Baked Beans Fiasco

Shelley Galloway always shares her stories... so here’s mine. My grandson’s third birthday was last week. His parents had his kids, other parents and we grandparents over for barbecued chicken. I offered to bring baked beans. Not just any old beans, but homemade. I have a great recipe from the Barefoot Contessa I wanted to try.

These beans took 6-8 hours to cook. First problem: My bean pot wasn’t big enough. No problem, I crammed everything in, anyway. Of course a few hours later my oven was a disaster. The sad part came later. When it was time to go to the party, the casserole was still piping hot. I placed it in one of those shopping bags with handles, the kind you get at Macy’s or Nordstrom. The plan was, carry the beans in that. When my husband parked and I reached for the bag by the handles. My thought was to put my hands underneath the bottom. Before I could, the bottom of the bag ripped out. The casserole crashed onto the sidewalk and broke. Beans everywhere! I just about cried, but was too busy helping my husband scoop beans into the half of the casserole dish that wasn’t smashed to bits. “At least we won’t add to methane gas pollution tonight,” he joked. Ha ha, right? We dropped the mess into the trash, then headed inside. The pun part was that everyone there shared similar stories of their own food disasters, even my daughter, who’d once dropped a cake she’d made for a friend’s baby shower.


It’s nice to know I’m not the only one. What about you? Any food disasters you want to share?

Until next time,
Ann Roth
www.annroth.net

Writing Conferences

I'm preparing to attend the Chicago-North RWA Spring Fling Conference. www.chicagonorthrwa.org
They're hosting a great line up of authors this year--one of my favorites--Debbie Macomber.

As much as I enjoy the workshops, the multi-author book signing, schmoozing with area librarians and booksellers and touching base with other published authors… what I really enjoy most about smaller conferences is having more opportunities to chat with aspiring writers.

Writing a book is a challenging, exhausting and emotional endeavor--for me anyway. After the first few books, much of the glitz and glamour of the whole "Published Author" world disappears as we settle down to overlapping deadlines, proposals and promotion work. Is it any wonder some of the passion earlier in our writing career ends up smothered by the demands of the job? Conferences are a great way for writers to re-fuel, re-energize and get back the excitement that fizzles after those first few sales. I love being around aspiring romance writers. Their enthusiasm is contagious and serves to remind me again why I love what I do. It's even fun answering the same questions over and over: How long did it take for you to sell your first book? Your second book? Is such-n-such character going to get their own story?

If you've attended any...what inspires you most about writing conferences?

Marin
In a Soldier's Arms Feb 08
A Coal Miner's Wife Aug 08
The Cowboy and the Angel Nov 08
www.marinthomas.com

Fascinating People

The image of a writer used to be (and in some circles still is) a highbrow in a tweed jacket, smoking a pipe and discussing the literary scene with professors in literary salons. Yet after selling eighty novels, I still don’t own a tweed jacket and the only salon I frequent is the one where I get my hair cut.

On the other hand, as a writer, I do encounter fascinating people. For example, last Saturday, at a meeting of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America (www.occrwa.org), I ran into an old friend, D.P. Lyle, M.D., who was our guest speaker.

Doug is the author of several suspense novels and a number of nonfiction works. He wrote Forensics for Dummies and maintains a Web site that addresses medical matters of interest to writers (http://www.dplylemd.com/).

A practicing cardiologist, Doug gleefully tackles even the most obscure – and sometimes gruesome – details of true crime cases and fictional supposition. For instance, on the subject of DNA, he told us that the recipient of a bone marrow transplant would have the donor’s DNA in his or her blood cells (white cells only, he noted; the red ones don’t contain DNA). The person’s teeth, skin and other organs contain the original DNA.

How does a cardiologist get interested in forensics? Doug said that, at parties, just as the general public buttonholes physicians to ask about medical ills, writers cornered him – as a doctor and novelist -- to ask about forensics situations in their novels.

He began researching the subject and taking notes, and became so immersed that after a while he decided he had the makings of a book. Thus was a second – or, actually, a third -- career born.

Doug’s latest book is Forensics: A Guide for Writers, published by Writers Digest Books. I’m sure you’ll find his work as fascinating as I do.

(By the way, sorrow for the messed-up partial post below. Blogger hiccuped this morning and I can't figure out how to delete it)

Fascinating people

While it doesn't seem possible that another month has passed, here we are! LOL!! Of all the things I'd hoped to accomplish over Spring Break, the best I can remember is that I did a lot of lunching with friends!! Oh well, there's always next year to clean closets!!

With Spring testing all week at school, I'm guessing fun's not going to be in my vocabulary, so to liven things up after school, I bought a new Video game--Need For Speed Underground 2. Actually, it's not new, but pretty old in gaming terms, but still fun. I was not happy about having to go to bed last night just as I'd earned hydraulics for my car!!

Hubby just returned from LA. He stayed downtown and had quite a few run-ins with homeless folks, which was sad. Daughter's busy preparing for the upcoming cheer tryouts, and I've volunteered to be Cheer Booster Club president--pray for me now!!! Next year should be interesting!! Son #1 was promoted to the Dairy section at the grocery store where he works, so that was exciting, as he constantly complains about how much he despises checking out groceries. Son #2 is off to Atlanta this week for a school trip. Judging by the amount of grumbling he's doing, I'm guessing he's not all that thrilled.

In writing news, I'm awaiting word on some new proposals I've worked up for the Harlequin American line. My May release, THREE BOYS AND A BABY, is one of my favorites!! The cover still makes me smile!! Thank you, Cover Gods!!

In diet news, I'm failing miserably. Nothing much new there--LOL!!!

In garden news, it's been too cold here in Oklahoma to plant much of anything. Grumble, grumble!!

Sorry to not have more exciting news of any kind, but I'm kind of mired in a holding pattern of waiting. Waiting for warmth, waiting for summer vacation (six weeks and counting!!), waiting for exciting new book contracts, waiting for Matthew Mcconaughey to realize I'm the woman for him!!! Anyway, you get the picture!!!

So until Matthew calls, I'll keep eating Cheetos and playing my new racing game. As for all of you also stuck in Spring holding patterns, have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do--which pretty much opens you up for plenty of mischief!! LOL!!!

P.S. I'm at school right now, and don't have access to my May cover, but as soon as I get home, I'll post it, so you can hopefully smile at my cute baby, too!!!

Rachel's Recipes Part 1

As you know, the heroine in The Marriage Recipe is a pastry chef. Thus, to entice you to read (and to cook!), today I’m going to whet your appetite with one of Rachel’s favorite recipes. In fact, all month I will be blogging about food. If you follow me around (sort of like a virtual pub crawl), you'll pick up four recipes and one blog on characters and food. I will be at http://toberead.wordpress.com/ on April 14 with the next installment.

So back to that recipe.

Gooey butter cake is a St. Louis tradition and favorite. There are two ways to make it—with the evaporated milk, flour, etc., or the just-as-good cheat/shortcut version using cream cheese. Here is how you make that second gooey butter cake (the easy version).

1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick butter—melted

Blend these together until smooth (it will be thick). Press into the bottom of a 9x13 greased (Pam is fine) cake pan.

8 ounces softened cream cheese (use the bar, not the spread stuff and do not use fat free)
2 eggs beaten
2 cups powdered sugar

Blend softened cream cheese, the 2 eggs and the powdered sugar until creamy and smooth. Don’t worry if there are a few cream cheese lumps. Spread this mixture over the first mixture pressed into he pan. Bake for 325 for 40-45 minutes until the cake edges are light brown. There may be a few brown patches on the cream cheese mixture—if there are, you are also done. Do not let the cream cheese mixture get more than a few or it’s overdone The middle will sink a little upon cooling. Cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. It gets tastier being one day old—so making it the night before is actually recommended.

Are you an Innie or an Outey?

I'm talking "introvert" or "extrovert." I think most writers are introverts. We turn to writing because we spend a lot of time alone, exploring our own thoughts. Most of us read a lot as children, which didn't do much to turn us into party animals.

It's not that I don't like people, or that I don't like to socialize and party and meet new people. In fact, I went to a writer's conference last weekend (Dreamin' in Dallas) and I looked forward to it for weeks. A couple of days in a hotel with other writers, away from day-to-day responsibilities, always sounds like a lot of fun, and it was. I reconnected with people I hadn't seen in a long time, made new friends, soaked up some good information, got inspired by some great speakers (Lori Foster and Kresley Cole). I got to wear some new clothes. I gave two workshops and had a pitch meeting with an editor. I ate large quantities of bad-for-me food and hung out in the bar drinking gin-and-tonics.

But by the time the conference was over (Saturday night) I was ready to go home. I was more than drained; I was genuinely exhausted. It took me several days to recover, and I grumbled if my husband even suggested I might want to leave the house for any reason.

Right now, I feel I could be very happy stranded on a desert island, never talking to anyone. (Well, okay, a desert island with a plug for my computer and an Internet connection. And a couple of good restaurants.) The older I get, the more I exhibit these hermit tendencies.

Being an introvert is great for writing--I get lots of it done. On the other hand, if I don't get out occasionally and live life, I run out of things to write about. I've been known to build an entire book around a chance comment made by a stranger.

I believe most writers are a little bit crazy, too, but that's a subject for another blog!

So how about it, fellow writers and readers. Introvert or extrovert, and are you happy with what you are?

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

As I sit here in my office, it's snowing hard outside my window. Spring still seems a long way away here in the Colorado Rockies.

Hard to believe that last night I was in the stands at Coors Field, watching another Colorado Rockies win a baseball game. Such is Colorado weather.

I love baseball. I started watching the Houston Astros as a girl growing up outside of Houston and have followed the game ever since. I love the history and traditions of the game, the strategy involved in every play, and the deliberate pace that allows for conversation between innings.

I love sitting in the stands at a game, the green playing field spread out below, the players in their crisp white and gray uniforms. I love listening to the music,and standing to sing along to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the seventh-inning stretch. I love eating peanuts and letting the shells fall at my feet, and hearing the patter of the refreshment vendors. I love visiting with the fans around me. I love the crack of a bat hitting a ball, and watching the ball soar into the stands.

Many other writers have referred to baseball as a metaphor for life. I draw inspiration from the game for my writing life. A baseball player can strike out 2/3 of the time and still be considered a great player. I can think of rejection slips as strike outs -- as long as I keep stepping up to bat (sending out submissions) my batting average is bound to improve. Baseball players have streaks and slumps. I think writers do too. When I'm in a streak, selling well, everything is wonderful. But when I'm in a slump (and I've definitely been there) it's helpful for me to remember that 'this too, shall pass.'

Every team in baseball starts the season with the same chance to get to the World Series. Sometimes the underdogs really do win. The Rockies were predicted to be in last place of their division when last season started and they ended up winning the National League Championship. Every writer has the potential to go on to be a bestseller. If not this season, then maybe next season.

In the meantime, I'm focusing on enjoying the game --whether in the stands at Coors Field, or here in front of my computer, working on my next book.

Any other baseball fans out there? What team do you root for?

WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING...

I’ve been bitten by the TV bug. Normally I watch very little TV except for the news. Scrubs is on late at night and I watch it to unwind from a day of writing. It’s crazy and funny, just what I need at the end of my day. Usually my story is running through my head as I try to figure out if I’m going in the right direction with my book. So I don’t invest too much energy into the show.

For the past few weeks March Madness has taken over our TV. Texas A&M, our local university, men’s and women’s basketball teams made the NCAA tournament and the women went on to become one of the teams in the Elite Eight, but lost to Tennessee. But we were hooked. I’m not that much of a sports fan so I’m excited I’ve widened my horizons. I wrote during the day so I could watch basketball with my hubby. I do believe someone has taken over my brain.

Of course, while commercials were airing I had to see what else was on. This annoyed my husband because he didn’t want to miss any of the action. About the third game I think he was secretly wishing I’d go back to writing. He wouldn’t admit that, though. I had to check in on American Idol, too, because a local kid, Jason Castro, is still surviving. Have to support the local kid. That’s what I told the hubby. He doesn't understand that women can multi-task without a problem.

Now I’ve really gotten hooked on Dancing With The Stars. I love that show. I had to go the bedroom to watch it. The hubby was getting really, really annoyed. It took me awhile to recognize Priscilla Presley, but she can dance. She said Elvis taught her a lot of dance moves. I found that interesting since the man seemed to have rubber hips. Kristi, not even attempting her last name (the gold medalist figure skater) is a natural. But then she knows all those graceful moves. Jason Taylor. Wow, he’s a hunk. I could look forever into his beautiful eyes. The rest of him is not bad either.

Well, basketball season will be over tonight and I’ll be holed up in my study again as I have deadlines ahead. It was nice to go TV crazy during March madness. I may have to record Dancing With The Stars, just to see who wins.

So what are you watching…

Anticipation

Does it seem the longer you wait for something, the more acutely you feel those last hours and minutes until it happens? Like baseball season starting (finally!) or Christmas morning as a kid, waiting for my parents to open my bedroom door, signalling Santa had come. (If we opened our doors, Santa would know we weren't sleeping and wouldn't stop at our house. My parents were wicked/clever!)
Why am I recalling Christmas when I'm eagerly awaiting a long-delayed Spring? Because I'm also eagerly awaiting the release of my first book, which should hit bookstore shelves tomorrow. The pit in my stomach (which, trust me, I'm trying to fill with any snack I can find!) just grows. I've had good reviews, but it's still like waiting on Christmas morning. I'm pretty sure there will be presents under the tree, but until that door opens, there's always the "thrill" of anticipation, watching for the turn of the doorknob, wondering what I'll find when I venture (run!) down the hall.
Does this happen to you? The minutes creep and you swear the clock ticks slower, even after you replace the batteries? Is it just me, being a crazy first-timer, or is this universal?
I'll be guest blogging at Lee McKenzie's blog on Thursday the 10th, so please stop by and say hi. http://thewritersideoflife.blogspot.com/
Especially if you have a method or any tricks to speed time!
Sincerely,
Megan

The Trouble With Superb Restaurants

I recently visited New York City for a conference. (Novelist’s Inc, one of the best professional authors’ groups around). The conference was exceptional and I came home energized and ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

And I will... after I share something about a very special restaurant. Does anyone besides me watch Top Chef? If you do, you know that the winner of the first season is Harold Dieterle. I found out that he used his winnings to open a restaurant in Greenwich Village called Perilla. Because watching that show always makes me wish I were there, tasting the delicious-looking concoctions the chefs whip up (with a little sweat and ingenuity ☺), I decided to dine at Perilla. It was pretty easy to book a reservation through the internet site, Open Table. (The fact that I reserved a table three weeks in advance probably helped.)

The restaurant is smallish with a warm ambiance and good acoustics that made conversation easy. From the start the service was impeccable. The wait staff made us feel as if were royalty, pampering us and seeing to our slightest needs. They didn’t rush us through the meal as happens in some restaurants. They let us split an appetizer. Presentation is key, and our fresh seared sea scallop appetizers were presented exquisitely.

At one point I dropped my knife on the floor. Before I could pick it up, someone did it for me and another person brought me a new one. It was like they were watching to anticipate our every need. Wow!

I hope no one is offended if I use the term ‘food orgasm’ here. That’s how it felt with every bite. The most delectable food imaginable. They didn’t heap our plates, either, or serve too-small portions. The portions were perfect, and along with a glass of excellent wine I savored that scallop appetizer, a piece of the freshest bread imaginable (soft inside and wonderfully crusty outside), a lovely roasted guinea hen served with squash, chestnuts, persimmons and spaetzle, a fabulous Brussels sprouts side dish (the sprouts were flaked into individual leaves and sautéed with dried raisins, cranberries and almonds), and a fabulous frozen milk-chocolate mousse. And a little homemade cookie and excellent decaf coffee, to finish off the meal. I left the table full but not overly so.

My only problem is that this was my first dinner in New York. Nothing else compared, not for me. I just hope eating at Perilla hasn’t ruined all other restaurants for me. One thing I know for sure: when I return to New York for a conference next spring, I will definitely return to Perilla.

I’m always looking for good places in cities I don’t know. Does anyone else have an outstanding restaurant experience to share? If so, speak up.

Until later,
Ann
www.annroth.net

The exciting life of a romance author

Hi!

This is going to be a drive-by blog posting today, because I'm late getting out the door on my way to Desert Dreams, a romance writers' conference sponsored by the Desert Rose chapter of the Romance Writers of America. The conference is held in the chapter's warm and sunny home state of Arizona.

Desert Dreams is held every other year, and I look forward to it as a place to reinforce the tools of the writing trade, learn new publishing info, visit with old friends, and meet new friends, too.

This year, the conference will be extra-special for me because I'll be spending some time with my editor.

If you're attending the conference, please look for me! It's always great to be able to meet cyber-friends in person and finally put faces to names.

All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

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

Sometimes, You Just Know

Next weekend, on April 12 and 13, I’ll be in the St. Louis area. I’m going to be a MSketeer, participate in a walk-a-thon, and be part of a multi-author booksigning.

Here’s how it came to be. One of my critique partners is Heather Webber. She’s good friends with Laura Bradford. Over the years, Laura and I have become fans of each other’s books. Fan mail became email, which became, oh, I don’t know...cyber-friendship. Well, about a year ago, Laura was diagnosed with MS~ multiple sclerosis.

Laura’s a brave girl. She’s warm and funny, an incredibly hard worker, and a mother of two. She's also just the type of person to take what many would view as a very difficult situation and turn it into something positive. See, Laura decided to get a group of writers and friends to form a group and walk. She asked Heather. Heather asked me, and I said yes! So did a bunch of other writers!

Readers on her Good Girls Kill For Money blog (did I mention she writes mysteries?!) came up with our group name…the MSKeteers. That’s how I became one. And Laura-being Laura-decided to give us writers a little perk and is putting on a book signing at Borders on Saturday the 12th.

The best part of the weekend? I’m going to finally get to meet Laura face to face.

I bet we all have stories of friends of friends becoming friends of our own. Sometimes…you just know when a new, lasting friendship is about to happen. That's me and Laura.

So, next weekend, think of me. I’ll be the gal with the red acrylic nails and sore feet, walking proudly in my Team MSKeteer t-shirt.

I’m looking forward to the trip for a lot of reasons…but mainly because I want to help out Laura, my new friend who just happens to have MS.

Interested in learning more about the walk? Click on the site below.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/MSWalkEvents?pg=team&fr_id=8152&team_id=113626

Shelley

March winner!

The winner of the March drawing is ....... Estella. WTG, Estella!!

Please contact Judy Christenberry, Tanya Michaels, and Ann Roth (visit their websites- see sidebar- for email contact information) to get your free, autographed books.

And tell all your friends to comment on our blog. All participants are automatically registered for the next drawing.

April Unfool

Big news! In a couple of days – Thursday, to be exact – I’ll be celebrating my 29th birthday.

Okay, since I’ve been published for about 25 years, I guess you wouldn’t buy that. Remember, this is April Fool’s Day.

I’m actually turning 59. Just beyond hovers the specter of 60, but so what? I’ve been dyeing my hair for years, so I’m not turning gray. And 58 has been a good year. Here are the highlights:

--Our younger son graduated from high school and successfully completed his first semester at college (yay!).

--Our older son plans to graduate in May with both bachelors and masters degrees in computer science, and has accepted a terrific job starting in September – only an hour’s drive from us (double yay!).

--I wrote three books for Harlequin American, of which the first, The Family Next Door, comes out in May.

--We celebrated my mother’s 90th birthday in Nashville, Tennessee. She’s not only going strong, she’s better than over (Google the name Sylvia Hyman and see for yourself).

--I signed with a new (to me) agent, the talented Laura Bradford.

--My niece Jessy and her husband Frank had the first baby of the next generation in our family.

Do I wish I looked like I did twenty or thirty years ago? Sure. Would I want to repeat those years? Nope. Once was enough. Besides, life’s way too interesting right now.

Happy birthday to me, and to all of you April babies!

My NC trip

Over my spring break I got to leave the rainy and floody weather in St. Louis and fly to North Carolina. As part of my day job as adviser to an NSPA All-American yearbook (that means it's pretty good), I'm also the holder of the purse strings. This year it's bid time--we are seeking a three-year yearbook printing contract. So I've been touring yearbook plants among other things.

On my trip to Winston-Salem, I flew into Charlotte, and got a rental car. That was an experience in itself as first I went to the wrong counter (oops) and then at the correct one, the woman tried to put me first in a car I didn't want. I'd driven that model before and sworn never again. So then she tried to sell me a more expense one. Uh, no thanks, even though I wasn't paying rental, I was paying for gas. Finally I told her to downsize me, and she put me in a Chevy Cobalt. I was fine with that--I averaged 35 miles highway.

I spent the first night in Mooresville, meeting in the hotel lobby happy hour a whole bunch of Lowes project managers. These are the guys who are in charge of opening stores and reconfiguring stores. They live all over the country and this was their two-week corporate meeting. The next morning it was off to PIT: http://www.5off5on.com/welcome.html

I'm a NASCAR fan, but even I didn't know that you can actually attend school to learn how to be a pit crew member. PIT also does a lot of "think inside the box" workshops for business executives. They even put my book cover on the front page of their website.

I also got to go on a shop tour of Red Horse Racing. What impressed me the most was that the race shop owner himself stopped what he was doing and gave us a personal tour. That's me with one of David Starr's trucks above.

I also got to very briefly meet Jeff Hammond, champion crew chief, who is a partner in PIT. He's a very busy guy and extremely nice.

The day was fabulous. I can't thank them enough. The funniest part was at lunch--where everyone found it quite "interesting" that I'd never had hush puppies and didn't even know what they were. Being me, I in turn asked them if they'd ever had toasted ravioli or gooey butter cake--which are local to St. Louis. No one had Ah, see, those regional differences. Since everyone was so wonderful, I've had a bakery ship them a gooey butter cake; they'll get it next week.

And, if you are curious about gooey butter cake I sent them, you can go here: http://www.hollyberrybaking.com/

Happy end of the month!

Michele

People are People

Last night I attended a crafting circle, and I discovered that writers and artists share some very similar challenges. The whole "selling crafts" world is new to me, so I mostly keep my ears open when I'm around the artists and try to absorb their collective expertise.

But here's what struck me last night: Selling art is every bit as challenging as selling books, and the same sorts of characters inhabit the art world as the writing world.

1. Every artist's product is unique, just like every writer's book is unique. It's not like selling Mary Kay or Tupperware, where years of experience and research have led to THE ONE WAY to sell the product. Every artist's path is different and what works for one artist might not work for another. This is also true of writers. I may love a certain agent or publisher, but my friend may have a miserable experience with these same people.

2. When artists get together, they all complain about how they can't make enough money, and brainstorm ways to attract more buyers. They brainstorm promotional ideas, they do link exchanges, they do paper giveaways (much like the bookmarks writers are so fond of giving away). They use the same cheap printers that writers do!

3. The art world is peopled with some standard characters--the ones who suffer for their art and never expect to make any money because that's crass; the ones who do it as a sideline but dream of someday making enough money that they can quit their day job and stay home all day doing art; the professionals, who actually do make a living as artists. These are rare, probably even more rare than self-supporting writers.

4. They complain about bad advertising. Whereas writers often are appalled by the grammar or spelling in an ad, the artists complain about the typography. ("He used Comic Sans for the whole ad, can you believe it?")

5. Artists are supportive and nurturing. As the newbie in this group, I feel completely welcomed. Everyone is free with their advice and resources. I've always found romance writers to be the same way.

6. And finally, artists like to eat and drink when they get together. Yes, we all want to work on a project as we network, but first things first--the gumbo and cheap wine! (That's what our host served last night.) With writers it seems to be chocolate and fancy martinis, but I imagine there's some cross-over.

I guess people are people, whatever their avocation. (Although I don't imagine gatherings of doctors, lawyers or engineers would bear much resemblance to gatherings of writers or artists. For one thing, doctors dress better.)

***

Writing news: I recently received the cover for my June book, which, if I did everything right, is posted here. I love the bright colors!

Thanks for spending this time with me,
Kara

The Conspiracy to Freak Out Tanya (or, gee thanks Trish!!!)

I posted not too long ago on a group blog that I've been watching DVD eps of Supernatural. Fellow HAR author Trish Milburn got me hooked even though she knows darn well what a wuss I am. I caught part of an episode on TV once and decided that perhaps the show was too scary for me, but Trish insisted I'd like the byplay between the brothers. She was of course right--the brothers alternately bring tears to my eyes and make me laugh out loud when they're harrassing each other. Sibling interactions are one of my favorite things to write, which is why a family/community oriented line like HAR is just perfect for me!

Anyway, I'm now working on a Supernatural essay for BenBella Smart Pop that requires me rewatching certain episodes, including a few that freaked me out the first time. So, last time I blogged about this conspiracy to keep me awake for the next ten years, I mentioned that my daughter came to complain that there was "something in her closet" the same night that an episode started with a little girl--you guessed it--telling her mom there was something in the closet (which, of course there, was).

Well, it's gotten worse. I don't watch anything scary until after my kids are asleep in their rooms, but it's like my daughter has a sixth sense (pun not intended) that I'm awake watching paranormal stuff late at night. Her most recent complaints were that there was something under her floor and that her bed was moving!(Creepy, but at least she doesn't claim to be seeing clowns. Once that happens, we sell the house).

The topper, however, was the other night, when one of the March storms blew through...and we lost power right in the middle of a 'sode!!!

It's not weird to sleep with a teddy bear and night light at 33 is it? Just, um, hypothetically...

Moving/real estate angst

Hi guys,
We're in the middle of real estate angst - buying, selling, new construction, resale, staging, yada, yada, yada. Did you hear my primal scream? In the fall we decided it was time to move back to the East Coast to be closer to our kids and grandkids, and that was the beginning of our odyssey. In early March we made a marathon trip that included 3 states (MD, VA and NC), 8 communities (Easton, MD, Columbia, MD, Fredericksburg, VA, Virginia Beach, VA, Chapel Hill, NC, Pinehurst, NC, Raleigh, NC and Williamsburg, VA), and heaven only knows how many houses. That reconnaissance trip was to help us decide exactly where we wanted to go. And the winner was Williamsburg. All we have to do is get the puzzle pieces to fit. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

Now we're in the selling phase. Yikes! Talk about painful. We've interviewed 5 realtors. Yeah, I know - major overkill. But a couple of those were friends or friends of friends - you get the drift. Once we decide on the realtor, the listing/showing fun really begins. Whew, I'm already tired. And I have a May deadline. Guess who isn't even halfway finished. If someone should walk in and want the house ASAP I'm in big trouble. But considering the market, I think that's highly unlikely.

So wish me luck - I'm afraid I'm going to need it.

Ann DeFee

Goin' Down to Georgia, Harlequin American Romance, March 2008

Spring has sprung

Spring has arrived here in the Pacific Northwest. I actually live in Canada, so I’m even a little further north than the Pacific Northwest. Most people—me included!—associate Canada with long, cold winters but here on the west coast, spring arrives early.

Last weekend my husband mowed the lawn for the first time this year, and this weekend he swept off the patio and set up the patio furniture. Other signs of spring are everywhere, from gardens to duck ponds. Ornamental fruit trees are in full bloom, there are daffodils everywhere, and ducklings will soon be paddling around our ponds.

I’ve lived on the Canadian prairies and I know a thing or two about winter, so I especially savor an early spring. Still, this year we’re worried about family and friends who live in places that still have severe winter weather conditions and the threat of floods and tornadoes. If we could send a little springtime your way, you can be sure we would.

We’ve had a grey Easter weekend and I'm one of the world's worst photographers, but I thought I'd post these pictures anyway. No matter what your weather was like, I hope you had a wonderful Easter!

Lee
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