WINNER OF TERMS OF ATTRACTION IS....

Joye! Please contact me at kyliebrant@hotmail.com with your snail mail info so I can send you your copy!

And thanks to everyone who joined in the discussion!

Winner #100!

Yay!  We finally have 100 Followers.  It happened yesterday.  Emmanuelle is the 100th person to follow us!  Congrats, Emmanuelle!

Now that doesn't mean you all have to stop Following.  We might just do this again for Follower #200.  Who knows?  ;-)

The End of a Trilogy

The end of a series is always a little bittersweet for me. It's hard to say goodbye to characters I've grown to love, a setting that's gotten familiar and research I still find intriguing. Even knowing that my attention span is waaaay too short to extend a series of closely connected books beyond three without a break, it's difficult to let go and put it behind me. The characters are very real to me and it's a lot like saying goodbye to friends.

That's not to say that I won't write any more Alpha Squad books, but I don't have any contracted right now, so I feel a bit like the proud mama wiping a tear from her eye as she sends her youngest off to kindergarten.

We writers are an odd lot that way!

TERMS OF ATTRACTION is the third of my Alpha Squad books, all set (at least partially) in a fictional California town and all featuring members of the same SWAT team. The heroine in this one, Ava Carter, is perhaps my favorite of the three because she's a study in contrasts. She's a sniper, for one thing. It would be rare indeed to find a female sniper on a unit, but I didn't want to make her one dimensional. As I was developing her character I thought about what sort of woman might be found in that field. What might have shaped her? Where did she get her experience with weapons? And to throw a wrench into things, what if she had to balance what she does for a living with a family life?

The answer to all of the above is a kick ass heroine with secret in her past she'd do about anything to keep, and a son she'll go to any lengths to protect. Match her with a man bent on revenge, who tries to use his discovery of her secret to force her in a deadly game of retribution and you have a rollicking emotional action adventure with two steel wills battling all the way. The heat between Ava and Cael is as sultry as the South American jungle they find themselves in!

As always, it's the heroine I most closely identify with, although I've never done anything as remotely cool-headed and brave as some of the acts she engages in throughout the book. I mean, I'd like to think I'd respond courageously if the stakes were high, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have hidden behind some of those palm fronds on the cover when things got deadly, LOL.

Of course, the definition of bravery is as individual as the fears and situations we find ourselves in. I know someone with a fear of public speaking. When she gets up to address a crowd of people, it's tantamount to someone else putting their head in a lion's mouth! Courage is facing a fear. Or acknowledging it, and proceeding anyway.

What about you? What's the bravest thing you've ever done? Do you have any tips for facing down your fears? I'll be sending an autographed copy of TERMS OF ATTRACTION to one lucky commenter today!

Thanks for making Release Day so special!

Thanks, everyone, for making yesterday so special for me. I hope Make Me Yours gives you half the pleasure you just gave me!

And to celebrate further, here are the book winners. And yes, I decided to give away FIVE books instead of three! I wish I could send it to everybody who commented!

Lou

Cindyc725

Caffey

Lyoness2009

and Virginia

Please send your snail mail addy to: Betina@BetinaKrahn.com

Hurry. . . the books are packed up and waiting to be sent!

Love, Betina

Hurray! It's finally here!

Betina here, celebrating the arrival of my latest book! It's a Harlequin BLAZE. . . historical and sexy and full of fun. Today is the official release date, although I've already had e-mails from readers saying they'd found it in stores earlier and have already read it! I am soooo excited. . . partly because this is my first book out in a while and partly because. . . I just LOVE this book.

It combines my favorite elements in a romance: humor, women's power, a battle of wits, and a playful sensuality. Heroine Mariah Eller is not a woman to trifle with. She is bright and determined and knows the ways of the world. So imagine her dismay when she finds her newly remodeled inn invaded by drunken noblemen out for a raunchy bit of fun. While keeping them from destroying her property, she catches the eye of the group's leader. . . none other than the Prince of Wales himself.

The prince decides to take the feisty and fetching widow for a mistress and dispatches his trusted friend and hunting companion, Jack St.Lawrence, to marry her off so he can bed her. [Bertie-- for his own twisty reasons-- dallied only with married women. ] Jack St. Lawrence, would rather have teeth pulled than be stuck marrying off the bold, opinionated, and far-too-delectable widow. But he's nothing, if not loyal.

This is NOT Tristan and Isolde. Trust me.

Mariah makes life as difficult as possible for "Iron Jack." His efforts to marry her off perversely bring them closer together. For true love to prevail, Jack will have to betray his friend and benefactor and Mariah will have to defy the will of one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. Pretty formidable odds.

And yet. . . there is hope. Want to see how this one turns out?

One aspect of this book is a glimpse of the attitudes toward women that made it possible for men of means to take advantage of them. Society did not not allow women self-determination, and refused to credit them with ambition or purpose. But there were many women in the late Victorian era who chafed at the double standard and stood up for themselves, their families, and daughters. The drawing rooms of Victorian England are where the whole women's rights movement began.

I loved writing this book and working with Brenda Chin at Harlequin. If you know anything about my work, you'll know that I've specialized in big, thick historicals for most of my career. I confess that I worried at first that I'd find myself having to cut things I'd usually include. I was delighted to find that in writing a shorter book, I was freed to concentrate solely on the main romance. No complicating secondary plots or pesky secondary characters threatening to take over the book. From the Prince to the aged butler to the plain-spoken lady's maid, everybody served the romance.

And I discovered a more disciplined approach to word use in the book. I reined in my tendency to "double" everything and made myself be more focused and succinct. Yeah, it surprised me, too.

So, have I titillated your tastebuds? Whetted your appetite for some historical hijinx?

I hope you have a chance to read Make Me Yours and that you'll stop by my web site (BetinaKrahn.com) and let me know how you liked it. (Okay, if you must, you can tell me here.) (cough)

Oh, and I'm giving away three copies of Make Me Yours to commenters today. So let's hear from you. Questions? Comments? I'll give you a few topics. . . talk amongst yerselves. . .

*Short historicals. . . boon or boondoggle?
*Is $4.99 too much to pay for a book you won't read more than six or eight times?
*How many sex scenes are too many in a 200 page book?
*The Kama Sutra is greatly overrated.
*Historical covers are more "romantic" than contemporary covers.
*Historical covers are cheesier than contemporary covers.
*Betina's new icon picture. . . rocks or sucks?

WOO HOO! My book's out! Champagne all around!

Not just another scare tactic

I just got back from an excellent documentary.  Food, Inc.  I've been waiting for this movie ever since reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma.  If you've ever wondered about how your food gets to the store so you can buy it (and you should be wondering this) then you should go see this flick.  

I took along the hubby.  Ok, maybe dragged, coerced and gave him the big sad puppy eyes to get him to go along with me.  You see he grew up on a farm.  His family still farms.  He doesn't want to hear anyone putting down the farmers.  I told him if he'd go with me to this movie, I'd go see The Hangover with him.  (He thinks it's a fair trade, but after Betina's review of that movie, I'm eager to see it.)

Anyway, this is not one of those shove-it-in-your-face documentaries.  It's very fair.  It states the facts eloquently.  It doesn't use a lot of scare tactics.  (But heck, the truth is scary enough.)  You would expect to see slaughterhouse scenes, but these are all bloodless and the least frightening parts of the movie.  What is most scary to me are those consumers who blissfully consume and do not ever consider what they are consuming and how it effects their lives.  

The movie didn't go deep enough, though, I felt.  What about the cancer risks caused by consuming meat and grains and genetically modified foods?  They didn't touch on that at all.  But there was no room for it.  They did do a nice job of presenting food, from seed to table, and how it affects the farmers, the workers, and the consumers.  

If you're not up for the movie, Pollan's book covers about the same ground, and is very thoughtfully written.  I recommend them both.  And while the hubby will probably never admit it out loud, he would recommend it too.  He found it very fair to the farmers and said, "That's how it is for them.  They're trapped in a vicious circle."

Michele

Are these turkeys after my veggies?

Look closely. Do you see him/her?

Kathleen here. Last week I reported on how my garden grows. My beautiful grandchildren showed off their raised bed project. I mentioned the woodchuck's visit and how I barked at him. "See, Nana? We need a real dog."

Yesterday a whole family of wild turkeys came to call. The kids were down at the lake with Grampa. Oh, they'd love this! I grabbed the camera. It was late afternoon, very shady, and I was trying to sneak up on them--oh! One of the adults just flew way up into the tree outside my office window!--back to my story...frankly, I don't sneak well. When I first spotted them, there were several babies standing on the edge of the box. By the time I got outseide, this guy was herding them down the sidewalk.

Notice the tomato plant in the foreground. They've about doubled in size in the last week. Heat and rain--finally!

So I crept along the sidewalk. There were 3 adults. One led about 7 babies--nobody panicked--across the driveway. Beyond that fence is woods. One of the adults stayed behind, and I soon realized why when an 8th baby flew up and over the driveway to join the rest.

Here's the guy who brought up the rear, making sure everyone got into the woods safely.

The kids have seen our neighborhood turkeys before, but this was the first time I caught them scoping out the garden. We Googled--they eat insects, berries, mostly grass. How about onions, green peppers or tomatoes?

I do worry about having one fly through a window. I read about a local woman who had it happen twice--twice! About a year apart, same picture window. The worst part was the damage done to everything in the house by the large, frantic bird. She called 911, and it took a team of experts to capture the critter.

So Lois has chicks. I have turkeys. Anybody have a wild critter story to share?

Does Order Matter?

You've all read the research on personality being partially the result of your spot in the family genetic lineup. There's an equally large body of work attributing the qualities to socio-economic status, split families, education, etc. But I've always been intrigued by Alfred Adler's premise on birth order being linked to everything from character traits to future success in life. I've never been able to resist taking a look at the work and trying to apply it both to my siblings and me and to my own kids.

If you haven't looked it over recently, here's a simplification of Adler's Overview of Birth Order Characteristics:

Position:
Only child--used to adult attention; difficulty sharing; likes being the center of attention; prefers adult company and uses adult language; feels unfairly treated if things don't go his/her way

Oldest--responsible; parental expectations for oldest are high; can become strict/authoritative with sibling; tries to keep/recapture parents attention by conformity; strives to please; generally smarter than others in family

Second--the rebel you can't tell anything to; competitive; always trying to overtake the oldest

Middle--feels sandwiched in; adaptable; easy going; may have difficulty finding his/her place

Youngest--wants to be bigger than the others; may have huge plans that never work out; can stay the baby; may be spoiled; behaves like only child; if youngest of three allies with oldest against middle child

Twin--one is usually stronger or more active; can have identity problems; one often emerges as the leader

Only boy among girls-- may try to be the man of the family or be effeminate

Only girl among boys--may try to become ultra feminine or else a tomboy, trying to outdo boys; may try to please the father

Granted, there are as many spins on the birth order characteristics as there are scientists studying it! I once read that the third was more spiritual and then for more kids in the family you started over again with traits from first, second and third born. But just for fun let's look at the list above.

Looking at my own siblings: Oldest is bossy, responsible, and strict. Check. Higher IQ?? I don't think so! Second as rebel--oh my lord, yes! But he grew out of it, okay? I'm not sure who to count as the middle since there are three of us before the baby. I can't really get a read on that one. And youngest as spoiled? My parents bought her a horse. I never got a horse. (Forget for the moment that I couldn't ride.) Spoiled? Check.

Now looking at my own darling children, I'd agree that my oldest is responsible, a conformist and strives to please. (We used to call him the diplomat.) My second? Definitely could never tell him a thing, since he was born arguing. (As an attorney now, all that practice paid off!) And being fifteen months younger than his brother, he was always in a competition, always wanting the rights and privileges that his brother had by virtue of being older.

My third son talks a lot of being the middle child with all the woe-is-me claptrap that goes with it. The fact is, that child was the most spoiled of the three. He just won't believe it.

Our youngest happen to be twins, a boy and a girl so we have a double whammy going on. My daughter is the leader, and she was a bit of a tomboy; her twin is the entertainer, the clown, always the one to make everyone laugh.

Results: sort of a mixed bag, at least for us.

I always had my own take on the birth order sequence, personalized to my kids. Our oldest was known as THE DELEGATOR. The younger kids could get away with murder as long as they didn't bother him. If they did, he delegated punishment to his number 2 brother. He also felt free to re-delegate any chores he'd been given by us, LOL.

Number 2 son: THE ENFORCER The younger kids did not mess with him. And if number 1 brother said number 3 needed a punch, this is the one who meted it out. His snakebites are still legendary among his siblings.

Number 3 son: THE MEDIATOR Logic solves any and all problems. If that didn't work, he could always work to pit the oldest against the youngest, leaving him unscathed, because *he never did anything wrong.*

Number 4 son: THE ENTERTAINER He's the youngest boy (one of the twins) and keeps everyone in stitches.

Number 5 and the only daughter: THE INFORMER Every family needs one, especially if you're raising four boys. She knows where all the bodies are buried and she was more than willing to clue in the parents, until the fear of brotherly retribution taught her some discretion.

How about you? Do the birth order characteristics fit your family members? Or do you have better descriptors that nail the traits of your sibling or kids? Just for fun, let's hear what they are!

Good morning! Please help me welcome author Jill Sorenson to the convertible! Jill is a fellow member of my Romance Writers of America local chapter. She is a lovely lady with a warm smile who writes hot romantic suspense. I love that the hero of her book, Crash Into Me, is a pro surfer...so was the hero of my very first published romance. Thanks for riding with us today, Jill!

What’s in a name?

I’ve spent a lot of time—probably too much—thinking about names. First names, last names. Pen names, character names. Names are an important part of our identity. Some authors use pseudonyms, but Jill Sorenson is my real name. I think it has a nice ring to it! When I got married, I kept my last name. Maybe because I had a secret yearning to see it on the cover of book someday. : )

Have you ever looked up your family name on a site like Ancestry.com? I just found out that Soren is derived from the Latin Severus, or Severin, which means “stern.” An interesting tidbit, and I think it fits my ancestors. Although I live in San Diego (where no one is stern), I was born in Kansas. Midwesterners have a tendency to be stoic and reserved. Even stern.

http://www.searchforancestors.com/surnames/origin/

I can’t start a new project until I’ve picked the right names for my hero and heroine. I look up baby names online and refer to the biographical entries in the back of my dictionary. Secondary characters are subject to change, but I rarely go back once I’ve named a main character.

Sonora Vasquez, the FBI agent heroine of Crash Into Me, is named after the Sonora Desert. Prickly and isolated are two adjectives that suit her well. This desert also straddles the US/Mexico border, and Sonny must navigate between these two cultures.

Ben Fortune, the hero, also has a meaningful name. Born into wealth in the elite community of La Jolla, California, this handsome, world-class surfer is one fortunate son. He’s also no stranger to tragedy. He’s a widower, a single dad, and a murder suspect.

Sonny goes undercover in La Jolla as “Summer Moore,” and she gets very friendly with Ben over the course of the investigation. When he learns of the deception, he’s understandably angry. Tensions come to a head during a scene in which she reveals her true name:

“My real name isn’t Summer,” she explained. “It’s Sonny.”

For some reason, that admission drove him over the edge. In an unconscious imitation of the first time he tried to kiss her, he came forward, framing her chin with his hand and trapping her body against the wall. “I don’t give a damn what your real name is. Do you think I believe anything that comes out of your lying mouth?”

The instant he said mouth, she became aware of his hot gaze focused there, his large hand cupping her chin, his thumb pressing into her cheek. His body was hard and unyielding against hers, his chest rising and falling with every furious breath.

This time, it was he who closed the distance between them, lowering his mouth to hers. His kiss was rough and angry, meant to punish, not to please, but she welcomed it. She relished it. Slipping her arms around his neck and her tongue into his mouth, she moaned, digging her fingernails into his shoulders and begging for more.

Are names important to you, as a reader or a writer? Does your first or last name have a special meaning? Have you ever picked up a book (or put one down) because of a character’s name?

Cooling Off

Betina here. I don't know about where you are, but it's HOT down here in Sunshine Land! Mid 90's all this week. You see, usual June temperatures down here are mid eighties with about 60% humidity. Bearable. But now it's mid 90's with 90% humidity and it's downright hard to breathe outside.

Aghhhhhhh!

And when I looked up get-aways on line (just for a mental vacation; I'm not going anywhere. sigh) I learned that the rest of the country is under the heater, too. Record high temps all over the west and north-- I'm reliably informed that even Minnesnowta is suffering the mid-nineties! And if I were tempted to call an editor in New York this week. . . well, I'd rethink that whole idea. Their temperature is inching toward 100. And imaging that place at 100 degrees is enough to make ME cranky.

Hot, hot, hot.

So I'm staying in the air conditioning and keeping the critters inside and making sure everybody is well hydrated. But I remember a few heat waves from the old days (pre-AC) and remember cold drinks, room fans, sleeping with the windows open, using a cool washcloth on face and neck, and of course, the old community swimming pool. And church fans. . . remember when they stuck those fans on tongue depressors into every hymnal rack? (Kathy and Cindy-- it's your fault that I'm thinking retro these days!)

Lemonade. . . or something a wee bit stronger. . . lots of ice. . . shorts and halter tops. . . flip-flops. . . ceiling fans turning slowly. . .

Of course these days lots of people often head for an air conditioned mall or movie for a dose of cool. Which means your "cool" can turn pricey in a hurry unless you have better sales resistance than me!

And I'm thinking about all those cool drinks that we take so for granted these days. In years past, the ice was a precious commodity. And in Europe cool drinks are hardly ever served with ice unless you specify(and pay for) it! I usually don't recommend alcoholic beverages during heat waves, but I have a Lemon Rum Punch recipe that makes risk-taking worth it. It's also a 4 ingredient wonder.

Lemon Rum Punch

6 oz frozen pink lemonade
6 oz rum
6 oz beer (any kind, but I'd use the low carb "64" type
or something similarly low-cal)
Ice cubes

Blend on high speed until slushy. May be kept in the freezer, if there are leftovers. I've never had that problem. Enjoy!

What about you? What's your favorite technique for cooling off? Your favorite "hot" memory? Wait, that could be taken several different ways. Oh, heck, go for it. What do you like to do when the temperature forbids doing the usual? (I've heard some people actually like to sweat!)

And what's your favorite icy drink-- alcoholic or not-- fancy or simple--?

I Miss Mayberry, too

Rascal Flats had a song out a while back called "I Miss Mayberry". Here's the chorus:
Well I miss Mayberry
Sittin on the porch drinking ice cold Cherry Coke
Where everything is black & white
Pickin on a Six String
Where people pass by and you call them by their first name
Watching the clouds roll by
bye bye.

The song paints such a nostalgic picture and it got me thinking about how things were so different when I was a kid and how we have an entire generation of children growing up with some of the most amazing technology but sadly missing out on some of the most simple, pleasurable things life has to offer.

As a child, instead of sitting in front of a computer my biggest and happiest pastime was to: Go outside and play! It was also a child raising philosophy my parents exercised to the fullest - bless them. I have such vivid memories of playing hide and seek outside at night with the neighbor kids with only a caution from mom and dad to, "Not stay out too late, now."

Bunches of us would go down to Beaver Creek (yep, Beaver Creek) and take turns swinging out over the old swimming hole on a ratty rope. Some of the kids had horses and we'd clamor up on their backs without benefit of saddles, bridles or crash helmets. We'd run barefoot through the gravel, fly down the middle of the street on our bikes (again, no crash helmets) or in the winter, grab our sleds and race down the steepest street in town, or lace up our skates on a cold winter day and then play chicken on the ice rink that my dad (who was the town cop) had made for us by flooding the high school's baseball diamond.

I have vivid memories of having to use an outhouse (I was VERY young), of an old man who used to wheel his wheel barrel full of fresh sweet corn door to door selling it and the scent of my mom's lipstick and Evening in Paris cologne.

As a teen it was all about Dippity Do for my hair, drive in movie theaters, hemlines, making the rounds to the local teen dances, peanuts in a bottle of Pepsi - because it was well known that the combo could make you a little drunk - at least we liked to think so.
It really was all very innocent and black and white and I hate it for our kids and their kids that they can't indulge in such simple pleasures and freedoms because of the fear and safety factors and yes, because technology has replaced the "go play outside" methodology that so fosters a child's imagination and broadens their actual personal experiences.

Our son and our goddess of a dt-in-law work very hard to bring those simple things to the table for our grandkids but they lead such busy lives that it's difficult for them. That's where Gramma and Grampa come in. :o) We try very hard to introduce some of those simpler pleasures to our grandkids when we get the chance. That's why I loved Kathy's post about the garden and teaching her little ones about the origin of vegetables so they can see where they come from. It's also why I love getting our grandkids up to our cabin where we have campfires at night, take bath's in the lake (it's a tradition to take at least one bath in the lake per visit), look for gnomes in the forest and visit the BEAR - which is what we call our second bathroom, aka the outhouse. :o)

So, what about you all? What do you miss from the good old days? And if your good old days aren't that long ago, what do you wish you could have experienced from the Mayberry generation?

A great Proposal!

Just a quick note to give you an opinion on The Proposal. Fun movie!

You may or may not like how quickly the whole thing develops and may or may not buy the fact that a NY editor always wears Christian Louboutin shoes (the red soles are a dead giveaway!) and carts around Louis Vuitton luggage. But, the dialogue is good-to-great and Ryan Reynolds is priceless as the deadpan editorial assistant cum fiancee. Not to mention the notorious Bullock nude scene and some lovely Reynolds beefcake.

You know, other than the nudie thing, this was practically PG! No love scenes, few kisses, not much sexy or suggestive stuff, overall. We took my 11 year old niece (with parental blessing) and the theater was packed with tweens!!! And it was perfectly suitable. More like the old screwball comedies of the 30's. . . minus some of the screwball. Oh, and if you're a BettyWhite lover-- she's wonderful! I want to BE her when I grow up.

Oh, and I saw the trailer for The Ugly Truth, staring Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl. this looks GREAT. I didn't see the release date, I was too deep in my hazy GB dream-fog to pay attention. But I think it's soon. Sigh.


Yeah, baby. More to look forward to. Johnny Depp and Gerard Butler. I'm going to have to stock up on the heart meds!

Kathleen: How does your garden grow?

It's been almost 2 months since I reported that we'd decided to grow some veggies this year to show the grands where food comes from. They're not old enough to start rolling their eyes when I start telling "back in the day" stories, so I'm telling them how I used to plant a huge vegetable garden back in our ranching days, and they're all set to grow tomatoes.

Trouble is, we're townies now, and we have a shady lot. But I'm a Better Homes-type magazine junkie and a devotee of the newspaper, and this spring we're all about raising crops no matter where you live. So the answer is a raised bed in the protected area we call "the courtyard." Great morning sun, easy access. The painting part was a big hit. Notice the plastic bags over the shoes.

Big sister just turned 7 and has discovered the phone. Baby sister is always the first to offer to help.

The next step was purchasing dirt. If you're cheap like me, you kinda hate to buy dirt, but I know all dirt is not created equal. Plus, who's gonna dig up enough dirt to fill this thing? It took two pickup loads of pulverized black dirt and a bunch of bags of compost and peat.

Fast forward about a month and a half. Here's our

grandson (younger son's one and only) who's

another budding farmer. We had a cool spring, but the plants are coming along. Deb's gorgeous

tomato plants put our to shame, but we'll get

there. Yep, I believe in popping in a few marigolds to keep away some of the tomato pests. I've caught a marigold munching woodchuck leaning over the edge a couple of times--have you seen those things go after dandelions?--but I barked at him and he scuttled away.

We put most of the herbs in pots around the edge of the courtyard, where we like to do flowers. I used ot do gobs of flower containers, but I got lazy. I'm serious about taking a field trip to see Michele's fairy towns. The kids insist on that being the next project. We are SO into fairies. And I can't wait for our fairy gardner guest, Sally J. Smith, in July.

So far so good with my gardners in training. We're finally getting some good rain, and they're amazed to see what rain and sun do forplants. "They're taller than they were yesterday!"

I do get in on the act. Clyde's plan calls for white trim around the edge of our T-shaped bed to match some of the other stuff he's built. I tell you, those cowboys are handy with tools.

Now I know you Southerners are smuggling about the comparitive size of your plants on this 19th day of June, but up here in you-betchaland we're taking a chance planting tomatoes much before June 1. But we do produce crops.

How's your garden growing? Trying anything new? Doing anything different this summer? Planning a vacation or a stay-cation?

Summer Movies

I admit it.  I'm a bit blogged out.  I blog here, at my own blog, at Shapeshifters, and have already done half a dozen guest spots elsewhere this month alone.  Today...I got nothin'.  So I thought we'd chat movies, since we haven't done that for a while. 

What have you seen lately that was great?  What are you looking forward to?

Just saw Angel & Demons last weekend.  I went expecting it to not excite me.  I read the book, and found the story awesome (even better than the DaVinci Code) but for some reason didn't think they could pull it off in the movie.  They didn't.  At one point I told the hubby that I think the soundtrack wants us to believe this movie is more exciting than it actually is.  The hubby liked the movie.  Go figure.  (Though I admit Ewan McGregor did provide some nice sexy priest fantasies.)

Terminator was another disappointment.  Well, I admit, I went just for Christian Bale.  But you know, Sam Worthington, the guy who plays the terminator, actually stole that movie from Bale.  He was awesome.  Overall, I thought the movie so-so.  If you've watched the other three movies, you'll want to see it just to keep up with the timeline.  But the timeline!  It loses me every time.  ;-)

I'm looking forward to a few this summer:

Public Enemies:  Johnny and Christian.  Need I say more?  I have a feeling there will be a lot of fainting women at this one, or heck, this may be the movie that sparks a wave of summer conceptions, which would put those birthdays right around...next March.  Keep an eye on the birth announcements. Hey, I'm just sayin'.

Transformers: Just action/adventure movie awesomeness.  And I'll even admit to my girlcrush on Megan Fox (but now, she'll never replace my crush on Angelina).  This one looks great, and like it'll fulfill my need for explosions and non-stop action.

GI-Joe: Yes, I admit it, this one looks good.  Can you tell I'm all about the action in movies?  

Cheri: With Michelle Pfeffier and the nummy Rupert Friend.  Oh, my love for costume dramas, and witty romantic period pieces will be met this summer!  I just hope it plays all over so I don't have to trek 'downtown' to find it at the only theater that gets it.

Food, Inc.: Can't wait for this one.  It's getting awesome reviews.  I want to bring the hubby along because he's not convinced that 95+% percent of the food we eat is contaminated with hormones and chemicals and all sorts of stuff we should not be putting in our bodies.  It'll be a struggle to get him to go along, but I am determined.  Michael Pollan, who wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma was involved in this one.  Should be enlightening.

The Hurt Locker: I dare you to watch the trailer for this one and not move to the edge of your seat in anticipation.  It is a war movie, which I usually avoid like the plague, but this one focuses on the bomb squad.  Man, it looks suspenseful, tense, and just plain exciting.  I'm there!

The Brothers Bloom:  I missed this one because I think it snuck into that one downtown theater for maybe a weekend.  Anyone seen this one?  I thought it looked like it would be fun!

Gamer:  Gerard Butler.  'nuf said.

Easy Virtue: The time period is...I don't know...1920s?  Features an American heiress marrying into a British family, and they all snub her.  I'm intrigued.

Michele

Emmanuelle is the winner of Samantha's Hard To Resist!  Emmanuelle email Michele at toastfaery@gmail.com with your snailmail address.

Congrats!

Guest: Samantha Hunter

Welcome Samantha Hunter to the convertible today!

THE SENSUAL LIFE

The UPS guy just delivered our order of extra virgin olive oils and 18 year aged balsamic vinegars. I used to buy plain vinegars at the store, but then we took a trip to Chicago and went to a shop called Old Town Oil. The vinegars were so good, you could drink them from a little paper cup. After that, we have never been able to use anything else. Believe me, once you’ve had 18 year old Pomegranate or Black Current Balsamic Vinegar, you’ll never go back.

I’ve always thought of myself as a practical person, and people who know me well would probably agree. I’m not overly indulgent or extravagant. I can even be cheap, LOL. But I I am a sensualist as well… I love the taste and richness of the vinegar, I love the crispness of the vegetables, the color of the tomatoes. The scent of a good steak (or burger) on the grill is heaven, or the cracking sound and heat of a roaring fire. I love the scent of flowers in my yard (even if I am allergic), and in sewing, the colors and textures of the fabric are addictive. Yet, I am just as likely to find fabric I like at a thrift shop or garage sale – I don’t have to spend a lot of money to find something that turns me on -- but I think it’s worth the money when we do.


The everyday things that make us feel that zzzziiiinnng are so important.

I write sexy romance, and I draw on a lot of the senses when I’m writing a love scene, but I think sex and sensuality has to be all around, woven into life. If you look at this excerpt from HARD TO RESIST, at the bottom of this page, you’ll see one of my favorite scenes. I love how the clicking sound of the camera works in, and how she is touching the camera while watching him, and how it’s all sex without them touching each other at all. I try to work this kind of sensuality into the fabric of the book, in the same way I think it should be in the fabric of our lives. It’s part of what makes life worth living, don’t you think? It might also be what makes a book worth reading, the entire experience, every page, not just the sex scenes (though we certainly do enjoy those too!)

What sensual delights (not necessary sexual! Let’s steer clear of TMI, LOL), do you enjoy in life? Do you find you enjoy the little sensory experiences of your day, and what are some of your favorites? The aroma of cookies baking? A fresh bottle of wine? A certain perfume? What gives you the zing? Share, and you can win a copy of HARD TO RESIST, and if you have been following my blog tour, this is one more stop on the way to the end!

Samantha

Debra - Retirement ?

No, not me. Not yet.

But let's talk retirement in general.

The economy has dealt some of us a setback in our retirement plans. For others the economy offered a chance (a push?) to retire early.

As everyone scrambles to re-evaluate the portfolio, we've been thinking of the day in that distant future when we could "retire."

How do you retire? Not the money part...that's a moving target. But the life part of retirement.

Yes, I know we have many writers who hang on this blog. And a fair passel of dedicated readers. But let's put books aside for a moment. Let's pretend you can't READ or WRITE in retirement. ::gasp::

I've always been a firm believer that you can't do just one thing. I think we need to keep our minds sharp. Learn new things. Tackle the scary.

This year we tackled tomatoes. (You can see 6 of our 18...ahem...plants in the picture. You can see 2 more if you squint really hard at the things labeled "hanging pots." When I sent the pic to a good friend, he sent me back links for 6 tomato recipe sites and told me we were going to need them.)

We can grow tomatoes, but I'm not sure if gardening goes on the lifestyle list for retirement. Did you know there was dirt involved ?

If we've got tomatoes covered, how are we going to spend our retirement? This lifestyle issue is also a moving target. We used to think we might travel but we've traveled so much for our work, that travel isn't as appealing. Although vacation/retirement travel IS different. I get that. But...been there. Done that.

Hubby plays and builds guitars. He's rebuilding a "numbers matching" '67 SS396 Chevelle (?) They were all excited when it came out of the garage recently. And yes, this is a picture of the car on that day only a few weeks ago. All the work is under the hood. Years of work. All original. (Excuse me while I laugh hysterically.) Weeks and months of running down parts. A zillion phone calls that started with "Well, if you're going to do X, you might as well do Y." Wheedling his way into the restorer's heart so that he's now a fixture at the shop. They're almost through with all the what-makes-it-run-good stuff. Next comes the body and interior, which is a whole new shop from what I understand. A whole new set of wheedling. And there's talk of the "next" car.

Hubby also plays golf.

He's covered for retirement, I think. 3 strong diverse interests, plus "honey do" work.

I'm evaluating. Am I covered? Will I be happy in retirement? Will I actually do the things I have planned or will I let time slip by and wake up one day realizing that I waited so long to get my retirement started that I didn't do the things I'd dreamed of having time to do.

How about you? Are your retirement activities planned? Do you know what you're going to do with the rest of your life when you don't HAVE to do anything with the rest of your life?

Debra - Piracy is a dirty word.

Okay, I'm taking a stand. Stealing the work of writers and posting books on file sharing sites is evil. I'm not good-natured about this anymore. I'm tired of people telling me, "Well, there is a school of thought which says piracy builds readers."

No. It doesn't. What it does is steal money from the author and the publisher. In the last two days I've had ONE file-sharing site take down files with over 500 downloads for ONE of our titles - BITE ME by Parker Blue.

What did that mean to her in real dollars? A lot. You can assume that not every scumbag who downloaded the free book would have bought a copy, but this is still a lot of money the author has lost, and from just one of these file sharing sites.

Large publishers and their authors suffer just as much.

When did it become okay to steal?

I checked this same site (there are dozens to work through) and found other books of ours. For EACH violation I have to fill out a separate form to request the file be pulled. www.4shared.com has quickly taken down the files, but WE (the publisher and the author) are required to find these violations. The process is a continual one. Get to the end of the file sharing sites and start again. Why? Because new files had been posted within 24 hours of having the first files removed from 4Shared.

How about the authors on this blog?

Christie? Probably a 1000 downloads from 15 files.

Cindy Gerard - tons of files, many foreign editions

Michele Hauf - yep, her books were there and not just the free one from Harlequin

Lois Greiman - 106 downloads from 2 books, 3 files.

Kathleen Eagle - yep. Looks like mostly foreign editions.

I bet Helen and Kylie's work was there. My work wasn't on the site. Neither was Betina's or Susie's. But there are many other sites. Dozens.

Some folks say book publishing better take a lesson from music file sharing and get the price down. What they don't realize is the printing cost is nothing. Not if you're a large publisher printing thousands of units at once. Books can't be divided into discrete units in the same way that music can. Kindle lets you download a nice sample for free as do most of the ebook sites. Can't get much fairer than that. When wholesalers and booksellers expect discounts of 40-55% off the cover price of the book, there isn't much room for maneuvering on price. No one works for free.

If the authors can't make a living, maybe they'll go back to Corporate America, to the farm or simply retire. Then where would we be without that next great book from our favorite author?

Romance Writers of America has compiled an extensive list of file sharing sites. I see this as a never-ending battle, but I'm going to make the effort to treat this like the crime it is. I'm not going to ignore this.

Am I over-reacting? Is stealing a basic human right that stems from our survival instincts? Have we missed the boat in teaching some of these concepts to our children? Please don't tell me to bend over, close my eyes and think of England!

Summer's Here!

My daughter's moved home from college. School's out for my son. And the weather is FINALLY getting warmer here in the Midwest.

Summer's here. Yay!

Only it doesn't feel like anything to get all that excited about.

As I look forward on our family calendar, I have nothing scheduled. I'm not even going to the RWA national conference this year. So what about the summer festivals, the camping trips, the State Fair, the outdoor concerts?

Truth is I'm bored with all the regular stuff. And since I must have a book finished (one that I've barely started) only a few weeks after school starts in the fall, I won't have much time for a vacation to take off somewhere.

Rather than get to the end of summer and look back feeling as though I didn't even have a summer, (which is pretty much what happened to me last year) I'm trying to be proactive. I'm hunting around for some new and exciting things to do these next couple of months.

Got any ideas? Have you tried something new lately that you're adding to your "must do" list for the summer? Most importantly, how do we slow down time and make the summer last?

Helen

Oh, one last thing. I ran across these questions, presumably from a young child) on the sidebar of a blog called "I am Joe Pesci" As I read the questions I found myself laughing out loud. Read and enjoy "Colt's Questions of the Day."

• Can you drink toilet water? Have you ever drinked toilet water, Mom?
• Can your eyeballs fall out?
• Do cupcakes grow on bushes?
• Does snow live in Mexico?
• Can we live in the future sometime?
• Do bees sleep?
• How do you say "chopsticks" in Chinese?
• What's the difference between a bank and a cactus?
• How do you count to eight in Chinese?
• Mom, do you like underwear?
• Can chickens swim?
• Mama, are you faster than water?
• Mama? Can you pick up Papa?
• Does broccoli float?
• Why is ice slippery?
• Do penguins have bones?
• If a volcano interrupts once, can it interrupt again?
• Does North America have volcanos?
• How do Frisbees fly?
• Do monkeys eat ham?
• When are we moving to the North Pole so that I can have a pet penguin?

Surprise! Winner

I was just rereading Emma Holly's post and realized I forgot to mention that she's giving away a copy of the second book in her trilogy, Breaking Midnight to one lucky commenter.  So...surprise!  Liza, you are the winner!  Please email Michele at toastfaery@gmail.com with your snailmail address.

Surprise!

Guest: Emma Holly

Please welcome the ever-so-lovely Emma Holly to the convertible today!

Life, Liberty, and the Need to Rebel

So I’m at a conference, my author persona on, chit-chatting with someone I don’t know, and the topic of “toxic moms” comes up - in this case, those Stepford-like, uptight creatures who disapprove of other mothers keeping sexy books in the house.

“And their children are little monsters,” this presumably nontoxic mom says.

Not being the most social animal in the world, and having a tad more adrenaline pumping through me than usual, what pops out of my mouth might not be the most thought-out response I could have come up with.

“Oh, that’s what kids do,” I say. “Whatever their parents are, they want to be the opposite.”

A startled look comes over Nontoxic Mom’s face.

“Not so much in our house,” she retorts stiffly.

Oops, I think, laughing privately to myself, because how do you know? How can you be sure your kids aren’t doing, thinking, or feeling the exact opposite of what you personally approve of? The need to feel free is very basic to human nature, and what better way for a young person to assert that freedom than to be different from the people who have authority over them? People don’t tell jokes about preacher’s daughters duct-taping their knees together, they tell jokes about the opposite. Likewise, I’m sure there are plenty of flower-power, Free Love proponents whose offspring have become staunch conservatives.

We want to be individuals. We need to rebel, if only in the privacy of our heads.

You can probably tell from my lack of horror at this concept that I don’t have kids.


In any case, I understand the rebel point of view, so much so that I might have identified a bit too much with the villains of Kissing Midnight, my recent June 2 release. Vampires Frank and Li-Hua are like adolescents with no sense of their own mortality AND superhuman powers. Their (to them) toxic mom has been keeping them on too tight a rein, and now they’ve banded together to act out in the biggest possible way. To their way of thinking, why should the older generation have everything their way? The world is young, and so are Frank and Li-Hua. They want a chance to be in charge.

So they try to get one, and I so got why, even as I planned their eventual tragic demise. (That’s not really a spoiler, is it? This trilogy is a romance.) My authorial love of drama enjoyed conceiving of the worst way to take them down, but inside I was a little sad. Frank and Li-Hua are my favorite of my villains to date: larger than life and chock-a-block full of crazy kick-ass passion. As awful as they were to my heroes, and as much as I adore the Fitz Clares, I shed a tear for my doomed rebels.

Now here’s my question for you: What’s your favorite rebellion against authority? Is it big or small? Private or public? Do you feel like a kid again when you indulge? You can tell me. I promise not to tattle to your folks!

Emma

I'm late, I'm late. . . wait. . . not yet!

Okay, if you're thoroughly dazzled by the picture, I'll confess that I went looking for a clockface image and found this and was so wowed that I had to use it. . . despite the fact that it implies time under control and the topic I had in mind is. . . being timewise out of control. You see, over the numerous years of my bohemian "artistic" lifestyle (okay, I'll wait while you get the laughter under control) I have become. . . um. . . less than punctual.

I am chronically 5-15 minutes late for everything. . . or at least I have been. Doctor's appointments-- fffft. Church services. . . always arrive during the announcements and have to sit up front. . . GROAN. Taxes-- always file the extension and then thrash out the details during the summer. Probably waaaaay more info than you need about me.

I blame it on my "late" (the irony here does not escape me) but much beloved German-descent husband, whom I came to depend on for expectations of promptness. When his earthly time expired, so did my promptness gene. His Prussian desire for order had always kept my British-heritage eccentricity and absent-mindedness in check. For a number of years now, I've run amok. . . time-wise.

I'm trying to clean up my act.

My dear family roll their eyes when I say this-- but I am shocking them these days by appearing for things on time. I arrive at the movie theater in time to both get popcorn and see my way to seats without having to flatten a few toes in the dark. I appear at family dinners before the serving begins. I show up for doctor appointments on time. . . mostly. I even make my deadline for this blog. (Hey, the calendar it says, Tuesday; it doesn't say WHEN on Tuesday!) And all due to my new timekeepers. . . my beloved fiance and my new watch. His expectations that I will behave like a grown-up and be respectful of others time is having an effect. That, and I keep the watch set ahead by five minutes.

Laugh if you will, but setting my watch ahead really does fool me into working harder to get out the door on time. Apparently I have a boundless capacity for self-delusion, because I regularly FORGET that it's set ahead. I treat what I see on that adorable little watch face as if it were real. And I usually get places on time these days.

Whatever works.

But honestly, I'm seeing time a little differently these days. A couple of my dear friends from girlhood have died untimely, recently, making me think about the value of the time I have. And as a result of personal circumstances, I'm out and about in the world more these days. I'm thinking more of others and trying to travel through the world in a more loving and respectful way.

Writers often seem self-absorbed. . . including me. Well, there's a reason for that. It's damned hard to commute between the world in your head and the world of the rest of you in 1.2 seconds flat. And sometimes we fail to completely extract ourselves from our "otherworld" because the commute is just too daunting. Once we're completely back in reality, it takes us too long to get back into the story again. . . so we're always torn about leaving it. Does that make sense to anyone but me?

Anyway. . . I'm working hard to be more on time these days. No more "Tina-time." Okay, not much of it. Because the commute from Victorian Days to 21st Century America is still pretty long. But I'm less afraid of making that trip these days. The story will be there when I'm ready to go back to it. And it's a good story, so I can let it go and let it run in my subconscious for a while without me.

Yeah, but I'm still less than thrilled about commuting from Victorian London or Henley on Tyne to the dentist's office.

What about you? Are you punctual, a slackard, or somewhere in between? Have your "time habits" changed over the years? Are there some places you just can't seem to arrive on time? Oooooh-- do you wear a watch these days? They say that the younger generation is abandoning watches because there are so many incidental time pieces in their lives. . . cell phones, computers, and the like. Have you stopped wearing a watch?

Actually I wanted to add that today is National Donald Duck Day. Bet you didn't know that. Don't get me started on calendars. I totally missed National Chocolate Ice Cream Day on June 7th and I'm feeling reeeeaaalllly deprived. On the up-side. June 23rd is National "Pink" Day. I'm still in time for that!

Addictions

Sorry I’m late. I was thinking that tomorrow was my blog day but oh well, here we go.

Addictions. I think I have them. I think maybe TV is becoming one of them. Has anyone noticed that there are just a lot of really good shows on these days? (In Plain Sight, Burn Notice, The Closer … the list goes on) I’ve always been one for drama and really good comedy but of late, I have a new addiction: TRUE BLOOD.

I’m not a vampire person yet the popularity of vampire and shape shifter and werewolves books these days is undeniable but I’ve just never thought it was my cuppa. Oh how things change. Thanks to a special offer, we got HBO free for 3 months. So, out of curiosity and because of the popularity of the Sookie Stackhouse novels (written by Charlaine Harris) I decided to watch TRUE BLOOD and find out what all the fuss was about.

That’s where the addiction came in. HBO recently reran all 12 episodes of TRUE BLOOD’s first season in preparation for season 2 that will start this coming Sunday. I DVR’d the episodes and recently watched them. Holy cow. I’m so hooked!! Now I soooo love vampires :o) And I finally get it. The fatal attraction, the forbidden pleasure, the brush with immortality, the angst, the yummy undead guys. Seriously, this is an amazing series. The characters are all so complex and compelling. Even Jason Stackhouse – Sookie’s philandering, pleasure seeking, box of rocks stupid – and did I mention HOT – brother. And pictured here, Sam the shape shifter, is just too tortured to resist.

There are layers upon layers to all the main characters and let’s face it, whether we’re talking vamps or just plain good writing, that’s what it’s all about. Creating characters that allow readers, and in this case, viewers to suspend disbelief and become so engrossed in the drama of their lives that we as readers or viewers can easily forget what cannot possibly be true and simply start rooting for the good guys – be they stupid or undead.

What about you? Have you watched TRUE BLOOD or read any of the Sookie Stackhouse books? If so, are YOU addicted? If not, what are you addictions? Music? Food? Chocolate? A certain type of book?? Do tell …

WE HAVE A WINNER!

The winner of the autographed copy of Faeries Gone Wild is Laurie! Please email me, at lgreiman@earthlink.net.

D-Day Plus 65 Years

Kathleen here. This morning I made coffee, turned on TV news and got in on the singing of the national anthems of the allies from the invasion of Normandy 65 years ago today. It was an accident tune-in, but I watched the rest of the celebration and was moved by so many words and images. I'll share one or two thoughts.

The images that moved me most:
The wizened faces of surviving veterans of that day, men and women seated right up front with heads of state. Expressions in those faces and in the way they sat and moved hinted in some way at what those eyes saw, those ears heard, those minds remember first hand--images only experience can truly bring to bear. They couldn't have known then what a difference they were making for generations to come. Now they do.

The missing man fly-by. Daddy was a pilot, but during the war he was a young paratrooper. He wasn't there for D-Day, but he was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. I miss him.

The sounds: Taps, as always, brought me to tears. Wow. That bugler has some wind power.

The words: Our president gave a fine speech. He spoke in sweeping terms about alliances and heroism and historical significances. But what moved me were the anecdotes. He told a few individual stories, and that's what brings an event like this home to the human heart. He told of survivors and fallen heroes, but one story brought the past and present together in a single life, a single day, full circle. One of the veterans who traveled to Normandy for this ceremony visited the graves of his fallen comrades yesterday for the last time. He died in his sleep last night.

This is what we do as story tellers. The whole of human experience is reflected in the story of one person living one life. No, think about it. A good story helps us understand who we are. A good romance makes us feel good about that. Without those personal anecdotes, the president's speech would have been instructional, patriotic, and grand. But by making reference to extraordinary moments in the lives of otherwise ordinary people, he brought the day home.

Kathleen: Fairies and Flowers and Filling the Hours

With the release this week of Michele and Lois's Faeries Gone Wild, I thought I'd celebrate with an ode to everyone's favorite--many of you said it already--Tinkerbell. No matter how old we are, thanks to Walt Disney most of us were children when we first encountered her. J.M. Barrie created Peter Pan in The Little White Bird, a novel for adults, in 1902, followed by a play in 1904. But Disney immortalized Neverland for us, for our children, and--wonder of wonders...

for our grandchildren!

Halloween 2007. My younger granddaughter was the Tinkerbell fan, while her older(by 2 years) sister thought Tink was for little kids. She loved the Disney princesses, especially Belle. Tink wasn't a princess. She was a fairy.

Fast forward a year and some months. Early 2009 the older granddaughter and her first grade friends discover the interactive Disney site "Pixie Hollow." Suddenly Baby sister's been ahead of the curve all along. Pixie Hollow is the latest thing with girls of all ages. If you haven't seen it
yet, you should take a look. Mind you, I'm not big on internet babysitters, but this is a site that really tickles the imagination.
So here you are in Neverland, site of Pixie Hollow, where the fairies live. It's free to join with a parent's permission, but you can buy a membership for about $6 a month (this is Disney, after all) and have access to more activities. (We started out free, tried membership for a month and decided to continue.) You get 3 fairy avatars. (I'm learning about avatars!) You play the game by being one of your fairies. You dress her, furnish her fairy home, move around in Pixie Hollow, make friends, have parties, play games--wow! Your friends have fairies, and you meet up with them and chat, play games, get on the phone and say, "Where are you? I'm in Bubble Bounce. Oh there you are! I see you!" You have to read and write messages, earn pine needles and leaves to buy new stuff at the Pixie Store (which means you do the math), decorate your abode for your party. I tell you, it's flutterific!

I will say that the first grade teacher had to limit fairy discussions in class this spring. But with her best friend visiting Grandma in Lithuania for the whole summer, Granddaughter is thrilled that they'll still be able to play together in Pixie Hollow.

One of our most exciting moments came when I had to call customer service on a problem with the membership. "I'm talking to the Pixie Hollow people," I said. Well, you'd think I had Hannah Montana on the line. The tech told me that she and her mother-in-law were into PH, too, while both granddaughters were jumping up and down wanting to talk. So the tech got on the phone and talked pixies with two totally thrilled little girls.

I do believe in fairies. It's Peter who never grows up and men who suffer (?) from Peter Pan Syndrome, while women go to self-help groups full of Wendys. But Tinkerbell is something else entirely. She's magic. That's something we never have to explain. It just is.

Pixie Hollow is a new attraction at Disney World. Has anyone seen it? I'm looking forward to a visit at some point, but I'm afraid it won't pack quite the thrill the kids expect--5-yr-old grandson is loving the fairy world, too--because the fairies are people. Not that the kids won't be all ga-ga over the outfits and the fun of chatting them up, but fairies in the flesh aren't fairies. (Heaven forbid Silvermist (in blue--one of our faves) should turn up on Showbiz Tonight in some scandal.)

Pixie Hollow is beautiful, safe, easy to use even with all its complexities, educational, and--did I mention safe? Imagination is a lifelong friend. Without it, there would be no Einstein, no Shakespeare, no Mozart, no Michelangelo ...

And no glorious convertible carrying 10 fiction writers and their wonderful friends!

When we talk about our inner child, it's so often something we're "dealing with." What part of you is still a kid? How do you celebrate that part? I wonder if it's different for men than it is for women?

Nesting

Lois Greiman

I think it started right after 9/11. The nesting, that is. Everyone I know was shell shocked and terrified and needed to hunker down. To regroup. I repeatedly heard that it was then that Americans began returning to their roots, spending more time with their families, rethinking priorities.

But a few years have passed since then. The horror faded somewhat. Things began to rebound a bit. Folks were just beginning to peek out of their nests, to test the air a little when…bam… the economy took a nosedive. People who were living on the edge were pushed into the abyss. Those who thought they were doing well found themselves scrambling to keep their heads above water. Add a population that is increasingly concerned about the fragility of our planet and voila…we’re seeing some rather significant changes. More room on airplanes…less room in local parks. Fewer people in high priced gyms, more people speed-walking down their neighborhood sidewalks. Decreasing numbers of diners at five star restaurants, increasing numbers of diners at MacDonalds.

And it’s affecting other areas of our lives as well. Just a few days ago Michele told me she’s seeing vegetable plants for sale everywhere. Another friend commented that she just heard that there is a huge increase in the number of people who are buying chicks. Which was very interesting to me since I had just purchased…chicks. That’s right…you know, the cute little fuzzy birds that will eventually lay eggs. I haven’t kept chickens since I was a little girl, but we’ve been trying to go organic, and this seemed like a fairly simple means of doing so.

I had told my sister that we were considering adding poultry to the farm, so naturally she called me from the farm store when I was at my mother’s house to inform me that there were some newly hatched babies available and she was going to buy herself some. I said that she could not, under any circumstances, buy my chicks. To which she said, “Oh, let me check. Nope, they don’t have your name on them.” Anyway, to make a short story long, she eventually bought 4 little fuzz balls for me and brought them to Mom’s house. But when Mom saw them, her face lit up like Christmas. Suffice it to say that those little ones stayed with my mother while I trotted back to the farm store to buy four more. The really interesting part of this whole story is that I promised to winter Mom’s chicks for her when she moves back into town in October. It took me a while to realize that by fall they will no longer be adorable little peepers. Nope, I’ll be hauling four angry hens 300 miles in my little Saturn. I’ll try to take pictures just to keep everyone entertained.

But I digress. The point is, I don’t seem to be the only one who is planting strawberries and building chicken coops. Nor am I alone in my second hand gifts and homemade exfoliates. So how about you? Any changes in your lifestyle recently? Are you picnicking more than dining out? Playing table tennis instead of paying court fees? And how about books? Are you reading more and spending less on movies?

Oh, and speaking of books. :) We're giving away a signed copy of our new anthology, Faeries Gone Wild, to one chatty commenter. So, please, chat away.

www.loisgreiman.com

Got a Favorite?

Helen here. I'm doing bookmarks for the first time ever to promote my new Mirabelle Island Superromance series. The first book FIRST COME TWINS is coming out in August, just got the cover last week, so I thought I'd start with that one. Then, shhh, don't tell anyone this, but I managed to snag an unofficial version of NEXT COMES LOVE, the second book cover, coming out in October.

So I'm doing bookmarks for both books and they're very, very different in tone and appearance. Which is cool because even though the two books are both set on the same island, they're very different books.

These bookmarks will be smaller than most, only business card size. Michele did a bookmark a while back for FROM THE DARK that I just loved. She tied on some purple cording and a bead on one end. So I'm following suit.

How'd I do with my first shot at photoshopping bookmarks? What do you like? What don't you like? Got a favorite between these two?

And just out of curiosity, do you keep booksmarks? Use them? Throw them away? What size do you like the best?

Michele asked, so here are the backs. Rather than put contact info, I decided to advertise the series. Can't decide if I should make any mention of a possible 4th book in 2010. I've got a proposal in, and while my editor seems very positive, have heard nothing definitive yet.

I'm thinking counting my chicks before they hatch ain't such a great idea!

Helen

We have a Winner!--AshNick93

AshNick93, you can thank Son 2 for picking you as yesterday's winner from the comments. Contact me via email at christie @ christieridgway.com (eliminate the spaces) so I can get your snail mail addy to send you a book.

Congratulations!

Does this Woman Look Like a...? (and chance to win)

I’ve given people the wrong impression a time or two. I remember that I’d been working as a computer programmer for a couple years (after a short stint as a technical writer) and mentioned a business trip I was undertaking in the near future to a group of friends. One of the guys, who I had known for over three years, stared at me. “You…you travel for business? You program computers?” For all that time, he’d thought my profession was pet-sitter (apparently the first time he met me I happened to be house-sitting for a work colleague and he’d made and continued with the wrong assumption).

In the last year, it happened to slip out to a writer buddy that I’ve known for a decade that I was valedictorian at my high school graduation (and also valedictorian at eighth grade graduation!). Once again, there was that “What are you doing with that second head?”-stare. Apparently I don’t look like high GPA material. Perhaps it is my (bleached) blonde hair. Or the fact that I’m partial to pink. Or because Anne Stuart once called me “perky” and I’ve never been able to flat-out deny the description.

But what happened over the weekend trumps both. Friday night, the presence of police and helicopters and news vans in our SoCal suburban ‘hood let us know something of note had occurred. Come to find out that five houses up the way, a woman had pulled a gun and shot her husband in the hip. Luckily it wasn’t life-threatening and we watched the local news as the arrest went down. The crawl at the bottom of the screen listed our town’s name, the cross streets closest to this couple’s home, and the facts of the shooting. I didn’t think much more about it until Sunday night when our across-the-street neighbors arrived for a BBQ. “Hey,” my friend Carole said. “People who walked by the house this weekend kept commenting on how happy they were to see that Fernie is fine.” (Fernie’s her husband.) “And they were all glad to know that Surfer Guy is okay too, because they were also worried that he might have been the man who was shot.” It took me a moment to puzzle it out, but then I realized that the newscrawl included the names of the two cross streets and both Carole and Fern and Surfer Guy and I live on the corners of those exact streets. It wasn’t a big leap for people nearby to suppose we were involved.

To suppose I was a woman who would shoot her husband!

After I got over my shock, I thought, well, I guess even perky pet-sitters might snap.

Assumptions cause conflict (and even danger) in my new book released today, Dirty Sexy Knitting. It’s the third and final installment in my Malibu & Ewe series and readers will find out that appearances can be so deceiving…and love undeniable. This is Cassandra and Gabe’s story and I’ll admit that I cried as I wrote the epilogue. I hope you’ll look for it.

So, anyone ever made the wrong assumption about you? A lucky commenter will win the first book in the trilogy, How to Knit a Wild Bikini, or if you’ve already read that, I’ll supply another Christie Ridgway book.

Faeries in the Wild

In stores tomorrow Lois and I set our faeries free! Hmm...does that sound a little kooky? Sort of like letting one's freak flag fly? Only we're doing it with faery dust and wings. Hee.

It all started at Chili's, I swear. Lois, Leandra and I were chatting over asian chicken salad and lemonades. We've been friends for a long time. How cool would it be to do a project together? Sounded like an awesome idea. Since it was right around spring break and girls were getting wild on the beaches, it just fit to do something with faeries unleashed in the Mortal Realm. What kind of fun and havoc could they get into?  

Leandra's pairing her faery heroine with a sexy hunk of a NY fireman.  Lois's faery meets her handsome hero for the first time...naked.  And my tooth faery is looking for love and finds it when she flies smack-dab into a sexy sandman.  And those of you who are MaryJanice fans will recognize a cast of characters from her previous stories walking through her novella.

So here we are, with the actual book in hand! We lucked out and when we asked MaryJanice if she had an interest in doing the anthology with us, she said yes. Probably no one will really care that all four authors in the book are from Minnesota, but we think it's pretty cool. So are you in the mood for some goofy stories that'll make you laugh, smile, and maybe even shed a tear? Hey, so am I. ;-) Seriously though, I've read the whole thing, and I highly recommend the work of my cohorts. You might even see the world shimmer with a bit of faery dust after you've turned the last page.

So let's talk faeries.  Do you believe?  What are some of your favorite faery stories?  Tinkerbell, anyone?  I so loved the relationship she had with Peter Pan.  Or maybe you're more a Queen Mab kind of believer?

Michele