Roz in Arizona came up with today's question, but give me a sec before I put it out there. Summer's here, schools almost out, and prime vacation time's around the corner.

Often for me, one of the more important parts of a vacation is choosing the right book to read during my precious time off. Maybe I'm crazy, but so many factors come into play. Is this family time or time alone (yeah, right!) with my husband? Am I visiting with relatives or friends? Will I have time to veg at a beach or is sight-seeing the primary objective? Different books for different vacations.

So tell us, what kind of books do you take on vacation, and why do you choose them?

FILL UP YOUR TANK (Sunday Recipe)

Memorial Day weekend and I'm thinking about my dad. He was a WWII vet and a career Air Force officer. He was in high school when the war started, but his dad was a career Army officer, so Daddy enlisted when he was old enough. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. He enlisted in the new Air Force after the war and became a pilot and a 20-year man. This photo was taken on Guam in the mid-50's. I'm the oldest of three second-generation military brats. Our parents are buried at Arlington.

Yesterday I took Daddy's medals and two photos to a frame shop to have a shadow box made. My brother has the original medals, but my take-charge daughter wrote to some office at the Pentagon requesting Daddy's records in my behalf (I'd been promising to do it for years) and not only did I get ALL of his service records in the mail but also a full set of duplicate medals. So last night I watched "Saving Private Ryan" and bawled.

I was thinking that recipes might be a good Sunday feature, and since Daddy--who was born in Baton Rouge--was a wonderful cook (as is my chip-off-the-old-block brother) here's one of his best for you:

Sid's Shrimp Creole

2 c. cooked shrimp
1 c. sliced or diced onion
1 c. diced celery
1 c. diced green pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 c. olive oil or bacon drippings
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. flour and 1/2 c. water blended (shake in a jar)
2 1/2 c.(1 #2 can) tomatoes, broken up
1 tbsp. vinegar
2 tsp. file (or 1 tsp. thyme)

1. Prepare and cook shrimp. Set aside.
2. In large skillet saute onions, celery, green pepper and garlic until tender.
3. Add salt, sugar, chili powder, file and flour/water blend.
4. Simmer (low heat) 15 min.
5. Add tomatoes, vinegar and shrimp to skillet and heat thoroughly.
6. Serve with rice and Tabasco sauce.

We'd love to see your recipes in the commentary! Anybody have a great gumbo?

What would you have done if...

Have you ever considered what you might have done if you hadn't decided to get into your current profession? Do you have a dream job? Not necessarily the job that's going to earn you all the big bucks, but the one that satisfy you, fill your well of creativity, fascinate you daily and keep you coming back for more, more, more?

Let's face it, a lot of us just don't know what we want to do when we walk out of High School. Some do. Many do. But have we really lived long enough by then to know what feeds our souls? I took a year of accounting, just out of high school. A year was all it took for me to realize that I didn't want to be pushing numbers around all day, every day, for the rest of my life. A cosmetology stint served me well. It was creative, and I enjoyed the field, but it never panned out. I sort of fell into writing, but I'm glad I made the stumble. It truly is a dream job that fills many wells, and always challenges me and it is something I can envision doing for ever, without ever growing bored with it.

But I do have my 'what I would have done, if I had known then' job. You see, I enjoy brains.

Yes, those squishy, convoluted, gray lumps we all carry around in our skulls. Brains fascinate me. I want to have an MRI just so I can see a picture of my own brain! Neurology is one of those professions that I know would fill me up, and keep me coming back for more. I enjoy reading about neurological disorders, and will read Oliver Sack's wonderful essays about the problems the brain can have over and over. I'm currently reading Hanging Out In The Frontal Lobe by Katrina Frilik, a neurosurgeon who tells it like it is in a very lyrical and interesting manner. I think neurosurgery would have been my choice. An opportunity to drill through skull and poke about in that tofu-like substance that is our very being. And did you know the brain has a tendency to ooze, like toothpaste, when a hole in the skull is drilled? (Don't worry, I won't get into gory details--but that's the sort of stuff I love to learn about.)

Anyway, a greater power in this creation must have decided that I would be much better off putting words to paper than to have my hands in the skulls of many, which I can completely accept. But that will never dampen my fascination.

So what would you have done if you had known then what you know now?

Michele

The Burning Question

Jane asks: What's the absolute hottest type of heroine in romance fiction right now?

Now, our plan is to get all of our team members to weigh in on the weekly Burning Question, but it might take a while this first time around since half of our ranks are bound for Florida for the weekend--riding with the top down, of course. But anyone is welcome to chime in!

This works for me in the garden...maybe.

Or maybe I should say, Will this work? My tulip show is over, and I never know how to conceal the big floppy foliage in the narrow bed between garage and sidewalk. Last fall I neglected to take in some of the pots--we had such a nice long fall that I sort of forgot--so I had some broken pots in the spring. This is Minnesota. I found a use for them as props when the tulips started leaning across the sidewalk. (You're saying I should move the tulips? That would be work.) Now I've curled the foliage down in the pot, added potting soil, and planted annuals.

Question is, will the foliage be able to die back properly, and will the annuals thrive? Any bets?

"This Works For Me" is one of the blogging springboards we thought we'd use occasionally--spread some of our clever ideas around, maybe trade for some of yours. And if any of mine turn out to be not-so-clever, which often happens, I'll report back.

Does this mean I get to go shopping?

As Kathleen mentioned, the Romantic Times convention is upon us. I've just emerged from a wicked deadline, and with my flight taking off for Daytona in two days, I suppose I should start packing, eh?

And, yes, I did go shopping. A lot. And I still feel the urge to go once again. Because you just never know what you'll need, right? I feel an intense need for a Meeting The Editor For The First Time outfit. That is just cause for shopping, yes? I'm sure I can convince The Hubby that it is. Oh heck, who needs to tell?

My list of clothing is growing, and it's taking a weird turn. I've got the Meet the Fans in Club RT outfit. It's comfy, yet sassy. I'll be doing a stint as one of the members of the Vampire Vixens on Wednesday afteroon in Club RT at 3:00, so stop by. Then, there's the Sexy Fantasy outfit that I need for the Ellora's Cave party that night. Yikes! I'm not sure about that one. I think it'll be pretty difficult to get Johnny to show up on such short notice. The costume just wouldn't be right without him!

Thursday I need only worry for the Faery Ball. I've got some swishy stuff, but the wings will have to stay home. I've got my own wings, anyway. They're always there, behind me, just most mortals can't see them. :-)

Friday demands a Luncheon dress. Got it. And later for the Vampire Ball something vampish. I think I've got that working as well. Picked up some snazzy, stilleto heels studded with silver rivets. Don't shoes just make the outfit? Just wearing some pretty pumps does something for me. And how I do adore them high and pointy!

Saturday I 've go the Author Signing Outfit, which I'm still not sure about. Casual dressy, or dressy casual? The signing is over 3 hours long. I've got to go for comfy, no matter what. That night the CosmoChix (hey, I'm in that group, too!) are throwing a shindig before the big Racing Party, so I've got that tee-shirt and skirt for that. You can find each of the six CosmoChix by looking for our tee-shirts that say, er...CosmoChix. :-) Betina and Lois are also Chix, so come say hello to us! And don't forget to cheer on Lois's son as he's striding the runway for the Cover Model Contest right before the Chix party. As for that Racing Party? I'm thinking of taking the night off. But who knows? I suppose I could borrow one of the many hundreds of Earnhardt tee-shirts The Husband owns.

Now, after all the clothes have been sorted through, and the shoes matched and necklaces and earrings and bracelets are coordinated, I still find myself with a few items extra. Hmm, seems I've actually overshopped. But that's not possible, is it? Nah. I'll save that spider-web-laced corset for the next family reunion. That should go over well, eh? ;-)

Talk to you all when I return. I'll try to snag a few photos.
Michele

Fond memories from Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention

I'm not going to this year's RT doings in Daytona, and I'm feeling a little sad. Michele, Betina, and Lois will have to party on without me. For anyone who hasn't been to one of these events--held annually since the early 1980's and sponsored by Romantic Times magazine--it's always quite the show. Authors, booksellers, and scads of readers attend. Besides a ton of books, they come away with great stories.

I'll never forget the time my signing table was right next to Fabio's. This was before he got his not-butter gig. Women were lined up to get their pictures taken with him. He was wearing a flowing shirt, but he obliged when someone asked him to take it off. The shrieks hit the fan, and the packed crown swooned en mass. One poor woman fell across my table and knocked my water in my lap. She was so embarrassed! What the heck? It was only water.

Later I was seated with friends--Tami Hoag and Jill Marie Landis, as I remember--at a table next to the Fab, his handler and a reporter in the hotel restaurant. Very close table. And if you know writers, you know we make no bones about eavesdropping. It's called research. It's our bread and butter--real butter. We actually heard the Fab make his famous statement that no one remembers the author's name on the cover of a book, but everyone remembers Fabio. Didn't matter whether it was fact or fiction, there was not a straight face at our table.

Does anyone else have a fond RT memory to share?

This is only the beginning...

Welcome to RIDING WITH THE TOP DOWN! This is a brand new group effort. We are seven published writers, friends from a wonderful writers' group--Midwest Fiction Writers, Minneapolis--who write in a variety of Pop Fiction subgenres. We're here to blog, blog, blog about anything and everything, from the writer's life to family life, from getting published to getting the garden in, from crowded to empty nests and crowded to empty heads. Not that we're ever really empty-headed, but there comes a time in the writing day when there are no more words, and you start looking for distractions. You want to jump in the car, boat, ferris wheel, or on the back of a horse and take a ride. If you can get a friend or two to go along, so much the better. When writers get together--especially after they've been locked in the garret trying to make a deadline--man, do they talk.

First of all, I've only ever posted to one Blog, ever, so I'll have to get "broken in." I'll confess to not being a fan of chat rooms. I've been a "guest speaker" a few times, and I feel like I'm sitting in a room with a bunch of people I can't see. Terrified. My dear friend Jane--who is blind--would high-five me about now. And I'm a slow reader and slower typist. But maybe I can handle this blogging thing.

We have some ideas that should make this journey interesting. Yes, we'll talk about our books and how we wrote them. When you're in "deep write," you're practically living and breathing the book. It's almost all you can think or talk about. But we do have real lives, too. We're going to invite bloggers to pose questions for us. We'll choose a question each week, and each of us will give her thoughts. And, of course, we'll look forward to getting other bloggers' thoughts. In addition we hope to highlight each contributor's special interests and experiences. And, trust me, we run the gamut. You can tell that just from our book covers. We're all kids at heart, but some of us are also grandmas. So yes, Jimi, we are experienced.

We're still getting set up--three of our contributors are up against deadlines as we speak--but I thought I'd post a welcome and see how it looks on the page.

Oh! I just figured out how to make italics! It's old dog, new tricks time.