Gift? Or curse?

One of my favorite shows is returning to TV on Feb. 2. Medium stars Patricia Arquette as Allison DuBois, a psychic medium who sees and talks to ghosts. She uses this quality to help an Arizona county attorney and a local detective solve crimes.

The coolest thing about the show is that it’s based on an actual person. The real Allison DuBois lives in Phoenix. Her husband is really named Joe, he’s an aerospace engineer and they have three daughters, as portrayed by the TV show. DuBois indicates that unlike Arquette's character, her visions come to her in the daytime rather than during sleep.

I have to admit I’m not a fan of Arquette. But she’s won an Emmy for her portrayal of DuBois, so what do I know? I have, however, always been intrigued by the prospect of using psychic abilities to solve crimes.

The charms of the paranormal sub-genre are largely lost on me. My feet are too firmly mired in reality to suspend disbelief for the alternate worlds, werewolves, and vampires so popular today, although I still admire a well-written story, regardless of the category! But when it comes to psychic phenomena…I’m intrigued. So much so that four of my books have featured a character with some sort of psychic ability. (The most fun was the one with a telepathic five year old.)

Parapsychologists argue that all people have some level of ‘superconsciousness’, some degree of ESP that can be developed the way we enhance physical skills. Everyone can think of times they’ve experienced strong intuitive feelings that their child was in trouble, or knew something bad was going to happen.

Those with the skill of precognition can’t call upon it at will. In reality, it comes in flashes, and usually isn’t reliable for the psychic or his/her loved ones. But what if it were? If you could have the ability of precognition, with no boundaries, would you want it?

What if you could warn a loved one not to take that plane; not to marry that person; or guide them to take the job that would prove most rewarding in the future? If you could foresee what would happen personally if you make one choice instead of the other, would that offset the possible negatives that came with the 'gift'?

Or maybe there are other abilities you’d rather have:

Telepathic—the ability to read others’ thoughts
Clairvoyant—the transfer of information without using the senses; the information is passed through the spirit world
Empathic—the ability to feel others’ emotions as if it were happening to you
Telekinetic—the ability to move or manipulate inanimate objects with your mind
Pyrokinesis—the ability to ignite or extinguish fire with your mind
Psychometry—the ability to ‘know’ things about people by holding objects that belonged to them
Precognition—the ability to foresee future events
Postcognition—the ability to know facts of an event after it occurred

So let’s be psychic-wannabes for a day ☺ Would you want to be able to foresee the future? Or is there another psychic ability you’d rather have? And if so, what would you use the ability for? Or have you experienced a sort of paranormal event that you want to share?

Naked - the painful truth.

Carson Kressley (from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) has a fairly new TV show on right now, How to Look Good Naked. Yeah, right. The last time I looked good naked I was 3 months old, laying on my tummy on a bear rug. (I only had a couple dimples in my bottom back then and they were cute - or so I'm told)

Anyway, his show is all about boosting a woman’s self-confidence and improving body image. Now, okay. I’m all for that. But I’m all for world peace and buck a gallon gas but I don’t believe either are going to happen in my lifetime. Neither do I think that a gay guy (who I adore) is going to convince a woman who has most likely had self-esteem issues her entire life, that a straight guy is going to love looking at her cellulite, spare tire and back fat.

I’m not being mean. I can say this because I have cellulite, a spare tire and back fat – and truth be told even more that I don’t care to think about let alone write about. Back in the days when I was a cute and perky size 6 (today that would be a 2, I believe) I still had ‘body’ issues. My boobs were too small, my butt was too big, I was too lumpy, too stumpy … it went on and on. NOW, I look at photos of myself back then and I wish with all my heart that I had that body – imperfect as I perceived it then – back.
Honestly, I’ve never met a woman, be she size 1 or size 22, who is happy about the way her body looks. Have we not – most of us anyway – from the time we opened our first Teen magazine or Cosmo or Glamour or ‘ego deflator’ of choice, compared ourselves to the airbrushed models with the perfect thighs, flat abs and tight butts and wish we could measure up?

What's up with that? Why are we never happy with ‘the way we are’? Anorexia, bulimia, obesity. All are very serious problems. Are they all by-products of impossible standards set by a fashion industry that caters to the 1% of women who could actually walk a runway and more notably, be blown away by a good stiff wind? BTW: More than 60 percent of American women are a size 12 or larger, yet we're bombarded by images of size 0s, which can fuel a barrage of insecurity and self-doubt.

In any event, if you, too, struggle with your self-image - be it too much fat or not enough, here are some suggestions from Carson to help adjust your thinking:

• Take baby steps.
• Live in the moment.
• Get rid of clothes that are too big or too small. "Keep the sizes that work for you and that fit for you, and then get rid of the other stuff," Carson says. "Don't mourn your old body."
• Look at your whole body. "Don't just focus on the bad stuff. If you have bad thighs, don't automatically go there every day when you wake up and look at that," he says. "Look at the good stuff, and reprogram your brain into thinking, 'This is good. This is good. This isn't so great. So what?'"

When you are shopping, Carson suggests a few tricks of the trade you should keep in mind to minimize your flaws and flaunt your assets.
• If you are worried about big hips, wear flared jeans. "You don't want a skinny, peg-leg jean because that's just going to accentuate that shape," he says.
• Big purses can make your butt seem smaller.
• A wrap dress in a knit fabric can be flattering. "It's body-hugging in all the right places, and it's forgiving in the right places," Carson says.
• Knit spandex can help to give your arms some shape and minimize jiggling.
• A large pattern can help to camouflage the stomach.
• A cute patent leather belt can help to define the waist. "It just cinches you in and gives you a great waistline," Carson says.
• A long jacket can help to elongate your look. "When you feel short-waisted … you tend to wear very short garments, and that only accentuates a boxiness. If you wear longer, more column-like things, it just makes you look longer. It's like magic," Carson says.

So, what do you think? Can we really improve our self-images with these few helpful hints? And how about you? Am I a lone voice preaching to a crowd of well adjusted people, or do you struggle with body image, too? And if so, how do you deal with it? And what do you think of Dove's efforts to use 'real' models with 'real' bodies to showcase their products? Genius marketing idea or a sincere attempt to help improve a woman's self-esteem?

Wednesday's Winner!

Thanks again Kathryn for visiting with us yesterday!

MaryC wins a Kathryn Shay book! Email me at helenbrenna@comcast.net and let me know which book you'd like, MAN SHE COULDN'T FORGET or something from her backlist.

Congrats!

Guest Author: Kathryn Shay

I (Helen here) met Kathryn at a Superromance author party at conference a couple years ago. It was right after I'd sold and I felt as if I was crashing the party. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" is what I expected to hear. Instead, I was welcomed with open arms by authors like Kathryn. She's been so helpful for this newbie and it's my pleasure to have her visiting today. Please welcome Kathryn Shay ...

Dear Riding With the Top Down Readers,

Thanks so much for having me blog with you today. I appreciate the opportunity to get to know you.

Let me first introduce myself. I’m Kathryn Shay and I write for Harlequin Superromance and The Berkley Publishing Group. I have 23 Supers and ten Berkley Sensations published; there are over four million copies of my books in print. I write contemporary romance, sometimes with a bit of suspense thrown in. I deal mostly with everyday characters like firefighters, cops, teachers and construction workers, but occasionally I have a TV chef, a senator or a secret service agent as the hero or heroine. I like to explore social issues and I’m told my books are highly emotional, often tearjerkers, and have hints of humor.

My current release from Harlequin Superromance, A MAN SHE COULDN’T FORGET focuses on your not-so-average heroine, Clare Boneli. After a bad accident, she wakes up in the hospital with amnesia, and there seem to be two men in her life, vying for her attention and her love.One is the owner of the TV station where she has a local cooking show, and one is her best friend and illustrator of her popular cookbooks. Torn between them, it doesn’t take Clare long to figure out something’s wrong. What the reader knows, and Clare doesn’t, is that neither man wants her to remember everything that happened the night she skidded off the road. The book addresses three main themes: amnesia, friends-turned-lovers and a love triangle.

I don’t know about you but I like amnesia stories because it’s so interesting to think about not remembering anything in your past. How frightening that must be and how disconcerting when memories come back in little bits and you try to piece things together. I also liked writing about friends-turned-lovers because it’s always fun to watch characters who know each other so well discover that they’re in love too! And finally, the love triangle subplot was challenging to write. I hadn’t realized what a delicate balance this needed and how hard it would be to pull off.

A few fun facts about me as a person, in case you’re interested:
***In my life outside of writing, I was a high school teacher for three decades, teaching courses like Humanities, Science Fiction, Women in Society, as well as advanced English and working with reluctant learners. After I got published, I used to get up at four a.m. and write for a couple of hours before I went to work. (P.S. I don’t recommend that.) Thankfully, I have only one full time job now.

***I married my college sweetheart and have two grown children, 24 and 27 who I still spend a lot of time with.

***I take yoga classes, watch TV, which I was unable to do when I was teaching, I love Barak Obama (me and millions of others!), I love to read within my genre and belong to a book club to tackle works outside of romance and women’s fiction.

***I volunteer at a soup kitchen serving hungry and homeless people, and I answer the phones at a battered women’s shelter. After teaching all that time, I can’t stay home and write every day, all day.

So, that’s me and work. I’d love to chat with you anything I’ve written, or anything else.

Oh, another tidbit. Many of the recipes in A MAN SHE COULDN’T FORGET are from my Italian family. They are published on my website at http://www.kathrynshay.com/current.couldntforgetrecipes.html.

Go ahead and take a look. And if you try one, Mange!

Kathy's going to give away a copy of A MAN SHE COULDN'T FORGET or another from her backlist for one of today's commentors! And check out the trailer for her new book on her website.

Stuff to Get and Give away

Did you know Harlequin is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year? Cool, huh? I had no idea they'd been putting romance out there for so long. Heck, my grandma may have read some of their books. When was the first time you picked up a Harlequin or Silhouette novel? Do you remember? I know I tried my first in the early 1990s. It must have been a Presents, and I recall it was set on a Greek Island. Don't remember the title or author. I just know that it fed that part of me pining for a fantastic adventure filled with romance.

To celebrate their 60th, starting January 29th (Thursday!) Harlequin will be giving away 16 free book downloads. That's full-length books, people. One book to represent each of their lines. How cool is that? I'm telling you about this because my book, KISS ME DEADLY, is the Nocturne giveaway. Sure, they're electronic books, but you can read them on your computer, eBook reader, or in a few weeks, the files will be compatible for reading on your phone. The offer is good throughout 2009, so stop by this week, pick one up, then go back when you're done with that one, then go back... Well, you get the idea.  Find them at:  www.HarlequinCelebrates.com

I thought I'd mention a few other places online you can find and download free eBooks. You're all aware of Project Gutenberg? It's a library of copyright-free books (mostly classics) available to download. They have over 100,000 titles, and 27,000 of those are free. Find it at: www.gutenberg.org

Random House is giving away a handful of full-length books by popular writers. You can download them through February 28th at Amazon, Sony, Fictionwise, and other online eBook retailers. I went for it and downloaded them all (heck, who can resist a free read?), and some of the authors include: L.J. Smith, Laurie Notaro, Charlie Huston and Simon Rich. My Kindle overfloweth with free books!

Orbit is not giving theirs away, but instead only charging a $1 for some hot titles. They feature a new title every month. I snagged Brent Weeks' The Way Of Shadows, and can't wait to start it. Find them at: www.onedollarorbit.com

All right, have you got a hard drive full of free stuff by now? Well, what do you do with your old, obsolete hard drive, or that old cellphone or camcorder that's been sitting in your closet for years? You want to be responsible and recycle. Most cell phones you can drop off at any cell phone dealer. They either have a drop box, or will provide you with postage-paid envelopes to mail them off to get recycled. But for the bigger stuff did you know you might make some money off your unused tech-stuff? I found a great new sight that will pay you for your stuff. And they'll provide a postage-paid label so you can ship it to them. If the item is too old, they offer to recycle it for you, and again the postage is paid. It doesn't get better than that. I just printed the shipping label to send off a twenty-year old camcorder that was taking up space.  Get rid of the stuff this year, people!  Find them at: www.gazelle.com

What about you? Got any great tips for finding free stuff online? What about for getting rid of your stuff? Let's share tips! 

And do tell: When did you read your first romance? Do you remember?

Michele

Nerd. . . the new hotness?

I have always been one for pondering the mysteries of life. Here's my latest: for the second week in a row, "Paul Blart, Mall Cop" has been number one at the box office.

Okay, I confess, I chuckled at the trailer when in the theater for another show. I tried to be a good sport about the possibilities, remembering Kevin James's memorable romantic nerd as one of the high spots of the movie "Hitch." And I honestly think Kevin James has a handsome face. . . on a nerdly body. He's naturally comedic and has an appealing "every man" thing going.

But really. Number One? In the season of "Benjamin Button" and "Doubt" and "Slumdog Millionaire" and even the Oscar-snubbed "Gran Torino"? Yep. Numero Uno.

Interestingly, this happens in the same week that Academy Award nominations were announced for most of the above-mentioned movies. . . none of which even made it into the top four on any given week. So what does that say about the disconnect between the Hollwood-ites and the rest of the viewing public? That it's big and growing? That it's in danger of snapping the fragile ties of respect the viewing public has for Oscars? That Hollywood is badly misreading the mood of the country? That our tolerance for paying $8.50 to $10.00 to sit in a darkened theater and be talked down to or be badgered with depressing or sobering or even just quirky images has reach the breaking point?

Maybe it means that with Caterpillar laying off 20,000 (announced this morning!) and Detroit circling the drain and the biggest banks in the country on public life support and everyone's retirement decimated and income in jeopardy . . . we just need a damned good laugh.

And maybe it means that the operatic lives of the stars and the arrogance of the Hollywood elite have finally exceeded our appetite for them. Maybe it means we're getting back to more central and down-to-earth values. It's hard to admire Paris Hilton's swag-grabbing greed and self-absorbed self-importance, or marvel at the millions paid for pictures of the "it" couple's new baby when people all around you are losing jobs and you're wondering where your next house payment is coming from.

Maybe it's a sign our society is waking up. Growing up. Maybe it's just the pendulum swinging back. . . away from artifice and glamor to something more basic and enduring. Fun. Escape into good fiction. Bonding with characters because they're kind of like us. Enjoying their triumph vicariously.


And maybe it's the REVENGE OF THE NERDS boxoffice style. Maybe nerds really are sexier and more desirable than anybody gives them credit for. They're certainly more interesting than the manequin-perfect pretty boys Hollywood churns out in droves. I mean, there were a couple of guys in my high school class who had distinct possibilities. . . waaaay smart, nose stuck in books, not at all conceited, and not especially social. . . who turned out to be quite the catch. Did you have any of those guys in your class? Where are they now?


What do you think? Do we just have "hottie" fatigue? Are we tired of washboard abs and guys who are too sexy for their shirts? Is Nerd the new Hottie? Or is there room for both in our hearts and imaginations? Check this out:



Is he adorable or what?


WHAT do you think? What's responsible for the success of "Mall Cop?" How many of the Academy Awards's "Best Picture" nominees have you seen? How many would you/do you want to see? And do you think Nerds may be on the way IN?

The Eyes Have It

So I open my Sunday paper, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but this lovely cover photo. We were talking about the Golden Globes last week, and "Mad Men" was somewhat mentioned. I think I raved. But more than a few people I meet have never seen it, so I thought I'd offer some incentive. This is Jon Hamm. Not only is he easy on the eyes, but he can act.

'Nuff shown? If not, rent Season 1. (Season 2 ran last Fall on AMC, so it'll be a while before it's out on DVD.) He does take his shirt off. Oh, have I said the show is well-written? Nice bonus, that. Has anyone seen "Mad Men"? What do you think?

Happy Birthday, Lois!

Hope you like the present!

Kathleen: Cry For Happy

The images we've been seeing this week have been so powerful, I can hardly express myself. I promise not to talk politics, but I need to speak about what I've experienced and invite others to do the same. I'll start us off with a personal moment that fairly blew me away.

I think what impressed me the most about the images was the children, and thinking about the changes I've wanted foe them. You know, world peace, equal opportunity, tolerance, respect and dignity for all, what used to be pie-in-the-sky bleeding heart cliche. This week the sea of happy faces of all races--2 million strong on the Capitol mall--validated the dream. Not that there isn't a ton of work to do still, but we're still willing to to carry the torch. Keep the faith. Do the right thing. Teach the children well.

One anecdote from the Eagle household, and then over to you. On Monday, my first grade granddaughter's homework assignment was to write about something Martin Luther King, Jr. had given Americans and to draw a picture to illustrate. The class had seen a video, and they'd been reading and drawing all week, and this was the moment of truth. So we talked a little bit, but she knew exactly what she wanted to say. "How do you spell peace?" We sounded it out. "How do you spell harmony?" We sounded it out. "Martin Luther King, Jr. gave America peace and harmony."

Okay, Nana wants a little more. How did he do this. What did he say? Remember the marching, the-- "That's all I want to write, Nana. I'll show you in the picture."

So here's the picture. I thought she was drawing a door at first. She wrote "Whites Only." I was surprised. Puzzled. This is a 6-year-old, mind you. She drew the rest of the water fountain and an X over the two ugly words. Then she drew another water fountain and some people. She took a picture she had made earlier in the week of MLK and drew his head again. (We were watching news coverage of Monday's events, and she took the suit from the news guys. Pretty good, huh?)

Once she had shown me, she proceeded to tell me that in the old days, not everybody could drink from the water fountain. Now we can. I told her that I remembered the old days, and that when I was 6 years old, I saw those signs. Even then I knew it was wrong. Two generations later, with millions of people making their mark, adding bits and pieces--a word here, a deed there--and the picture is changing. America is a work in progress, and this little girl will be part of the evolution. In a good way, as the Lakota people say. On Tuesday night, my 4-year-old granddaughter saw what I was watching (for the Nth time and still smiling) and said, "Oh, we saw this on TV today. Barack Obama is our president now." They watched the inauguration in preschool!

I'm fascinated with history. I love to think about the journey, and how each generation takes a few steps. I'm blown away by the steps we took this week and the fact that we really did this together. So--this is a story you'll tell your grandchildren-- Where were you when America celebrated the inauguration of our 44th president?

For my part, I was reminded of a movie from my childhood (Glen Ford was a big favorite of mine) called "Cry For Happy." I do it all the time these days.

Is It Spring Break Yet?

I don't know about you, but for me this winter in Minnesota is getting looooong.

So all you folks who live in different climes can understand what I'm talking about ...

That I recall, it's been white outside since Thanksgiving. We had record setting snowfall in the month of December. Just last week here in Minneapolis, we had more than 100 straight hours of below zero temperatures. I dressed up in snowpants, mukluks, parka and thick mitts and took my dogs out for a walk one day during all of this (crazy, I know, but they go nuts getting stuck inside for too long) and it was so cold we only made it a hundred or so feet from my dang car before my dogs started lifting their feet. I almost didn't get them back to the car. Dog booties may be in their immediate future.

Alexandria, a few hours north of here, set record lows of thirty three below and International Falls, known as the Ice Box of the Nation, set record lows of forty six below. We're talking actual temperatures. I don't want to even reiterate what the wind chills were last week. Makes me want to turn on my space heater just thinking about it.

Needless to say, my thoughts are turning to spring, specifically spring break. I'm thinking I could do for some sunshine, beaches, pina coladas, and cabana boys. And I'm thinking there's a hammock somewhere just like the one to the left with my name on it. So give me some ideas quick before I freeze to death up here.

What's been your favorite warm, reasonably priced spring break?

Thanks!
Helen

Say Yes to the Dress!

This post is SO not about the movie Bridal Wars which I knew for a fact the first time I saw the trailer had to be written by a man. Yeah. I’m right. Though a couple women worked on the screenplay, a man came up with the idea and was part of the screenplay team. Note to Hollywood dudes: All women do not become bridezillas!

However, I started thinking about weddings (particularly wedding dresses) when my gym friend Cheryl told me about her two daughters who got engaged last fall within five days of each other and who are marrying within four months of each other. Note to others in these circumstances: You quit thinking about the bad economy and only think about darling daughter’s dream day.

Cheryl’s girls found their dresses at the second place they visited, but I’ve not been so lucky in finding the perfect gown for a character in my latest project. Or maybe I’m not trying too hard, because looking through bridal magazines is such a blast. And because I’m going to actually get to dress someone at no cost, what a fantasy! (I loved playing paper dolls when I was a little girl, and dressing characters is much the same.) Note to self: Procrastinating by playing like this is not getting the job done!

So help me out, friends. (Or just have fun looking at the dresses.) Any of these catch your eye? Do you have a favorite wedding dress style?

What a Mess!

Lois Greiman

I think anyone in the writing community will agree that the book world is a strange universe. Although it’s often exhilarating and exciting and hopeful, it’s sometimes irritating and exasperating and nonsensical. But I’ve been in the book business a long time and thought I had kind of come to terms with the ups and downs. Recent developments have made me rethink that decision:

My last Chrissy McMullen mystery, Unmanned, was released in October 2007 with the idea that Unnerved would follow in the spring. But somewhere along the line the powers that be decided to take my mysterious career on a little detour. It seems my sales didn’t adequately reflect the “lovely” reviews and fan mail my little mysteries had garnered. In other words, Bantam Dell felt Chrissy could do better…if they gave her a whole new look. Out with the old, in with the new. Unnerved would be moved to the fall ‘08 lineup in order to give the marketing and art departments more time to consider the possibilities.

My agent was actually the genius who came up with the title, One Hot Mess, which I loved immediately. As for the cover, well, I eventually received a flat for the new look. You may have seen it before since it’s been posted on the sidebar for some time. I never really cared for it, thought it was a little busy, but when I asked around everyone else seemed to find it charming, and since there wasn’t much I could do about it anyway life went on.

Then, just a few months before Mess was it be released, the sales force trotted it off to the book buyers. But the Barnes and Noble folk declared they wouldn’t order my book with the current cover.

By the time I heard anything about this little roadblock, Bantam had already given my new look a NEW look. I have to admit I like it much better than the original. But what a weird turn of events. I didn’t know a book store had that kind of clout. Granted, Barnes and Noble is sort of a demigod in the industry, but I’m not sure what to think about the whole mess. (Huh, no pun intended.)


So tell me, have you ever heard of anything like this happening before? Do you have a weird publishing story to share? (Who doesn’t?) And what do you think of Mess’s new look? Do you prefer exhibit A or exhibit B?

www.loisgreiman.com

Upcoming Guests

On Wednesday, 1/21, we've got something fun and different to share with y'all.

Getting published in romance is tough and entering writing contests has always been a good way to get noticed by editors and agents. A couple years back Romantic Times BOOKreviews started something different, a contest where the winner is guaranteed to get published by Dorchester Publishing. Pretty kewl, huh?

The America Title V contest starts with eight competitors and is run like an American Idol style competition where people send in emails to vote for their favorites. At this stage of this year's contest, there are six remaining finalists and they're coming to chat with us on Wednesday.

Stop by to hear all about it and then VOTE!

Helen

Heroes among us

As a romance writer I get so mired in my novels and my heroes and heroines and their conflicts and obstacles that keep them from saving the world or each other or from their own happily ever afters that I sometimes for get to look at the real world and recognize all the every day heroes doing heroic deeds day in and day out.

I was reminded of that – I suspect many of us were – tonight as I watched the nightly news and saw the photos of the US Airways plane landing in the Hudson River. One hundred and fifty five passengers and crew were aboard that flight.
Everyone made it out alive. Astounding. That didn’t happen by accident. First the pilot – just doing his job – made split second decisions that resulted in the ‘landing’ of the airbus in the middle of the Hudson River instead of crashing. I mean think about it. Yes, he was trained for the event of a crash landing but don’t you have to wonder how many pilots EVER actually encounter such an event? Fortunately for frequent flyers, not many. I understand that the greatest risk in a landing of this type is that the plane would have ‘cart-wheeled’ and tumbled end over end which would have caused it to break apart, possibly explode (the wings were filled with jet fuel) resulting in a totally different outcome and most likely many serious injuries and fatalities. The pilot is a hero.
Then there are the passengers themselves who, after an initial (and totally understandable) reaction of panic, all settled down or allowed themselves to be settled down by a competent flight crew member and several of the passengers themselves and evacuated the sinking plane in an orderly and calm fashion. The crew and those passengers are heroes. There was an infant aboard. Somebody’s baby, someone’s grandchild. As a grandmother, I thank God for the heroes who helped facilitate that child’s rescue.

It didn’t end there. Within 2 – 3 minutes of that plane landing hard in over 50 feet of 32 degree water with the outside air 20 degrees, water taxis carrying commuters home from work and tourists who were enjoying the city sights, arrived at the scene. Crews and passengers on those water taxis – at great risk to their own safety – helped haul survivors away from that sinking plane until and even after the harbor patrol and the NYPD and FDNY arrived on scene – all of whom also risked their lives to save these people. Heroes, again, doing their jobs.

We write about them, we read about them, we see real live heroes doing what they do, like today, and their actions bring us a renewed sense of pride that we live in a world where there are still people who do the right thing.

I'm thinking that if we put our collective heads together we could come up with other stories of heroism - either nationally or locally. Do you have a story to share? We'd love to hear it. Have you, personally ever had the opportunity to do the right thing? Have you ever been a benefactor of someone who did the right thing and went that extra mile? Have you ever wondered how you would react in a crisis situation? Or do you have anything you'd like to add to this amazing story that could have had such a devstating conclusion?

Procrastination

I have a magnet on my refrigerator with a saying that speaks to me on a deep heartfelt level. It reads: Hard work pays off in the long run, but procrastination pays off now!

I want that on my tombstone. Because just when I think I’ve taken procrastination to new heights, I outdo myself yet again.

Oh, I can get all self-righteous and claim that it isn’t procrastination at all, it’s all about prioritizing. And when something more urgent comes up and interrupts time I’d set aside to murder the latest victim in my story, I’m just re-delegating my time for maximum efficiency, right?

However, that gets a bit more difficult to believe when playing half a dozen games of Chicktionary becomes a prerequisite prior to starting my daily pages. It gets downright frightening when a deadline looms close enough to cast a shadow on my computer screen, and I’m on page 125 of a 400-page book due in five weeks.

No way to deny it then. I’m a procrastinator. Now where’s the twelve-step program?

This didn’t happen overnight. No, I’ve been molding this bad habit for some time now. Back in the day when I used to make the kids’ Halloween costumes, my mantra was, “Well, if worst comes to worst, I don’t have to sleep.” This, from someone who considers sleep an artform.

Time is my enemy. Too much of it, that is. I manage to accomplish a mind-boggling amount, if I have very little time to get it done. If I have all summer…it might not get done at all.

Case in point: My driver’s license expired in November. They give you sixty days to renew it. I should only be allowed six. Because sixty. . .that’s two months. That’s a long time. Plenty of time to go back to the eye doctor and see if I can get an enhancement on the laser surgery I had done a few years back. (Not yet.) Plenty of time to find that DOT form he gave me to excuse me from the eye test on the renewal. (Lost.) Okay, then plenty of time to get another form faxed to me. (They can’t fax them. Oh and then surprise, they are only good for 30 days. Someone forgot to mention that.)

Long story short, I ended up having to drive 50 miles to have glasses made at one of those one hour places so I could pass the vision exam on the test the next day, coincidentally the last day to renew before having to take the whole written exam again.

See what I mean?

Of course this particular trait impacts my writing, too. Invariably I find myself having to write 78 pages in two days to finish a book that just won’t end. Or to take weeks to coax my muse out from under the table she’s hiding beneath to give me a clue about where exactly this story is going.

Then there’s that helpful internal voice that occasionally whispers, ‘You deserve a weekend off. You work two jobs…you should have a little fun.’ That voice, I’m convinced comes from a small horned creature that smells faintly of brimstone.

I blame it on success. Procrastination has actually worked quite well for me. The deadlines, no matter how close together, somehow get met. Under pressure I manage to set new records time and again for how many pages I can write in a day when I really really need to. This lulls me into a false sense of security because I was able to do it before, so somehow I’ll pull it off again.

Of course I don’t recall the sleepless nights it took to accomplish those feats. The fist of fear squeezing my chest that this time I might not make it. It doesn’t factor in surprise surgeries, or new babies in the family, or a husband who believes it’s helpful to walk by my chair asking continuously, “Are you done yet?”

Somehow I never seem to recall how horrible the situation was the last time I procrastinated like this. Certainly I’ve forgotten that last time I promised myself I was never going to let this happen again!

This time I really mean it. This time. If I meet this deadline I will really never ever procrastinate again.

So you’ll have to excuse me now while I get back to my writing. Of course there’s those six games of Chicktionary to play first. . . .

How about you, are you a procrastinator? If so, is there anything in particular that you seem to put off as long as possible? Anyone have any tips for kicking this habit?

Introducing...

...Barbara O'Neal aka my very good friend, Barbara Samuel. Barbara is a RITA award-winning, bestselling author of wonderful women's fiction and luscious romances and she has a fabulous book out this month with the Bantam Discovery program (already into its fourth printing after just two weeks on the shelves!). The Lost Recipe for Happiness is the story of a chef just given the opportunity she's been waiting for--to run the kitchen of a world-class restaurant. It's a chance for Elena to take a new direction in her life--if she can let go of the ghosts from the past that still haunt her.

Filled with recipes and brimming with hope, this is feel-good fiction with the kind of chops (hah, a pun!) that make it perfect fare (yet another!) for your book group. Here's a few questions I put to Barbara about her new title.

Did you try out all the recipes in the book?

I did. I call it the Great Winter of Cooking because I wrote as I cooked, and cooked as I wrote. There were seven blizzards that winter, so I was stuck at home a lot, testing, retesting, retrying everything. Some things, Iike tamales, were things I'd made many times. Others, like duck tamales, I had to figure out how. (And those duck tamales made me a star with my partner, Christopher Robin!)

I want to attempt some of the recipes. What’s your first and second recommendations for someone who considers herself an intermediate cook? (Confession: I’m afraid of the baklava.)

I'd recommend trying Juan's Carne En Su Jugo. It is an amazingly flavorful soup, and not difficult to prepare. It's far more than the sum of its parts!

For the second one, I'm torn between recommending Carnitas, which are very easy and one of the best foods on the entire planet, and Pan de Muerte, which is a beautiful, flavorful yeast bread.

As for the baklava, it is time intensive, but not at all difficult to make. I've been experimenting a little with bringing out more pomegranate flavor, so if you want to try the evolving recipe, go to http://www.barbaraoneal.com/?p=114. I've been making it for book signings, and it disappears fast!

There’s a 14-year-old girl in the book who struck a chord with me. I particularly loved that she was worried about the circumference of her thighs. How did you tap into Portia?

Is there a woman on the planet who doesn't worry about getting too big for one reason or another? Me, too. It breaks my heart that young girls are so worried about how they look that they give up things that are GOOD for them and feel exhilarating.

It's no secret that I'm a mad hiker, and it doesn't exactly slim down your thighs. Skiing and running are wont to do the same thing, but I say, bring it on! Muscular is not the same thing as fat. (Besides, if you have more muscles, you can eat more carnitas!)

Day of the Dead figurines and the “holiday” itself (November 1) play a part in this story. Can you tell us a little more about the artwork and the day itself?

I love the Day of the Dead--it is a celebration of the lives of the people who have gone on before us to....the other realm. It is celebrated with skeletons of all kinds, and there are piles of food offered to the dead, and people decorate graves with marigolds. It's a very happy day, and I've found that it helps me to celebrate the lives of people I miss. This year, I made my grandmother's favorites, and it really did make me feel close to her.

Day of the Dead recognizes that we are all "walking" skeletons and our lives, each one, are very precious and beautiful.

Your portrayal of Colorado and New Mexico makes both places feel very exotic--even to me, a fellow Westerner. Can you name a couple of elements that others don’t “get” about the West?

I think a lot of people think the west is still a land of ghost towns and cowboys, and that's funny to me as a third generation native of Colorado. Although I love the outdoors, which are so easily accessible and beautiful here, I am really a city girl, and after all, there are at least a dozen cities in the west with more than a million people! It's a very hip, forward thinking, modern place, our modern west.

It's deeply multicultural, too, in a way that I don't feel in other parts of the country in quite the same way.

The heroine, Elena, has lived with ghosts for twenty years. Do you believe in ghosts? Have you experienced ghosts in your own life?

I believe we go on in some way, and that doesn't discount the possibility of ghosts. We've all felt that sense of a presence, haven't we? And I've been in houses I wouldn't have slept in on a BET. I lived in a house for a long time that seemed to be inhabited by a friendly presence. My cats used to talk to her in an eerie, funny way, rubbing their backs against her invisible knees! It was really quite spooky sometimes.

So I guess I do believe in ghosts, but I haven't seen one. Nor do I wish to, thanks very much, unless it is the the happy friendly ghost of my cat.

Do you believe in the concept of soul mates?

Yes. I'm not sure there is only ONE soul mate for each one of us--that would be so sad if one of the pair was lost in a lifetime!--but I believe we all have soul mates.

I believe, too, in soul mates that are not lovers. Friends, siblings, even children. Bottom line is, I really believe in LOVE, all kinds of love, and that's what gets us through the tough times.

Christie again: It's your turn, everyone! In the book, the characters put to each other a question that I've modified a little. Please share: What are one or two of the best things you've ever eaten, anywhere?

Valentines Day. . . a new approach. . .

It's no secret that men usually marry women like their mothers. Not necessarily in every respect, of course. That would be just creepy. But they choose similarities that are in some way important to them: cooking skills, physical similarities, career choices, personalities, habits, beliefs and attitudes, or even just their CQ-- "comforting quotient."

It's also no secret that after a number of years of marriage (and a number of kids) men start to see their wives more as "mom" than as "wife" or "lover." They begin to call their wives "mom" and not just when the kids are around! And women-- responding to the nurturing gene and the repetitive nature of their roles as mother figures and domestic goddesses-- begin to treat their husbands like one of the kids.

Have you caught yourself straightening your man's clothes to make him more presentable or re-combing his hair or scolding him for repeatedly leaving clothes or shoes on the floor or dishes all over the family room? When you go out to dinner or shopping, do you automatically pay because you have the credit card or the checkbook (or the cash because YOU were the one who remembered to go to the bank)? Do you make up the list of Saturday chores by yourself and hand out assignments to hubby and the kids at the same time? Do you monitor his TV viewing and/or computer use and make comments about the content. . . expecting him to respond to your wishes? Do you monitor his wardrobe and decide when he needs new underwear and socks and when his shirts or trousers need replacing?

In short, are you in danger of becoming, or have you already become, your man's MOM?

I read an article on this recently and I was a little disturbed. . . because, see, I do some of the stuff they mentioned. Not necessarily because I want to or planned things to happen this way. Some habits in a relationship you just fall into. Like that "underwear and socks" thing. I'm a shopper, see, and he doesn't like to shop, so it's just easier for me to pick these things up.

Right.

There are probably hundreds other things that women do to and for husbands/mates that qualify as "Mommy" duties. Grocery shopping, cooking, housework, vacation planning, kinship duties like planning family events and keeping track of birthdays and anniversaries. . . reminding them of obligations and schedules. . . deciding when they need a new wallet and making eye and dental appointments. . . handing them tissues when we see hands headed for noses. (Oh, come on, most men do it. And most women hand out the tissues.)

Sometimes it's by agreement that we act as a stand-in mom. Sometimes it's not. And when it's not, it can be embarrassing for them and for us. When they're sick or dealing with things they don't consider important to their egos, they're happy to have us take over. But when they're healthy and focused on taking on the world, it can be demeaning and downright infuriating to have us yank them back into childhood with a scolding.

Not only that. . . but as the quotient of "mommy" behavior goes up, the frequency of passion goes down. It stands to reason that if you quit seeing your guy as a virile and capable man who can take care of himself, you won't be as eager to think of him as a lover. And the flip side is that the more he sees you as his "MOM" the less he'll see you as a vibrant, beautiful, sexy woman who should be appreciated and loved. Here is where the romance dies.

So, how do you keep from turning into his MOM? How do you make certain you can still be lovers as well as partners and parents and friends and mortgage co-signers?

The article suggested that when we do things for our guy that his MOM would ordinarily do, we do it in a way that his MOM wouldn't. With a kiss, a wayward caress, a naughty glint or suggestive laugh. It proposed that we hand them a list of their wardrobe needs and send them out with the checkbook. . . that if we do accompany them it is just to spend time with them and have lunch or dinner out. We have to make sure that they're the ones who do the shopping and deciding. . . that we offer support and loving, appreciative smiles. If they complain (It's easier to let MOM do things than to do them for yourself!), we should tell them in no uncertain terms that we think we're turning into their MOMs and we'd much rather be their lovers and wives.

If your guy doesn't get the promise in that statement, then he's been "mommied" waaaaay too long and may need a more emphatic dose of "wife" and "lover" to remind him of the benefits.

The benefit to women is that. . . we get to be wives and lovers again. . . instead of simply mothers 24/7. We get to remember our femininity and behave like the fun, sexy, passionate women we truly are. We deserve a little fun and romance in our busy and oh-so-responsible lives. And who knows, we may find ourselves rekindling the romance and rediscovering the kind of blossoming love between two equals that Valentine's Day was meant to celebrate.

So, with Valentine's Day coming up, we have time to do a little remedial "un-mommying." We have time to remind ourselves and our significant others that we're a great deal more than just "Mom."

What do you think? Is this expanding "MOM" role a problem for you? Ever feel like the MOM of the world? What do you do about it?

Do you think this approach would free women up and make our lives better, or is it too much like that chauvinistic old song "Wives Should Always Be Lovers, Too"? Too much work? Just one more expectation women have to meet?

2009 Golden Globes

Sorry. Helen's running late this morning. You'd think I could be ready for a Monday morning post given I've had the entire weekend to prepare. You'd think.

I like watching the Academy Awards. The glitz, the glamour, the speeches, the competition. Usually, I've seen most of the movies that are nominated and, although not always, the winners aren't much of a surprise.

The Golden Globes are a little different. I like that they include TV because these days we've got some excellent actors and actresses in amazing TV roles. Great writing too. So I think, today, TV holds up to the motion picture industry.

The Golden Globe awards usually include some unexpected surprises for me, and last night was no exception. I probably have my head in the sand, but I didn't even know Mickey Rourke, whose career had tanked before his role in (and I'm guessing on this) Sin City, was up for the best actor award. And when he won, I was stunned. Obviously, I haven't seen The Wrestler for which Bruce Springsteen also took the award for best original song.

Not much of a surprise was Slumdog Millionaire winning for Best Picture. Although I haven't seen it, I've heard a lot of buzz about the movie. Another not such a big surprise was Kate Winslet winning Best Actress for Revolutionary Road. Again, haven't seen it yet, but there's a ton of publicity revolving around this flick.

But here was another surprise. Colin Farrell winning Best Actor-Musical/Comedy for his role in In Bruges. The fact that he won didn't surprise me. Love him or hate him, he's a wonderful actor. The fact that In Bruges is actually considered a comedy (it's certainly NOT a musical) amazed me. Although I loved the movie, I don't remember laughing much at all.

Some other notables. 30 Rock won for best TV comedy, along with Alex Baldwin and Tina Fey for best actor/actress. John Adams (which was wonderful) won for best mini-series. The surprise there was that Tom Hanks and Drew Barrymore were among the producers of that show. Interesting.

Oh, and there were some beautiful gowns. Gorgeous.

Anyone watch the Golden Globes awards last night? Satisfied? Dissatisfied? Surprised? Give us your take. Has anyone seen The Wrestler?

Helen

Here's a complete list of the winners:

Full list of the 2009 Golden Globe Award winners:

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor, Motion Picture, Drama
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Television Series, Drama
Mad Men

Best Actress, Motion Picture, Drama
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Actor, Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Colin Farrell, In Bruges

Best Director, Motion Picture
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actress, Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Best Original Score, Motion Picture
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical
30 Rock

Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
Paul Giamatti, John Adams

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Best Screenplay
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actress, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
Laura Linney, John Adams

Best Foreign-Language Film
Waltz With Bashir, Israel

Best Supporting Actor, Motion Picture
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
John Adams

Best Actress, Comedy or Musical
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Best Motion Picture, Animated
WALL-E

Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Anna Paquin, True Blood

Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment

Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
Laura Dern, Recount

Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams

Original Song
“The Wrestler,” The Wrestler; music and lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Why I'd Like to be a Man

Lots of new books out from the Riders this month, including me, with a new Silhouette Special Edition, titled I Still Do. This is the first of two stories that are about the ramifications of an impetuous, double-quickie wedding in Las Vegas. At the heart of this story are two childhood summer sweethearts who run into each other at a Vegas resort and then spend three days together culminating in a spur-of-the-moment “I do.” The book is all about the now-whats that crop up the morning after…

The hero of the book is a firefighter, and maybe it was he who got me thinking about why I’d like to be a man. But I have a new coffee-buddy who is a firefighter and a woman, so it’s probably not that. And I live with two sons and Surfer Guy, my husband, so the whole peeing-standing-up thing isn’t such a draw since I also clean the bathrooms on occasion. (You know what I mean.)

One of the big reasons why I’d like to be a man is how little they obsess about their surroundings. We’re having some people over to watch football on Sunday and I’m starting to gather my thoughts about food, about dust, about some flowers I need for the foyer table. Surfer Guy catches on to the whirring in my brain and says, “Why don’t you just leave everything to me?” Yeah. Right. But the fact is, if I did, he’d run out at the last minute and get some chips, crackers, and sardines. He wouldn’t worry about dust or flowers. He’d have a great time and assume everyone else was too. What’s not to like about that? (Except you know I can’t leave everything to him. Just can’t.)

Hah. I’m gathering my stuff to head out to the gym and I just remembered exactly when this topic came to me. I get on this device at the gym called the “Stepmill” about four times a week (think treadmill except you’re constantly climbing steps). While I’m on it, I look out these big windows and watch the construction of a huge apartment complex across the street. There I am, sweating so that I can have celery sticks for lunch, and I’m watching these guys lift heavy panels of plywood, or stacks of 2 x 4s. It’s that easy strength that I admire and envy. Though I’m admittedly pretty short, I lift weights and I still couldn’t reach around a sheet of wood and prop it onto my shoulder and back and trudge it to a second location.

And think what these construction guys can eat for lunch!

Is there a reason that you’d like to be a man? Please share!

Insecurities!

Lois Greiman

I’m thinking we all have insecurities. Right? No one can feel good about themselves all the time. Can they?

Anyway, here’s the scoop: I’ve published almost thirty books now. Some of them aren’t even too sucky. In fact, some of the less sucky ones have actually won awards--tangible living proof I can put on the shelf and fondle every once in a while. Did I say fondle? I meant….ponder. (Pssttt…sometimes there’s fondling.)

But I’m now in the…insert Jaws music here… squishy middle of the book. And suddenly it doesn’t matter that I’ve done this twenty some times before because I know, I KNOW without a doubt that I can NOT finish this one. And if, by some freaky out-of-this-universe, never-gonna-happen miracle I did finish it, it would take suckage to a new and amazingly spectacular low. My New York agent (who doesn’t actually possess tear ducts :) will cry big ol’ crocodile tears. My editor will either A. kill herself, or possibly worse to my way of thinking (depending on my current mood) B. kill ME.

And it doesn’t matter that I think this with every impending deadline. It doesn’t matter that at page 210 without fail I call every single person I know who will still talk to me just so I can warn them not to waste their hard-earned $6.99 on my next book…which, of course, will never be finished because I’m this huge spectacular loser writer who wouldn’t be able to conjure up the word ‘help’ if her hair was on fire.

So…here’s my question: What do YOU do to get yourself through this emotional quicksand? I don’t necessarily mean writing…but there’s certainly (maybe) SOMETHING that makes you believe you no longer deserve the really great things in life…like oxygen. SOMETHING that makes you want to hide under your bed inhaling powder sugar donuts until you’re the approximate size and shape of Shamu and can no longer...

Perhaps I digress. What I’m trying to say is, have you ever felt you can’t possibly do whatever it is you swore on a stack of Bibles you would do? And how did you manage to turn it around? What works for you? Prayer? Meditation? Black magic? Mumbling affirmations in the mirror? Long walks on the beach with your favorite potbelly pig? I’ll consider anything. So spill…please. My deadline’s April 1 and did I mention how much this book sucks???

www.loisgreiman.com

MAUREEN CHILD WINNERS!!!

Jill James and Jacinta, YOU are the winners of Maureen Child's book giveaways from her Wed, January 7th blog. We need your e-mail addys so we can send them to Maureen so she can contact you. Please, can you both e-mail me, at cgerard@iowatelecom.net by Wed, January 14th? If we don't hear from you by then we'll have to pick another winner!! So .... come on down........

Welcome Maureen Child!!!

Hey gang. We are thrilled to have Maureen Child join us for a road trip today. Check it out .... there are prizes!! :o) Cindy

Oooh, nice convertible! Thanks for letting me hitch a ride, this week. Cindy, keep your eyes on the road, okay? Fine, fine, no backseat driving...

So, I’m actually here to talk about BEDEVILED, my new paranormal from NAL. It’s out this week and that’s the cover. Is that gorgeous, or what?

Speaking as a completely biased writer, I think the story’s pretty good, too. (And since I’m in ‘brag’ mode, Booklist gave it a Starred Review, so I’m not the only one who thinks so! )

See, I love the paranormal. The weirder, the better. Ghost stories. Legends. Vampires. The Highlander—(Adrian Paul, anyone?). But I also like humor with my weirdness. And BEDEVILED has plenty of humor.

The book starts out with Maggie Donovan going to return her ex-boyfriend's ABBA cd's only to find him being eaten—not in a sexual way, either. When it looks like she's going to be dessert, Maggie fights back against a creature like she's never seen before. In the incredibly clumsy battle for her life, Maggie inhales what looks like gold dust. Turns out, it's Faery dust and it's already beginning to change her life. Suddenly, she's super strong and has a tendency to float at the most inopportune times. And just when she thinks it can't get worse, it does.

Culhane, a centuries old Fenian Warrior for the Fae arrives to tell Maggie that she is the Destined Queen of the Fae. The only trick is, she has to defeat evil Queen Mab to claim the throne. No problem, except that Maggie doesn't know how to fight, doesn't have time to fight and hey, has zero interest in being the Queen of a world she never even knew existed until like five minutes ago. Plus, Maggie and Culhane have a much deeper connection than she knows. But then, Culhane has this pesky connection to Mab, too...

Anyway, I hope you give BEDEVILED a try and if you do, hope you love it!

I’m going to give away a couple of signed books to two of the posters here today, so tell me...What’s your favorite kind of paranormal? Dark? Funny? Vampires? (Fae??)

Read more about Maureen and her books at www.maureenchild.com

Debra - "I WANNA DO THAT!"

Before I get to the things I "wanna" do, I should say a word or two about why I've been so quiet lately.

I had an accident on December 13th. About 1/2" of the end of my middle finger of my right hand had to be put back on/together. And it was broken. Typing has been an issue for me! We think and hope that all will be well in time. Although there is every possibility that healing will take a while and that the final result may not be as spectacularly attractive as it once was. There is a little lawsuit and the attorney doesn't want me discussing the accident.

Suffice to say that the "i" and the comma! are typed with the middle finger of your right hand. And then there is the ten-key pad. That has been impossible. I'm hiring extra help to get me through the end of/first of the year.

So...I haven't been ignoring you but constantly backspacing to correct the "i" and whacking the finger keeps me pretty quiet online.

The accident and the sheer number of things I can't fully do in the last 3 weeks (try putting on socks or tying shoes and forget quilting or taking this picture left-handed when the button is on the right-hand side) had me thinking about how we should have experiences and embrace life NOW and not tomorrow. We should cram it all in while we can. The smallest things can derail your plans. Don't give chaos a chance to "reign" in your parade.

My uncle, Mike Martin, has been grabbing hold of life and strapping in for one heck of a ride since he retired. He's one of those guys who spent his life outdoors. Former President of the Forestry Association of America, did forestry consulting, managed timber, and owned a number of sawmills. He's always been in good shape. In 2008 he made the trip to base camp. That's the base camp at EVEREST.

He became so interested in the plight of the sherpas there that he's beginning work on a foundation to supply some of their needs like water treatment facilities. And he's talking about signing on to one of my husband's company's humanitarian missions. They go built schools and small local hospitals. All volunteer and that means you volunteer your cash to get you there and back!

One of the other things my uncle has done is sponsor a leg of the whooping crane migration. "Huh?" you say. This is real. They imprint the whooping cranes in Canada on an ultra aircraft. Then they fly them down to the United States along a route which will be "their" migration route. My uncle sponsored a leg of the journey that went over his home county. And he's wheedling his way into the good graces of the organization so that he can maybe fly a leg of the migration next year!! Here are some pics of him in the aircraft and then of the birds following the plane across Hardin County, Tennessee.

When it snowed on his farm he had his wife tow him up a big hill which we now call "Manbone Mountain" and he skied down it. This was recent, not ten years ago!

And they are planning a return trip to Everest. He just got back from some conservation work in one of those South American wilderness areas. I think they boated up a river while charting trees or something. Sound like a snooze to me but this is something he wanted to do and by golly he made it happen. He devoted his time and money to it.

He was going to drag us on one of these adventures but my mother (she's 11 years older than him) said, "Dude, you can drag me onto a cruise ship in the Greek Isles but that's as 'back to nature' as I'm getting." So, this summer my bestest, favorite uncle in the whole world is taking his girls on a cruise to the Greek Isles. (Mom, Sis and me) I definitely wanna do that.

But there are a lot of things I wanna do. And my husband thinks he wants to do one of the humanitarian trips. We're making plans. We're going to stop saying, "Wouldn't it be neat..." and instead we're going to say, "How can we make this happen now?"

What do you guys have planned? How are you going to get involved in your life and in the lives of others this year? Do you have big dreams or small dreams? Both are okay! Right now I want to stop saying I'm going to put together a quilting book and I actually want to plan, execute and get those quilts made this year!

What Happens Next?

So I'm working on a short story featuring the hero and heroine from a full-length Nocturne I'll have out this fall.  It's a 'what happens next' kind of story.  I left them, as the romance genre dictates, in love and committed to one another, and very likely soon to walk down the aisle.  I loved the characters so much I had to explore what happened after that final page.  I was curious.

Are you as a reader ever curious about what happens next to the characters in the books you read?  

I notice that series have become very popular in the romance genre.  They are usually trilogies that don't necessarily feature the same hero and heroine in each one, but characters from the same family or friend circle.  But usually, if you follow the series, you may get an update or glimpse into the life of former hero/heroine combinations.  I love that.

Because what does happen next?  We've left them happily ever after.  But will it be?  How can it be?  Some of these couples get together within a matter of days.  Do we really believe they didn't just have a fling then ditch each other a few months later for someone newer and more interesting?  I want to know!  

So tell me, do you ever find yourself thinking about a favorite romance couple long after you've read that final page?  Do you wonder what they're up to?  If they've even a chance to survive after all they went through in 400 pages?  Or maybe you're giving them children and grandchildren and moving them to a big old house on the coast.  Do you ever wish the heroine would have hooked up with a secondary character and left the hero with the best friend?  Do you buy series because you like reading about continuing characters?

The fourth book in my Bewitch The Dark series is in bookstores now!  Go pick it up.  You don't have to buy it; just pick it up and put it on the top shelf, cover out.  ;-)  Okay, you can buy it if you want.  

I do like to write books in a series, but I also like to be sure that each story stands alone, so you don't have to read #1 to understand what's going on in #3.  The connection in this series is the world of witches vs. vampires.  And in this story in particular, the son of the hero and heroine from book #2 gets his day in the spotlight.  Well, maybe not the spotlight, exactly, he does work for the devil Himself.  Hmm...

Michele

ps - I'm interviewed over at The Vampire Wire today. Stop by for a chance to win a complete set of my Bewitch The Dark series.