My mom can tell you which meal she had to miss when each of us was born. I always thought this was a weird way to make me feel guilty, and not very effective, as I take no credit or blame for the hour of my birth.  That's just my biorhythm, the natural cycle at which my body works.

Sunrise. Not taken by me.

 I have friends who rise early to write or run, cook, clean, read, or some other thing at that unearthly hour. There are very few things I want to do badly enough to get up for before sunrise.
I used to email a writer friend, "good night" and she would email back a moment later, "good morning."  Four a.m. meant different things to us.  Crazy people who get up before the rooster crows can't understand how I can stay up and function just fine, thank you very much, for several hours after midnight.


We all search for people like ourselves in order to validate what we do, why we do it or how we do it. That may be one reason writers are asked "what's your process?"  When do I write? Late at night, of course.  I am most creative then.  I do edits during the day.  My muse is tucked away, softly snoring. (Don't tell her I said she snores, okay?  I need her in a good mood.)  I'm more analytical during the day.

Ah, sunset. More my style...and time of day.

People think I started writing late at night because I had babies when I "came out of the closet" as a writer and set to finish a manuscript.  That's partly true.  My house became peaceful after 10pm, with everyone abed.  I had two hours before my son would wake, but he went back to sleep easily enough, so I came to look on that break as a good time to stretch.  Then I had another two or three hours before I made myself go to bed.  An hour later, at four, my husband woke for work.  Bless his heart, he learned quickly I'm not a morning person.  Nor do I think him incapable of making his own breakfast or putting together a lunch.

Fortunately, my babies woke up cheerful in the morning.  They were just too cute to be grumpy with at 6 a.m.  They were so delighted with the world and with seeing mommy again.  I tried to live up to their expectations and earn that unconditional love.

I guess I'm feeling nostalgic (late hours make me emotional too, which may be why writing is easier for me at night).  My "babies" would be horrified to read stories of themselves as infants.  They'd be horrified to read about themselves here at all.  "Mo-o-om," I can hear them complain, as though they're sitting beside me reading my screen.  They're at that precious age--teenagers.  They've always appreciated that I don't expect them to get up early when they don't have school.  My mom used to vacuum outside my door. On Saturday morning. At seven thirty.

I think she was getting even with me for making her miss dinner so I could enter the world.  Because I was, of course, born late at night.

How 'bout you?  Morning person or night owl?

Megan Kelly
megankellybooks.com

Books and Babies

Before you read my post below, feel free to let your gaze linger on the man to the right.

This is Sam. Hot, isn’t he? ;)

I won’t go into details, but trust me, he has just experienced a life-changing event and is still reeling from it. You couldn’t tell by looking at him, though, could you? Anyway, on to my regularly schedule blog post...

~~~~~

I’m due in two weeks!

No, I don’t have a deadline two weeks from now. As if that’s what you were thinking! ;)

And, no, I’m not expecting a baby.

Or am I?

All right, I may not be the first person in the universe to compare publishing a book to having a baby. But the truth of the matter is, A RANCHER’S PRIDE, my fourth Harlequin American Romance, will be hitting bookstores shelves soon (and is already available online), and it’s not much of a stretch to say I feel as though I’m welcoming a child into the world.

After all...

~~~Warning! Pun Alert~~~

...I conceived the idea for this story, carried it with me for months, labored over the manuscript, and am eagerly awaiting its delivery. And I know, once it makes its first appearance in the world, I’m going to feel extremely happy and proud.

Baby or not, it seems like—and is to me—a very special event.

I’m sure many authors know the feeling and many mothers do, too.

Speaking of mothers... My next post here at the blog will be past the date to wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day, so let me do that in advance.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

To get us ready for the upcoming holiday, I’d love to hear about your best, most touching, or funniest Mother’s Day memory ever—whether you play the starring role or the honor belongs to another mother you know.

Please share!

All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/

All About Baby

Wait a minute! Those of you who know me will realize I don’t have a baby. And, trust me, this blog post is not to let you in on any surprises along those lines. ;-)

For a writer, waiting for a book to come out is similar to going through a pregnancy. Once the manuscript is done, the production process takes about nine months. Then, when the baby makes its appearance, the proud parents want everyone to admire their beautiful offspring. And of course, they want to see their child do its best.

In my case, the “baby” in the title refers to my next Harlequin American Romance, FAMILY MATTERS, which will be making its way into the world—also known as appearing on your bookstore shelves—exactly three weeks from today!

Yee-hah!!!!!!

Okay. I’ll calm down now. (Might as well, since I’ve used up my allotment of exclamation points for this month. )

In case you can’t tell, I’m very excited about welcoming Number Three. And since that seems to be my lucky number with this book, I’m again celebrating in three ways:

~ sharing a sneak preview on my web site

~ embarking on a virtual book tour—details on my blog

~ answering questions for a brief interview and giving away a copy of one of my backlist books to one lucky reader who leaves a comment at the interview site. Click here to visit “Quick Six.”

Hope you’ll check out everything above and stop back here next month, when I’ll be looking for some advice on babies—and not the manuscript kind. ;-)

All my best to you,

Barbara

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Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

Waiting for Babies

On Thursday on my blog, The Writer Side of Life, I posted a link to a great site created by Doug and Sheila Carrick, residents of Hornby Island off Canada’s west coast, and I thought I’d also share it here. Several years ago they set up a web cam above the nest of a pair of bald eagles on their property. This year the eagles have produced two eggs, and they are expected to hatch this weekend! Thanks to the Carricks, we get a bird’s eye view of the birth of these little eaglets.

Click here to visit the Hornby Island Eagle Cam and witness the birth of two baby bald eagles.

For more information about Doug and Sheila and the eagles, visit their website, The Eagles of Hornby Island.

To get an idea of what to expect, here's a photo of Hope, the first of last year's two babies. Aw!

Happy bird watching!

Until next time,
Lee

Firefighter Daddy (July 2010)

It's a gender thing....

Recently, I talked to a friend who is just a few weeks pregnant. The mama- and daddy-to-be are all excited about the baby, of course! They’re also beyond thrilled because--in just a few short weeks--they’ll be able to find out what they’re having.

And they do want to know. No surprises for them.

It wasn’t so long ago that moms and dads didn’t have the option of finding out this information ahead of time. They just waited to see what developed and then made plans--and painted walls--accordingly.

But, when their baby comes, my friend and her husband plan to be ready with every color-coordinated item they can think of!

It seems to me that some people are moving away from the standard choices. I’ve seen layettes and bassinettes and strollers decked out in every color of the rainbow and then some.

With your own kids and grandkids, have you tried something different?

Or are you a traditional, true-blue (and -pink) kinda girl when it comes to the babies around you?


All my best to you,

Barbara

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Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com