

Series in particular needs some more entries, so if you have a series novel you've polished up and want to send around to get a read, this is a great chance!

Community Language

I was listening to the Rick and Bubba Show, a local (and syndicated) morning show, during my drive to work. The topic was World of Warcraft: The Wrath of the Lich King, which will be available for purchase one minute after midnight tonight. (Or would that be tomorrow? Whatever). Scott the Tech guy was explaining to the hosts why this event was such a big deal. He took calls which quickly devolved into WoW-speak—blood elves, fire mages, and all the other lexiconic minutiae involved with the massive online role playing game. About five minutes into the call, Bubba turned to Rick and said, "I think I'd be better off trying to understand Italian."

It was a laugh out loud moment, but there's truth in the joke. Communities often speak a language outsiders can't understand.

I used to be an X-Phile, the name for online fans of the TV show THE X-FILES. Our language included such terms and acronyms as shippers, noromos, MOTW, mytharc, MSR, CSM and the consortium. At times, we spoke in a series of subreferences, from "nobody here but the FBI's most unwanted" to "Mulder, it's me." It made perfect sense to those of us who watched the show and participated in the online discussions, but it could be a confusing tangle of terms to those who didn't.

I think for those of us who write (or want to write) for publication, it can be hard to capture the authenticity of a community without using some of the lingo. Southerners used terms that northerners don't. East coasters and west coasters, even in this day and age, still have different words for different things. And the more insular a community, the more differences you'll find.

On the other hand, too much authenticity can render your stories as incomprehensible as, well, WoW lingo to someone whose idea of role-playing game doesn't include a modem.

I like to think of writers as interpreters. We take specific characters, settings, situations and even language and interpret them into something a broad spectrum of readers can understand. So I might take an extra step to explain what MRE (meal ready to eat) is to someone who's never been in the military, or the difference between a crappie and a bass for someone who's not an avid fisherman. My readers can then have vicarious experiences through my characters without getting lost in the lexographic wilderness.

Have you ever had to play interpreter as a writer? Have you ever needed one as a reader?

Veteran's Day

Blackfive is all over it.

To all the men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces, thank you for your service and God bless you all.

Happy Birthday to the U.S. Marines

They're 233 years old today.

I have a special, writing-related fondness for the USMC. I don't actually know any Marines personally, but I met a few several years ago in Atlanta. I was attending the Moonlight and Magnolias conference, and the Marines were having some sort of seminar at the same Atlanta hotel. The stars aligned perfectly---Marines and romance writers in the same place. You couldn't have written a better scenario.

The Marines were just as fascinated with us as we were with them. And such gentlemen! As I commented to a friend later, "I don't think I ever truly understood what it was to feel like a woman until a Marine treated me like one."

So, Semper Fi and thanks for all you do, ladies and gentlemen of the USMC.

Update:

Here's a story I came across a few minutes ago that I think is a nice addendum to this post on the USMC's birthday.

God bless the U.S. Marines.

Alabama Football is Going to Kill Me

Good grief.

Shameless Plea

My Amazon.com page for COWBOY ALIBI is woefully lacking in reviews. I could use some, especially if you liked the book, but I'm a big girl. I can take a low rating, too.

So, if you've read COWBOY ALIBI, and you can post reviews at Amazon.com, I'd really appreciate a review. For that matter, if you've read FORBIDDEN TOUCH or one of my other books, I wouldn't mind seeing a review there, either. Remember, I don't care what you rate it. I just want to hear what you think about the book. It helps me gauge what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.

(You can also leave comments here, too, you know).

Guest Blogger: Jeff Rivera

Today, I'd like to introduce a guest blogger, Jeff Rivera. Or, better, allow him to introduce himself:

Once homeless and living in his car, award-winning novelist Jeff Rivera writes passionate stories of those often forgotten and neglected by society. He believes even in the eyes of a gang member, even beneath the soiled clothes of a bag lady or behind the tears of a lonely kid in the back of the class, there lies a common thread that links us all, the universal human story. He has made it his personal mission to help change the way the world thinks in a positive way through his stories. Mr. Rivera currently lives in New York City.

And here is an introduction to his book, Forever My Lady, and an excerpt from the book.

Originally independently published, Jeff Rivera's debut novel, Forever My Lady went on to be acquired by Warner Books/Grand Central. It tells the award-winning passionate story of a juvenile delinquent named Dio who is sentenced to prison boot camp. Everyone who he has ever trusted has given up on him except one special girl that promises to stay by his side no matter what, the love of his life, Jennifer. He promises he will to turn his life around for her and she promises will never leave him. In fact, they plan to marry one day. But when Dio is released from boot camp he discovers Jennifer is about to marry someone else.

EXCERPT:

“Don’t be stupid foo’. Don’t be a pendejo.”

Dio looked at his homie Spooky’s grip on his jacket. Most of his boys called Dio “Playboy” because all the ladies loved him, but those that had known him since he was a kid called him his real name, Dio.

He took another hit off his joint. He’d given up smoking over a year ago, had to, but on this day he was more nervous that he had ever been in his life. Thunder rumbled and rain poured, making it impossible to see. Thunder scared Dio, always had. Dio fought to keep from shaking. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t swallow. He tried to hide his fear. His mind was set. He had to do it.

Dio yanked his arm away from Spooky, and pushed the door open. “Just keep the car runnin’, ese.”

Spooky was a big guy, tattoos up and down his arm and a glass eye. He normally would have just kept Dio from leaving at all, but he knew nothing could stop him. Nothing at all. Dio jumped out the car. It was a ‘57 Chevy, slick red, with a chili-pepper-hot Mexican heina painted across the hood. Dio had painted that picture himself. Complete with chrome wheels.

He slammed the door shut and looked up at the Cathedral in front of him. Lightning illuminated its majestic towers, windows with an eerie stained glass. He’d spent many a night imagining this would be where he’d marry her. They’d have a huge wedding with members of their families flying in from all over the world just to watch this event; this marriage he thought was so destined to be. He’d put his everything into this dream, his one and only dream, and now as he yanked the heavy Oak doors open, his heart pounded like a subwoofer.

He dried his soaked clothes with his hand and scratched his shoes on the mat so as not to squeak across the old wood floor. The church was jam-packed, mostly with Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, but some blacks.

Probably his familia, Dio thought. How could she even think about marrying some pinche negro?
The grand organ music permeated the building while a choir of children sang, their voices echoing throughout the church. It smelled musty in the air, a mix of wood stain and must as if they never really cleaned the place, just painted over it.

He tried not to be too suspicious, slipping past every one. Funny, he was dressed probably better than he’d ever been. Black suit, his wavy black hair slicked back, starched white shirt, polished black shoes.

Dio had grown into a very nice looking young man. Maybe even could have been a model, had he played his cards right. Maybe if he hadn’t grown up in the slums of Northeast Vegas, he could have been one of those Latin heartthrobs that were in those magazines. Instead, most of the time he looked like the thug most people assumed he was just by looking at him.

But on this day, this very weird day, he was even wearing a tie. Jennifer would have been so proud of him if she could see him. Funny, he’d probably be the last thing she’d see.

He checked his jacket pocket to make sure it was still there. Yep, it felt like a brick pressed against his chest. But he was so numb, or more like so focused, that he was oblivious to it. All he knew was that he had to find Jennifer, and he would use any means necessary.

Wham! Dio bumped hard into a glass table. His thigh throbbed in pain as bullets dropped from his pocket and bounced off the tile floor. The sound echoed all over the lobby. People looked around for the source of the sound, but Dio managed to scoop them up before anyone could see.
He got up and noticed the beautiful ice sculpture on the table--melting, dripping like an ice cream cone in August. Melting just like his heart.

He saw Father Martínez, his priest, the one he’d grown up with. It was as if the whole world had turned against him. They’d sided with Jennifer, when this was supposed to be their wedding. It was as if she’d slapped him across the face, as if nothing they’d been through together even mattered. The whole thing was surreal.

She loved him. She’d said that over and over to him since they were little kids. She’d taken care of him and believed in him and dreamed with him and held him when nobody else could give a care.

“Estoy aquí para ti. No matter what -- Siempre,” they’d promised each other. And a promise was a promise.

"Don’t be stupid, Foo’. Don’t be a pendejo.” His brother’s scolding remarks kept playing in his head. He warned Dio to just let it go. It wasn’t worth it. Normally Spooky would have been all for it, but this time around he said to “olvídalo…let it go.” It was as if he sensed something was going to go wrong and, no matter how high Spooky had been, his gut was always right.

Dio only hoped this time around he was wrong. He had worked so hard. He could really get a fresh new start now, “a new lease on life,” as his probation officer used to say, but now he was risking it all to confront Jennifer.

Was Spooky right? Should he just let it go, face it that she didn’t want to be with him no matter how hard and bad it felt? Should he just forget the whole thing? Maybe he’d meet some other ruca. Time heals all wounds, they say, and maybe if he’d just -- But no, Dio shoved those thoughts out of his mind.

He’d spent the last year changing his life around for her, so they could be together, so he would be the man she said she’d always wanted, so he could be the daddy his daughter needed. They were meant to be together and he was going to make Jennifer understand that, if it was the last thing he would do.

He could see Jennifer’s family in the front, dressed in their Sunday best. Her mom always made a spectacle of herself with her gigantic summer hat in purple. She never did like Dio and he knew she probably orchestrated this whole thing, probably arranged the whole wedding herself.
He wondered if perhaps Jennifer was doing this just to make her mom happy, but then he saw her … the music changed, the children’s choir sounded so beautiful, he had to admit, so irritatingly perfect. All heads turned and gasped as the bride, Jennifer, made her way down the aisle. Her father took her arm, biting his lip, trying not to cry.

He looks nervous, Dio thought.

Jennifer looked incredible. How could she afford a dress like that? The guy must be rich or something. That’s probably what it was. That’s probably why she was marrying him. It had to be the money, the one thing Dio could never give her. Her gown had a laced top, cut just low enough to show her sensual bust line, but high enough to showcase the first class-act that she was. Her face was shielded by her veil. He hadn’t seen her in so long. It seemed like the whole auditorium held their breath with him.

Her mom made a dramatic spectacle of herself; her wails were the only thing that could be heard above the organ playing as the children’s choir reached a crescendo, then trailed off.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Even Dio had to fight the tears.

Thunder rumbled. Her father escorted her over to her groom. He was a nice looking man, a light-skinned black man. Maybe he was mulatto or something. He wore a striped, stuffed tie, not a traditional bow tie, and the tux must have been Armani or something. He had one of those smiles with teeth so white it blinded you. His gaze never left Jennifer, even as the priest rambled on and on with the vows.

“I, Antonio Estrella ---“

What kind of nombre was that? Estrella? Jennifer Estrella. It just didn’t match her. No le queda.

“… hereby take you as my wife, to have and to hold…”

There was a lump in the back of Dio’s throat. He wanted to burst out “No!” but it hurt so bad.

“I, Jennifer Lalita Sánchez …” He couldn’t believe his ears, she was promising him her life.

Thunder rumbled, the lights went out. There was a small gasp in the audience, but Jennifer just smiled, the candles illuminating her. She was too lost in the groom’s eyes.

“…to have and to hold, through sickness and health …” she continued.

He couldn’t help it anymore. Tears came streaming from Dio’s eyes. This was too much for him. He was about to explode. His blood boiled.

He looked around at all the stained-glass Bible stories, the creepy statue of Jesus on the cross. He swore Jesus was glaring right at him as if he was saying “No lo hagas…Don’t do it.”

He looked the other way but the statue of the Virgin Mary scolded him as well.

Dio couldn’t help but think how proud his own mother had been with how he’d changed his life around, the tears of joy she’d shed. He’d never seen her like that before. He shuddered to think how his mother would feel after all this went down, how ashamed she’d be. Maybe it would drive her to drinking again. Drinking again after how far she’d come around.

“With the power invested in me in the state of Nevada, I hereby declare you … man and wife.”
Dio couldn’t breathe. The only thing that kept him from passing out was seeing Jennifer’s face as her new husband lifted the veil. She was more beautiful than ever. She had olive-colored skin and was the type of girl that never did need any makeup, in fact she hated wearing it. But this time she was wearing just enough. Her dark brown hair was curled, glitter sparkled in it.

She looked like an angel, no, a goddess, better than the pictures Dio drew of her, better than he’d remembered her looking in his dreams.

He’d never seen Jennifer so happy. Not even when she was with him. She always seemed so distracted, but now she really did look like she was in love.

How could that be possible?

He loved her more than he’d ever loved anyone. Didn’t she see that? How could she do this to him? The ice sculpture melted like it was on fire.

His heart raced as he reached for the .45 caliber in his pocket, which Dio called his cuete. He could hear the rain pounding against the stained-glass windows and the roof. His sweaty hands pulled for it, his heart in his throat. He crossed himself, closed his eyes and prayed he was about to do the right thing.

To purchase a copy of FOREVER MY LADY by Jeff Rivera click here.

This and That

A couple of things coming up...

Tonight's the big Halloween Mash on Writerspace. I'll be in the chat room starting at 8 pm eastern/7 pm central, talking about my books and my writing in general. Please drop by to chat with me. I'd love to talk to you.

Saturday is the Southern Magic Reader's Luncheon at the Homewood Library in Homewood, Alabama. I'll be among several fantastic authors on hand for the luncheon. Tickets are still available--just register online and you can pay at the door. The fabulous Christina Dodd is the keynote speaker at the luncheon, so if you're in the Birmingham, Alabama area, check it out.

Finally, sometime this week (probably tomorrow but maybe Friday) I'll be posting a guest blog from Grand Central Publishing author Jeff Rivera, whose personal life story is as interesting and inspiring as the story of the characters he writes about. I hope you'll drop by later this week and check out his latest release.

Normally, I Like Blue Tick Hounds...

Tonight? Not so much.


Kickoff happens any minute now.

Roll Tide!

UPDATE:

Well, I can't say it was a pretty win. But it was a win, and Alabama's 8 -0 for the season. I'll take it.

Fascinating Footage

Turn of the Century London.

Apparently I'm Too Old

To be a Bama fan.

One more game like that and I'll need a home defibrillator.

Feel the City Breakin' and Everybody Shakin'...

You just can't make some things up.

(h/t Hot Air)

My Current Favorite TV Commercial

"I really underestimated the creepiness."

Heh.

Fascinating Look at Communism and Hollywood

Everybody's heard of McCarthy, but this article shows a little of the backstory behind blacklisting. And it's not as cut and dried as some people think.

As a writer who, to some degree, has to depend on the good will of at least two people (my editor and my senior editor) to get my work published, the idea of political censorship is a real issue for me. And this article shows that censorship happens across the political spectrum, and it can be organized and insidious. We should fight against all forms of political censorship and let ideas live and die on their own merits.

I'm Big in Eastern Europe

Harlequin Books generally get printed in languages other than English. Fellow Harlequin/Silhouette writers have talked about getting copies of their books in Spanish, French and German. We also get copies of our books from England and Australia.

So far, my foreign language books have been from Estonia, Iceland and (though I didn't get copies of it) Romania. Two out of three in Eastern Europe. Pretty cool.

Here's Forbidden Touch in Estonian:

Here's Forbidden Territory in Romanian:

I wanted to see if I could find a link to my book in Iceland, but I can't find the only copy I have left (my dog ate the other one), so I don't remember the title or, for that matter, which book it was.

I'm looking forward to seeing if I have any foreign sales of Cowboy Alibi. Do cowboys sell well in other countries?

Cowboys

In honor of my September book (still available here , there and yon), I'm posting this Bill Whittle quote that I absolutely love:

You don’t evolve past being a cowboy. Being a cowboy is the pinnacle of evolution. Once you’re at cowboy, there’s nowhere to go but down. Cowboys don’t look for fights, but they don’t run away from them either. They do what they have to do, when they have to do it. And they usually have to do it alone, because everyone wants Black Bart’s gang out of town, but no one wants to walk down the street alongside the sheriff and get shot doing it.

You don't have to read the article, which is political, to appreciate the sentiment about cowboys. I think that's why so many women love cowboy heroes—that simple realization that a cowboy does what needs to be done, as efficiently as possible, even when the odds and the crowd are against him.

Web Design

This is an interesting article on web design—the dos and don'ts of designing clean, easily-navigable sites. I know that a lot of people, especially writers and aspiring writers, are putting thought into what they want from their websites. This article has some very good advice about the simple things you can do—or shouldn't do—to make your site easy for readers to enjoy.

Dear ESPN

It's been a long time since Alabama has so completely dominated a top-ten team the way they're currently handing Georgia their backsides in a basket.

It's unfair of you to keep showing me the sad, shell-shocked Georgia fans in their pretty black clothes every time Alabama scores. (Which happens to be just about every time they touch the ball).

Please stop killin' my buzz. Thank you.

UPDATE:

Georgia score its first points---a field goal on their first drive of the second half. And Alabama kicks their first punt of the night at 9:30 in the third quarter.

UPDATE #2:

Georgia just scored again. The good news? The third quarter is nearly over and they're still down by 21. The bad news? There's a whole other quarter to go.

If Bama scores, it'll take the air out of their sails and make it a lot harder to come back in the fourth quarter. But that's a big if, and Georgia didn't get to be #3 without knowing how to come back.

At least Bama has good field position after their kick-off.

UPDATE #3:

Okay, it's getting scary now. 92 yard punt return. Alabama 31, Georgia 17.

UPDATE #4:

Okay, a little breathing room. Alabama scored a field goal after a nice, longish drive. Alabama 34, Georgia 17. About 9:45 go to in the game.

UPDATE #5:

Clutch, baby. Alabama 41, Georgia 17. 4:15 to go in the game.

UPDATE #6:

Georgia scores but can't make the two point conversion. Alabama 41, Georgia 23. 3:00 to go.

UPDATE #7:

Eeek! Georgia recovers the onside kick. Nails back to nubs.

UPDATE #8:

Georgia scores again, but it took them over a minute to do it, thanks to Alabama playing against the long play and forcing them to drive in short plays. Alabama 41, Georgia 30. They fail to get the onside kick this time. No time outs left for Georgia, so we just have to hit the knee a couple of times and it's over.

UPDATE #9:

Alabama wins, 41-30. Roll Tide!

Paul Newman RIP

Paul Newman has died at age 83.

One of my all time favorite movies is THE LONG, HOT SUMMER, with a young, sexy Paul Newman playing the role of Ben Quick. It paired him with his wife Joanne Woodward, with whom he shared a long, devoted marriage. (They married in 1958, celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year). Of his faithfulness to his wife, he once said, "Why go out for hamburger when you have steak at home?"

He will be missed.

2009 Linda Howard Award of Excellence

****Permission to forward******

2009 Linda Howard Award of Excellence

Sponsor: Southern Magic, Inc.
Fee: $25 - $30
Postmark/Electronic deadline: Saturday, November 22, 2008
Eligibility: not published in novel-length fiction in category entered in last 5 years
Entry: First 25 pages of manuscript

Categories/Final Judges:
Contemporary series romance (Long & Short) – Susan Litman, Editor, Harlequin
Single title – Selina McLemore, Editor, Grand Central Publishers
Historical – Alicia Condon, Editorial Director, Dorchester
Romantic Suspense – Megan McKeever, Associate Editor, Pocket Books
Unique Genre (Fantasy, Future, Time Travel & Paranormal) – Melissa Singer, Editor, Tor
Romantic Sensual and Sizzling (Erotica) – Raelene Gorlinsky, Editor, Ellora’s Cave
Inspirational – Tina Colombo, Editor, Steeple Hill
Young Adult – Jennifer Heddle, Editor, MTV Books

Top Prizes: First place will receive $25, a metal bookmark with name, contest and year. Second to fifth place will receive a certificate. First to fourth place will have their names printed in the Romance Writers Report.

For more information, rules and entry form, please visit the Southern Magic website.

Blogging on Intrigue Authors Blog

Today's my day to blog on the Intrigue Authors blog.

My topic? Geeks as heroes. And I have pictures! Drop by and leave me some comments.

Quick—While They Last!

Amazon has new copies of my first book, FORBIDDEN TERRITORY, available for purchase. I don't have any extra copies of this one in my own stores, so I put in an order for some. If you've read the other two in the Forbidden trilogy but don't have a copy of the first one, here's your chance.

And by the way, sales for COWBOY ALIBI and FORBIDDEN TOUCH on Amazon could use a boost, if you haven't bought them yet. Just sayin'.

Guest blogging at Running with Quills

I'm guest-blogging at Running with Quills. I share an excerpt from my current release, COWBOY ALIBI, and talk a little bit about the "us against the world" theme that's a big part of that novel.

I hope you'll drop by and give it a read.

9/11

Never forget.

I've begun to make this a tradition on this day. This is a piece of computer art I made shortly after 9/11/2001. It's my small memorial to the lives lost and lives changed.



Ghosts of Manhattan

UPDATE:

Here's a 9/11 tribute that's thorough and moving. (Hat tip: Instapundit)

http://www.comdac.com/911/911.swf

A Story of Love and Survival

Grab a hanky for this one.

On Sale Today

Don't forget—these books don't stay on the bookshelves long. They're available at most book stores, plus Wal Mart, Target and a lot of grocery stores and drug stores as well.

If you like a story about sexy cowboy cops and feisty heroines with tormented pasts, if you like a fast-paced, twisty tale of suspense, if you like stories with an "us against the world" vibe, then please pick up a copy of COWBOY ALIBI. And if you do, I'd love to hear what you thought of it, good or bad. Either drop me a comment here or in e-mail - paulawritesromance@charter.net or even better, write a review on Amazon.com or other online book seller sites.

I hope you enjoy COWBOY ALIBI!

Does This Ever Happen to You?

For me, it's specifically about my published books, but I think the question could apply to anyone in a job where your work is published or broadcast to a large number of people. When I get my books after their published, and I sit down to try to read them, I'm overcome with an intense sense of squeamishness, and I can't read past the first sentence or two.

I mean, it seems really weird, because I spent months working on the book, reading and rereading my scenes, chapters, even the whole manuscript, multiple times. It's not that it's so familiar to me that I just can't read it, either. I mean, I'm the woman who hasn't stopped re-reading the Harry Potter books over and over again since the first time I read them last Thanksgiving weekend.

Is it because I'm afraid to find out it's not as good as I wanted it to be?

I don't think this is an isolated phenomenon; I've heard actors say they never watch their shows or movies.

So, has something like that happened to you?

Be Prepared

If you're in Gustav's path, it's too late for this, but Tropical Storm Hanna is looming out in the Atlantic. So are some suggestions from Popular Mechanics to help you prepare to survive any natural disaster that might be heading your way.

I also posted some common sense preparedness suggestions right after Hurricane Katrina three years go here.

So, I Usually Avoid Controversy...

But ROLL TIDE!

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/ncf/gamecast?gameId=282430228&confId=1

(Sorry, Clemson Fans. Well, sorta...)

Intrigue Authors Blog

Several interesting posts lately over on the Intrigue Authors Blog. I'll be blogging tomorrow (Saturday, 8/30) on writing the male point of view.

I don't know that I have anything exciting or innovative to add, but I have links! And song lyrics!

Intrigue Ultimate Heroes

The eHarlequin forum is sponsoring a week-long look at Harlequin Intrigues "Ultimate Heroes" promotion for September. My book COWBOY ALIBI is featured on Tuesday.

I'd love to have some readers drop by and ask questions about it. And be sure to check out the posts on other days as well.

My August Contest

My August contest is up and running. I'll be giving away signed copies of my second and third books, plus a gift certicate to Amazon.com and to Bath and Body Works. So go enter!

And don't forget, if you just can't wait until September to get your hands on COWBOY ALIBI, my September Intrigue, you can buy it now online from eHarlequin.

John Mark Stallings, RIP

John Mark Stallings, son of former University of Alabama head football coach Gene Stallings, passed away Saturday, apparently of complications from a heart defect he's had since birth.

I never met John Mark, but I did see him once during a visit to the University of Alabama campus I took several years ago with a television station that was carrying the coach's show. As a perk for their advertisers, the sales reps for that station took several of us to the campus to meet Coach Stallings and to watch a little of the varsity basketball team's practice.

This was when Wimp Sanderson was still head basketball coach at Alabama, and he was always fun to watch. That day's practice was no different. But I noticed a young man on the sidelines, carrying towels and getting along famously with the players. Even from a distance, I could see the tell-tale signs of Down Syndrome. "Coach Stalling's son," someone nearby said in response to someone else's question. It was the first I'd heard of the coach having a son with Down Syndrome.

From that point on, I paid attention to stories about Coach Stallings and his son, and learned of the young man's joy in watching the Tide play and hanging out with the players. Despite his infirmity, in some ways he lived a dream, and I'm so glad of it.

My condolences to Coach Stallings and the family.

Buy Early! Buy Often!

Lookie what's up on eHarlequin!

Print on Demand

I don't really know if this is great for the book industry or not, but it seems to me that being able to have a copy of a book regardless of whether it's still currently in print would be a very cool thing. I do think it makes more sense for hardback books or books that are hard to find but in great demand. I can't imagine it would be a cost-efficient way to sell small paperbacks that only cost $5 anyway.

My Day on the Intrigue Blog

It's my day to blog over on Intrigue Authors. My topic: book trailers. Drop by and comment! You could win a book.

Time for a Website Change

You know me, I can't stick with a design forever. I've redesigned my website, trimming it to the basics--home page, books, bio, pics, link to my blog, email link. I wanted to keep the black, but I felt that the all black was just a bit too much and kind of hard to read.

If you get a chance, take a look and let me know what you think.

Jayne Ann Krentz is a Sweetheart

Just wanted to say that aloud. Recently, I helped my friend Cissy Hartley at Writerspace.com work on a book trailer for Jayne's new Jayne Castle futuristic, DARK LIGHT. It was a lot of fun to do, especially since her books are infused with humor, and in my line of writing, it's not always easy to play with humor. Writing the "script" for her book trailers is so much fun!

Anyway, Jayne was kind enough to mention and link me on the group blog Running with Quills, so I thought the least I could do, though it's hardly a fair exchange, was to do the same for her on my blog.

Jayne has been very sweet and very helpful since we "met" through Cissy. Gracious to the core. That's not always what you find with people as successful and busy as she is, so when you do, it leaves an impression.

Whew! Packaged Up, Ready to Go

I finished my two-book proposal! Finally! This one has kicked my tush, but the chapters are done and printed, the synopsis done and printed, and I think both stories will hold together well and be interesting, exciting stories.

So yay!

BTW, I forgot to mention I'll be taking part in Writerspace's 2008 Beach Party. I should be around from 8 pm to 9 pm Central Time in the chat room. I'll be giving away a copy of one of my backlist, so if there's a book of mine you don't have, this could be your chance to win a copy!

COWBOY ALIBI Book Trailer

I spent yesterday morning making a book trailer for another author, so I thought it would behoove me to expend a little of that creativity on my own career. So, here's my book trailer for COWBOY ALIBI.




Does it make you want to read more?

Strange Bedfellows

Or, I guess, bookfellows?

My fellow Intrigue author Patricia Rosemoor embarked not too long ago on an interesting project: to co-write a vampire novel with a horror writer. Now the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES has published a feature story on their collaboration.

Congratulations, Patricia!

RIP Tony Snow (1955-2008)

I'm heartbroken. Tony Snow was probably my favorite news pundit of all time, just because he was unfailingly kind, straightforward and cheerful. I'm going to miss him so much.

President Bush's statement about Tony's death.

Whatever your politics or philosphy, I hope you'll join me in keeping Tony's wife and children in your thoughts and prayers.

Enriched Edition eBooks

Gotta admit, this is pretty cool:

Harlequin Launches Enriched Edition eBooks

It made me wonder what sort of links I'd suggest for my own books.

Intrigue Authors Blog Blitz

Mark your calendars to take part in the Intrigue Authors Sizzling Summer Blog Blitz! July 1-July 31. Lots of authors. Lots of winners. New posts daily.

If you love Harlequin Intrigues, and free books, the Intrigue Author's Sizzling Summer Blog Blitz is the place to be.