A Visit to the National Eagle Center

Earlier this month, while visiting family in Minnesota, I had an opportunity to visit the National Eagle Center in a little town called Wabasha. The center currently has five injured and non-releasable resident eagles—one golden and four bald eagles.

A 29-year-old bald eagle named Harriet was taking part in an interpretive program when I arrived. She was incredibly alert and it was clear that those bright, sharp eyes didn’t miss a thing.

At one point she even gave us a look at her amazing wingspan.

A splendid example of the national bird and national symbol of the United States, don’t you think?

In the 1950s, there were only about 400 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the 48 contiguous states and these magnificent birds were on the endangered list. In 1995 bald eagles were transferred to the threatened list, and in 2007 they were delisted. Their recovery can be attributed to various government agencies and other organizations, including the National Eagle Center.

I enjoyed meeting Harriet and was especially pleased when she agreed to pose for a picture with me.

If you’d like to find out more about Harriet, you can read her bio here.

And here’s a short video taken by another visitor to the National Eagle Center.



This fall we’ve had lots of happy bald eagles here in the Pacific Northwest because there’s been a record run of sockeye salmon. In honor of the eagles and the salmon, I’ve posted my favorite recipe for Grilled Sockeye Salmon on my personal blog today, and I’m giving away an autographed copy of Firefighter Daddy today. I hope you’ll drop by and leave a comment.

Until next time,
Lee

Our Life in Our Books

Readers and aspiring writers often ask two questions. (1) Where do you get your ideas? and (2) Do you base your characters on real people? I usually tell people that I don't know where the ideas come from; they could be based on anything from a TV news segment to a story in a magazine to a dollhouse sitting in a hallway. (Yes, I actually did write a book based on a dollhouse - A Cry at Midnight.)

But I can honestly say that I don't base my characters on any one real person. I also don't base a whole story on what happened to me or someone I know. However, with the book I'm writing right now, which will be a July 2011 release, several events from my own life have crept in. The most significant one is that both the heroine and I planned and executed a wedding in less than a week.

In my July 2011 book (We don't have a title for it yet!) the heroine's conservative aunt and uncle, who raised her, are coming to town AND the heroine is secretly three months pregnant. Because they will find out at Christmas that she was pregnant and didn't tell them, her friends talk her into having a surprise church wedding when they arrive. Of course, all the Brody's Crossing folks pitch in to not only plan the wedding, but also renovate a house for the couple.

In my case, thirty nine years ago this month, I got married in Louisville, Kentucky. My husband actually announced that we were getting married on Monday when we were at our newly married friends' apartment. This was news to me since we'd broken up for some reason that I never understood and can't remember! I wouldn't say "yes" until that Friday at about eleven o'clock in the morning. If we were going to get married before he moved away on Wednesday, we had to get our blood tests and our marriage license on Friday. We went to the doctor and the courthouse, then went to my house to tell my parents. After that went pretty well, we celebrated by spending the rest of the afternoon at the movies.

Above, Sara and Eric with my husband Chuck and me right after the ceremony.

On Saturday morning, my mother and I started planning. We arranged for a minister, church, and wedding cake. My sister and someone she knew who did flowers volunteered to help. The newly married couple, Sara and Eric Schulenburg, volunteered to have a reception in their apartment. (Here they are in a photo from last year, still married and beautiful after all these years.) I also had to pack up my belongings and move to Denver, Colorado. And to top it all off, the retail store where we worked was doing inventory on Sunday, and we both had to work!

Chuck and I cut our wedding cake. He was 28 and I was 20. We looked so young!

Somehow, everything got done. It was tough to load up a small U-Haul trailer with everything except my dresser, desk and rocking chair, which wouldn't fit. My husband sold his six month old MGB to a good friend, and we hooked the trailer to my 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T. We pulled out of town Wednesday afternoon for St. Louis, Missouri, exhausted but excited about the future.

I hope I can give my characters the same feeling of hope for whatever will come. They are going to start a life together when they don't know each other very well. They are going to have a baby when neither was planning on starting a family. They are going to have to learn how to compromise and talk through their problems. That's what will make their journey interesting, and hopefully, seem real to readers. At least I can say without a doubt that a wedding can be planned in less than a week, and sometimes, you can look back on that wild, crazy time even after thirty nine years of marriage.

P.S. If you have ideas for a good title, please let me know. The word "Texan" must be in the title. The other elements are surprise, wedding/marrying, expecting/pregnancy, and baby. The hero is a retired rodeo cowboy and the heroine is a project manager for a renovation company. Thanks!

I Think We're in Kansas, Toto

When storms come rumbling, we pay attention in Kansas, meaning it's time to turn on the weather radio for watches and warnings, switch on the TV to see the radar, and tune the radio to one of the local stations to hear the weather spotters.  That's what we were doing Wednesday when storms crossed through the area.  When all was said and done, nine tornadoes had flirted with the area, and possibly the largest hailstone on record (7.75") had fallen.

My oldest granddaughter was here after school with my youngest daughter and myself, waiting for her mom (my oldest) to finish her visit to the YMCA after work.  We were all keeping an eye on the sky as reports came in that baseball-sized hail was being reported to the northwest of us and was headed our way.  We had hail, mostly pea-sized, for a while, then it stopped and rained.  And rained.  Then the hail picked up again, a little bigger this time.  Suddenly, we heard the announcement on the radios that we were under a tornado warning and should take cover.  At the same time, my oldest daughter called and said to get to her house.  She was on her way there and would meet us.

The tornado sirens blared around us as I drove the three of us the three blocks to my daughter's house, while nickel-sized hail pounded the car.  I prayed the very cracked windshield (compliments of my oldest grandson, a metal toy car, and a rock) would hold up against the onslaught.  If it wasn't for the fact that I don't have a basement, but my daughter does, we'd have stayed home.  For the next twenty minutes, we watched the hail from inside her house, as it went from marble and nickel size to golf ball size, and finally to billiard ball size.  The first photo above was taken after being rained on for ten minutes, while we debated who would go out to retrieve some to keep.  The photo above and to the right is what had earlier hit the airport, where my daughter's husband works.  It was a bit bigger!

We're all thankful that damage from the storms wasn't severe, but the insurance companies will be busy assessing dimpled cars and broken car windows, along with battered roofs.  Ah, yes, it's Kansas in spring autumn!

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

~~~~~~

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

Hairstylists

It seems like I go from good to bad to worse with hairdressers. I yearn for the days when I was young and wore my hair all one length and halfway down my back. The "usual" cut was two inches off the ends and I was good to go.

Now that I'm older and can't get away with wearing my hair like a sixteen-year-old and finding a hairdresser who "gets" my hair is next to impossible. I've got a ton of hair—yeah, it's great that I'll never have to worry about being a bald granny some day, but my hair is slightly wavy and coarse. (I compare it to a horse's mane) This means if I want to wear the sleek look I have to spend way too much time with a round brush and a blower dryer to tame it. If I put curl gel in my hair and let it air dry it's not quite the "cute" curly look I'm trying to achieve so I'm forced to use a curling iron. I really envy women who have hairstyles that wash and wear without a lot of fuss. And the older I get the less time I want to spend fussing over hair and makeup in front of the mirror.

A few months ago I bit the bullet and tried a new stylist recommended by a friend. Afraid of being butchered, I said "nothing drastic, just a trim please." She looked at my hair, ran her fingers through it and said "whoever cut your layers last time did it all wrong. It will take two haircuts to get your hair where it should be." Oh, boy did that make me nervous. But she reassured me she wouldn’t cut too much hair off and she didn't.

Two days ago I went back for the second cut and the stylist announced that my hair was now "fixed". And she was right. The curl held better and it was it looked better. Then she announced her husband was getting a new job and they'd be moving out of the area. Just great.

She recommended one of the other women in the salon to me and brought her over to the chair to explain to the lady how she cut my hair. I appreciated that but I kept thinking—I'm back to square one. Oh, well, in eight weeks I'll return to the salon, give the new stylist a try and see what happens.

Anyone else struggle to find a hairdresser who understands their hair?

Marin

Dexter: Honorable Cowboy (July 2010)

RT Top Pick

http://www.marinthomas.com/

Courthouses and Gargoyles

Get your attention? Writing for Harlequin American is all about small town USA. Having recently moved to Waxahachie Texas, I thought this month I’d give you a tour of my town. It’s all about Gingerbread architecture. Streets of beautiful old homes.

A town square lined with antique stores and quaint little restaurants.

But being the county seat of Ellis County, it also has one of the coolest courthouses around. This isn’t your everyday stone and brick courthouse. It’s beautiful. But when you walk around it you see these interesting carved faces. I couldn’t get a picture to come out, so I’m inserting a link.
http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Waxahachie/WaxahachieTxEllisCountyCourthouseGargoyles.htm

There seem to be various stories about the architect who designed it and the story behind the gargoyles. Being a romance author, I tend to like the theory that the architect fell in love with a local girl. His land lady’s daughter to be precise. Evidently the girl did not return his affection and as the relationship deteriorated, the female faces went from happy to angry and evil. Now isn’t that a cool story!

Any similar romantic fables about your town?

New Month, New Me!!

Winnie Griggs, Margaret Daley and an exhausted, barefooted me

after dancing all night at this year's fabulous Harlequin Party!!

What a difference a month makes!!



Hard to believe last month I was grousing on and on about how miserable and sad I would be with my kiddos off to college. Considering they are only across town at the University of Tulsa, I'm not exactly going through the same level of stress as some of my friends who've shipped their babies across state lines, but still, it took a couple of days to adjust. And now? Don't tell my kids, but the peace is wonderful!!!



I never realized how much daily angst teens generate until not being caught up in the middle of it!! He said/she said/I love this boy/I hate this boy--ARGH!!! Now, I wake to calm. No chasing to help find lost bows or books or homework, but sipping hot tea and leisurely checking on my Facebook friends. Seriously, life without teens is quite civilized!!



That said, I'm still caught in my usual deadline mayhem and haven't quite managed to get my ample behind back to the gym, but at least now when I buy the family-sized pack of Drumsticks (the ice cream cone kind), I don't have to share!! I'm pretty sure that last sentence didn't even make sense, but that's okay, too.



Mellow is the new me, and I'm liking her a whole bunch!!

East, West, Home's Best

I’m an inveterate traveller. I’ll put it down to growing up in the middle of the Australian desert. From the age of six weeks I was carted from coast to coast to visit and be shown off to distant relatives. As a child, I felt confined by the wide open spaces around me, so those twice yearly flights to civilization, must’ve given me a thirst to explore new horizons. Since there was no television service, I buried myself in National Geographic magazines, dreaming of travelling to places with exotic names like Mystic and Nantucket, Middlesex (where I seriously thought hermaphrodites lived) and Moosejaw, Kathmandu and Kabul.
I’m so desperate to see new places that if there’s an alternative route to return from that destination, I’ll take it!
However, an insidious realization has been nagging at me lately, and that is, that in spite of the beauty or benefits of travelling, I really miss my own bed, my own loo, my own shower.
Recently, I travelled around the south of England researching Jane Austen, where we stayed in the filthiest B&B you could imagine. The beauty of Winchester, where Jane died and was honored by being buried in Winchester Cathedral was tainted considerably by this experience and I’m annoyed with myself for letting this be so. It’s happened in other places too. Perhaps I need to consult a travel psychologist who’ll prepare me for the worst, so that I’ll be pleasantly surprised when it turns out to be better.
Now I’m on Corfu, an idyllic Greek Island, but again the accommodation is lacking. If we were paying half what we are, I’d put up with the less than clean bathroom, the un-mopped floors, the miniscule shower (18x24 inches!) the rock-hard bed and the dodgy electrical connections.
But what’s really upset me are the stray cats and dogs roaming the island. We’re presently feeding three kittens who’ve adopted us, bleating plaintively for food morning and evening. But what will happen to them when winter sets in and the tourists dry up? There’s no government run animal shelter on the island and the council controls dogs in some areas by baiting them! How inhumane is this? How sad that a civilized country’s answer to animal control is to allow them to roam free begging for food, or poisoning them? No doubt the female kittens will be pregnant as soon as they’re in season – provided they survive the winter. Although two of “our” kittens are quite wild, the smallest is friendly and sweet natured and would make a lovely pet, but there’s no such thing as animal adoption here.
However, I’ve discovered there’s a wonderful group of people who do their best trying to raise money to de-sex as many of the females as possible and set up feeding stations in various areas to try and tide the animals over the winter months. It’s a pity every visitor to Corfu and the other Greek Islands isn’t asked to donate five euros towards a non-profit fund for animals. I’m donating to have a female cat neutered and placing the Agni Animal fund website as my homepage, for which they’ll receive two British pounds per month (at no cost to me) for each of our family’s pc’s that has their site as our homepage.
So although this started as a whinge about how great travel is, but how much greater it is to get home to my own creature comforts, it’s ended as a plea to help those four-legged creatures who sleep on the streets and beg for food because there’s nowhere else for them to go. No warm lap to sleep on, no leg to rub up against, no human to call their own.
If you’d like to help, here’s the link to their website where you can read about the good work they do – http://www.agni-animal-welfare-fund.com/Index.asp
And here to make them your homepage - http://google.agni-animal-welfare-fund.com/
Meantime, I’m dreaming of getting home to my own comfy bed and a loo and a shower that I know are clean. But most of all I’m looking forward to getting home to my own four-legged friends and giving them an extra big hug.
Til next time…
CC

September!

I love September for so many reasons. The kids are back in school. :) The weather starts getting cooler. Autumn, my favorite season, is getting closer. And this month, SINGLE DAD SHERIFF hits the shelves! As I blogged last month (still can’t believe that I actually remembered) this book is very special to me because one of my secondary characters totally stole my heart.

I can’t neglect my hero, though. And Sheriff Chance Drayton is quite the hero. I love a man in uniform and lawmen in particular. The first book I sold was about a small town deputy. That book, RETURN OF THE LAWMAN, was reissued last month in the Men in Uniform special series.

So let’s talk lawman heroes. I grew up watching westerns with my dad and probably saw every Gunsmoke episode ever aired, including the black and white ones. So Marshall Dillon is definitely a favorite of mine. Any movie with John Wayne as a lawman – especially Rio Bravo. Actually I think I loved that one so much because of Dean Martin. I love me some flawed heroes! My more recent lawmen heroes are everyone on Third Watch (still can’t believe they cancelled that series) and Mac and Danny on CSI:NY. I could actually go on and on because I have several more favorites, but I want to hear about yours now! I’ll grab a couple of winners from the comment section for autographed copies of my Citizens Police Academy series.

Happy September & Happy Reading!
Lisa

Changes

Okay, I think I used this title for last September's post where the theme was Autumn. But face it: this is the month of change. Children going to school, older kids going to college, houses getting that big fall cleaning before the holidays, the weather cooling off, rains coming, leaves turning. Birthdays happening.

Not mine this month, not yet, but many of my family's. Do we love birthdays for the happy occasions they are? Or dread them for the changes they signal? Is it really "just a number" when it's you? LOL I'm job hunting--another change--as the indie bookstore I've been at for five years is closing. It's been a town institution for almost 19 years and there's much sadness and nostalgia. As an author, I look at this from an industry standpoint as well as from the booklover and employee view.

But on the job front I have to think, who wants a woman of XX years' experience? Am I defined by my age? Yes, to some extent. But not confined. When asked in a recent job interview why the person should hire me in particular, I could say, I'm mature and reliable--a nicer way to say "old." And laugh about it. I'm in a pretty good place and feeling pretty valuable as an employee. (Check with me in three months when I'm still job hunting to see if this view changes, too.)

I'm also starting a new book, which is a major happy change. The research part is ongoing, but the bulk of it is behind me.

So, what changes are you all dealing with? I hope you're taking them in stride and with a smile inside.
Megan Kelly
The Marriage Solution, May 2011
www.megankellybooks.com

Putting It On the Line

For any of our readers who want to write contemporary series, the MORWA Gateway to the Best contest is low on entries in that category. Our our Laura Barth, assistant editor for HAR and Blaze, is the final judge.
Romantic suspense is low on entries also. There are only FIVE days left to enter.
I entered and finaled in many contests in my pre-published days. I'm a huge believer in feedback helping one to write better.
FMI on the contest, visit www.morwa.org.

Megan Kelly
The Marriage Solution, May 2011
www.megankellybooks.com

Monthly Recipes

Today we're at our lake house in Mineola, Texas, where we're going to have a party later to celebrate Labor Day weekend, my husband's birthday, and finally getting the house repaired, fixed up, and in working order after a few months of water damage, sprinkler system issues, and general repairs. We've invited the people who helped get us "up and running" over the last 10 months, family and friends. My son-in-law is cooking out and I'm cooking inside, beginning with an overflowing refrigerator ...

... and an overburdened dining room table.

I'm going to fix the party food in my farmhouse inspired kitchen, which I love (except for the dishwasher, which doesn't work well AT ALL.)

Normally I'd post a photo of the completed dishes if I had them, but I haven't fixed them yet! So I'm going to share our menu for a Texas cookout and party. Also, I'm fixing a new recipe I got from a "Taste of Home" magazine titled "Church Supper Cookbook." Did you have covered dish suppers at your church growing up? We did, in the basement of Parkview UMC in Shively, KY. I miss those suppers! Certain church ladies were known for their signature dishes, some of which were wonderful, not-to-be-missed specialties, while others were ... well, let's just say they appealed to a select few tastes!

Tonight we're having barbecued pork ribs, which son-in-law Dale prepares with a dry rub; hamburgers and cheeseburgers; and the new dish, Hot & Cheesy Chicken Sandwiches. Here's the recipe from the magazine mentioned above:

6 cups cubed cooked chicken (I'm going to use the meat from rotisserie chickens I'm purchasing)

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (which I'm probably not using since my daughter HATES bell peppers!)

1 t. ground mustard

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

3 cups processed cheese (like Velveeta) cubed

24 hamburger buns

In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Pour into a 2 1/2 quart casserole. Top with cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before spooning onto hamburger buns.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To go with our ribs, burgers and sandwiches, we're fixing cantaloupe, sliced tomatoes, baked beans, deviled eggs, and my mother's recipe for macaroni salad. I believe I've shared this before, but let me briefly describe it again: Combine elbow macaroni, cooked, rinsed and drained, with diced green pepper, cubed Velveeta cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and Miracle Whip salad dressing. I really love this simple macaroni salad, especially for summer cookouts.

Of course, we'll have potato chips, plus some of those new Ritz chips, with Ranch Dip. (I don't think you can have a party in Texas without Ranch Dip!) For dessert I bought little Red Velvet cupcakes and Carrot Cake cupcakes since my husband really doesn't like birthday cake.

So, that's what our family is planning this holiday weekend and my husband's birthday. (Happy birthday, Chuck!) I hope you have a good time with your family or friends, or spend a little time online and check out my previous recipe posts. Best wishes for a great Labor Day holiday and a wonderful September.

Old Dog, New Tricks

Over the years I’ve complained a lot about our beagle. She’s ruined dinner parties, rummaged in houseguests’ suitcases, and stolen chocolate bars. Then, of course, was the time she regurgitated a whole cake just as the clock struck midnight on Christmas day.

Then there was her ACL surgery last fall. I spent a good six weeks carrying this dog around because 1) She couldn’t walk and 2) She has separation anxiety problems. Let me just say for the record: a thirty pound beagle gets pretty darn heavy after being carried up and down stairs a dozen times a day.

Lately, though, Phoebe has slowed down. She’s really slowed down. Phoebe is fourteen and doesn’t do too much more besides sleep, eat, and have accidents all over our house. She’s also has cataracts and has completely lost her hearing.

Just this morning I followed her upstairs, calling her name, trying to coax her back to my office in the basement. Of course, she didn’t hear me, and jumped in surprise when I finally appeared in her line of vision.

So what’s a family to do when their beagle is, well, in her sunset years?

You guessed it. We are all learning new tricks to keep up with our old dog.

My husband was the first one to start this. Slowly, we’ve all learned the appropriate signals for ‘Come here Phoebe’, or ‘Go outside.’. Instead of now calling out ‘Dinner!’, my daughter picks up Phoebe’s food bowl and shows it to her.

Even the wiener dog has gotten into the act. She’s become kind of a mini-shepherd, corralling the beagle when she’s outside. She’s also developed a series of three rapid, high pitched barks~which is the signal for ‘Alert! The beagle is on the loose!’

So far, our old dog has adjusted to this new way of communicating just fine. She’s able to do her favorite things with ease. And as for the rest of us? We’re doing fine, too. Together, we’re discovering new ways to keep Phoebe included as much as she ever was.

I’m glad things are working out so well. It just goes to show you that it’s never too late for one old dog to teach her family new tricks.

I can’t imagine we’re the only ones to change routines for one old dog. Anyone else have a story about new tricks for an old pet?

Shelley Galloway

AUGUST WINER!!

CONGRATULATIONS JenniferM! You’re the August winner. To receive your free autographed books please contact Lisa Ruff and Cathy McDavid through their Web sites.

To enter the contest simply leave a blog comment and your name will go into the drawing. Simple and painless. And FREE BOOKS.

So check back often and be sure to leave a comment. Good luck!

Into the New

To me, September first feels more like the start of a new year than January first. It might have something to do with the school year beginning at this time. Also, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, falls around now (sundown on September 9 this year, according to my calendar).

So it’s appropriate that I’m also starting a new book.

Since I write about three books a year, that probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but to me it’s the start of an adventure, and a risk. People who don’t read category romance often assume that these books are written by formula, dashed off (or churned out, as they like to say) between sailing trips on my yacht and jaunts to Monte Carlo in my private jet.

No yacht. No private jet. And if there’s a formula, it’s no more cut-and-dried than a thriller or a mystery. Sure, there are reader expectations, and elements that I have to include. But that makes the writing more of a challenge rather than less as I work to keep my stories fresh.

And when I start, even though I’ve written a synopsis for my editor and have a general idea of who the characters are and what conflicts they face, there’s always fear. That’s right, fear. I might put hero and heroine on the page and they might stare at each other, silent as lumps. The storyline might sag, the outcome I hoped for might arrive with a thud, and my editor might demand a page-one rewrite.

Usually, that doesn’t happen. Once in a while, there are major revisions. Hence, fear.

But also joy. Because most of the time, when I put him and her together, they make me laugh. My storyline surprises me. There’s an insight near the end that I didn’t expect. At the final moment, I get a lump in my throat.

So here we go again – back to the beginning. I have no idea how, exactly, my ending will read, but I know what my opening line should be:

Once upon a time….

The Basics of Love

While fall is my favorite season, there are some things about summer that simply can't be beat...

*Uninterrupted time with the kids
*Lazy mornings
*Vacation
*Swimming
*Barbecues

But that's not all. You see, as I've gotten older, I've come to realize my favorite part of summer is the simple fact that there's more time to read. And read, I have. Eight novels in fact (the most recent of those being 400 + pages and consumed in less than 12 hours). :)

My genre of choice this summer? Romance and women's fiction. Time and time again.

One of my summer reads this year posed an interesting question I thought would be fun to pose, in turn, to all of you...


Do you think love just happens? Or do you think love is a choice one makes?

Thoughts? Examples?

~Laura

Life of Young Mother and Writer

Life of a Young Mother and Writer
I have a confession to make. My life is crazy!
Most writers I have met and/or blogged with are punctual about their blogs. They put them in cue to be posted right as the day changes. I marvel at their ability to be so on top of their lives…
Then, there is me. I have five wonderful children, ranging from fourteen to three. I have recently remarried and now have gained three remarkable children. Along with the five kids, I have two dog children.
I have been a little under the weather with a kidney stone operation. I had a mace like ball stuck inside me. They had to put me under and catch it with a cage. It took me a few days to recover. I hope none of you ever get one.
Then as soon as I felt, a little better one of the dog children, a four year old Bichon Frise named Beauty,escaped. The terror and fear that gripped my heart at the loss of my dog is one that I never want to experience again. My mom and family all got into gear. We drove the neighborhood for hours, called shelters, and I just cried. Finally my mother and I went to the closest animal shelter in the area. They said they didn’t have a dog that was small, cute and fluffy. I begged, “Please can I just go back and see if a dog came in while you were out?” I fell to my knees as I saw my little Beauty sitting in a kennel. I just sobbed and hugged her.
The officer then informed me she had a charge against her. I looked at her thinking she was crazy, “How could my little white dog have charge?” I walked out of the pound fifty dollars poorer and a court date to face. Apparently my dog went to my eight year old son’s elementary school to find him. It’s only two blocks away. She had been running in the halls causing quite a commotion. Her charge was, “running at large.” I am still laughing about it.
Now I’m a finding pre-school for my three year old daughter. It’s amazing how two hours here and then two hours during nap time can help finish books. My main problem now is the curse of all mothers. The battle with potty training. I’m almost there.
So to all of you out there, who read books and or write them, please excuse my tardiness. I’m working hard on my next book and loving it. It’s about Jake’s twin brother, C.J., who is the sexy firefighter in San Francisco.
I want to thank my editor Kathleen Schiebling who has so much patience with a new writer and a young mother. Thank you for finding the story in my manuscript and making it work.
I couldn’t do any of this without the love of my amazing, superhero husband, Brad- I love you. And mom, you know I wouldn’t be here without you.
Ciao,
Dominique Burton

1910 Fire

This summer was the 100-year anniversary of the 1910 fire that devastated three million acres of wilderness in Northern Idaho, Northeast Washington and Western Montana. Within that wilderness were many small towns that were damaged or out-right destroyed by the fire. Eighty-seven people lost their lives. The small community of Avery, Idaho was near the epicenter of the conflagration. Somehow it survived, no doubt due to the sheer stubbornness of the people who lived there. Coincidentally, Avery is the town where I lived for several years in my childhood.

In celebration of the anniversary—and memorial to all who perished—many events were planned around the area. Avery had their own weekend-long commemoration. Friends of mine asked me to contribute books for an auction to raise funds for the small museum there. I gladly agreed and, with the assistance of many wonderful writers at the recent Romance Writers of America conference, put together a bag of autographed books.

Avery was an interesting place to grow up. The political, philosophical and even social differences between the “railroad” folk and the “forest” folk could have divided the community. But a place as small as Avery demanded that everyone work together. We all lived so close to one another—the narrowness of the valley made it impossible to have it any other way—and forced proximity built strong friendships.

I have so many memories of the closeness of the community. Potlucks, parties or just a night’s gathering at the Pub were common. There was softball in the summer and Bridge or Pinochle tournaments in the winter. The entire town came out for the annual Christmas play at the school. They returned another night for the church pageant with the same kids now dressed as shepherds and angels. Both events were held in the school gymnasium, the only place big enough for us all. Plus, it boasted the only stage in town. One year, instead of separate plays for each of the classrooms, the teachers decided to put on “A Christmas Carol.” With thirty-six students in the school, there were just enough of us to fill all the roles.

Memories of that small town have influenced my writing tremendously. I know how aggravated you can be with your neighbor one day, yet extend a hand to help him without question the next. A small community is like a family that way: you don’t get to pick them, but you wouldn’t trade them for anything. Envisioning the details of a small town on the Chesapeake Bay was the easy part of writing the linked books that I’ve just finished. Avery prepared me well.

If I were to write my autobiography, it might begin: Once upon a time, I was a part of this community in Idaho called Avery. In many ways, I still am.

If you’re ever in Northern Idaho, plan a trip up the St. Joe River. Way up the river, just before the blacktop ends, you’ll come across Avery. History lives there.

Oh, What A Mess!

This is a picture of my office a week before I turned in The Daddy Catch. I have to admit, the last few days before I turn in a book are crazy busy. It doesn’t matter whether I’ve charted my progress throughout the process. It doesn’t matter whether I’ve stuck to “the plan.” Or if I actually finished writing ahead of time. Those last few days still lengthen into thirteen, fifteen, and sixteen-hour stretches.

As you can see in the photograph, piles of paper grow on my desk top. The box of revisions below it overflows. The calendar practically shouts the day’s assignment. And I can never find a pencil because they’re always buried under the last print-out—the one with all the yellow stickies and heavy marks. As for housework, forget about it. Dinner comes from the only restaurant that still delivers at ten pm.

Of course, the most important thing that happens the week before delivery is that I fall in love with the book all over again. Yes, I loved these characters from the very beginning. I've loved their story, loved telling it. Most of the time, though, I write and revise piecemeal--one chapter, one scene, one paragraph at a time. Doing that, it's easy to lose sight of the big picture.

But that last week—it’s magical. I cozy up in a chair and read the story from beginning to end. Little gems appear. I polish them. I see patterns and themes I wasn’t aware existed. At the end, there’s that “aaaahhh” moment when I'm sure this hero and heroine have the happily-ever-after they deserve.

And then…I deliver the manuscript, fix the world’s most understanding husband a celebratory dinner and clean my office.

See? All ready to do it over again.

A Cat Called Buick

I’m often asked if the characters and situations in my books are based on real people and the answer to that is simple. No. That little blurb on the copyright page—the one that begins with “This is a work of fiction”—is completely accurate and true.

That’s not to say I’m not inspired by the things I see and hear. If you read my July release, Firefighter Daddy, you’ll remember that the heroine, Rory, has a black and white cat named Buick.

I’ve never met a cat called Buick, but years ago I knew someone who had a cat named Evenrude. He didn’t purr quite as loud as a boat motor, but he was loud! However, Evenrude was a tabby, not a tuxedo cat.

More recently my neighbor had a black and white cat named Pete. Here’s a picture of Pete, taken one Hallowe’en on my neighbor’s front steps.

My family loved Pete, so when we decided to get a cat of our own, we fell in love with this black-and-white beauty. Her name is Imilie.

I guess you could say the cat in Firefighter Daddy is three real-life cats—Evenrude, Pete and Imilie—rolled into one. However, his name, Buick, came entirely out of my imagination and if you want to find out where that came from, well, you’ll have to read the book.

As an aside, and so as not to cause any hard feelings between the two felines who rule the roost at my house, here’s a photo of Lucy, our other cat.

Lucy hopes to inspire a story someday, too.

Until next time,
Lee

PS: Firefighter Daddy is available at eHarlequin.com, Amazon.com, and in Canada at Chapters.ca.

Heat Wave

It's been a summer for the record books here in the middle of the U.S., and I'd really like to say goodbye to it.  How hot was it?  It was the fifth hottest summer on record for Wichita, Kansas, since 1888.  Our temps were in the 100s, while our heat index reached as high as 111 one day.  And, of course, my a/c decided to go out during the first part of it.  I was every so grateful when it was fixed again!

But it hasn't been a bad summer, in spite of the heat.  Before the really hot weather hit, the grandkids and I walked to a nearby park most mornings (pictured).  Later, when the temps started going up, they were excited to try the interactive fountains at another park, where kids are allowed to play and get as wet as they can.  We visited the city's water treatment center, complete with fun crafts for the kids.  They even fed ducks and geese their lunches, more than once.  Because school started on Monday, and I'd promised them a return trip to one of the big parks, we did that last Friday.  The plan was to take the 30 minute pedal boat ride, but not for me to do most of the pedaling!  When we finished that, they talked me into 18 holes of miniature golf.  Heat index by the time we drove back home?  105 degrees.  But we not only survived, we had fun!

We're hoping there'll be no more heat waves, but if there are, we have plans to go ice skating soon!

Facebook and blogging and tweets—oh, my!

Just last month, I took the plunge into the world of social media by adding a blog to my completely revamped website. And now I’ve joined twitter and Facebook.

Here’s where you can find me:

At my new website and blog: http://barbarawhitedaille.com/

Twitter was a little ornery and wouldn’t allow enough space for my full name, so you can follow me here: http://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

At Facebook, I’ll soon be establishing a separate page url, but until that happens, please do a search for my “Barbara White Daille Author” page. Once there, you can “like” it if you feel so inclined. And I would like that very much. ;-)

Meanwhile, I’d also appreciate your input, since I’m such a newbie at all this.

Have you got any helpful hints or suggestions for moving around in these places? Know any good features I might want to check out? Have some ideas for how to keep up with everything without letting it take over your life? Because, as I’ve already discovered, it’s easy to become addicted to online socializing. LOL

I look forward to your info here and hope to see you over at twitter and Facebook, too!

Thanks in advance.


All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

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

Spurs

The cowboy is a reader favorite with many Harlequin American Romance fans. When I researched my latest book, Dexter: Honorable Cowboy (book #2) The Codys: First Family of Rodeo, I came across a slew of sites about cowboys, rodeo, ranches and a million other things associated with those wild west hunks. I thought I'd share a little trivia about a tool working cowboys wear every day while rodeo cowboys parade around arenas and show them off like a treasured piece of jewelry.

Spurshttp://www.cowboy-spurs.com/cowboy-spurs-101

Q: How old are boot spurs?A: They were first used in ancient Rome, but became more popular in the 14th and 15th century.

Q: What are western spurs made from?
A: The main part of the spur is made from metal, usually iron but sometimes silver. The straps used to fasten the spur to the boot are made from leather. Other makers made them from aluminium, or steel.

Q: What are the parts of the boot spur called?A: The main U shaped part that goes around the boot is called the "yoke" or "heel band". From there, the "neck" extends out from the boot and the "rowel" is the rounded object attached to the end.

Q: What are spurs for cowboy boots used for?
A: The spurs are worn by cowboys who ride a horse. The rowels are used to dig into the sides of the horse to aid in steering the steed in conjunction with the tack and reins.

Q: Do riding spurs hurt the horse?
A: No. Most spurs have rowels that are round and blunt by design. The more fancy custom made spurs are the ones most likely to feature pointed star rowels and therefore would hurt an animal - but they are seldom used.

Q: Are cowboy boots and spurs still used today?
A: Yes. They are used all over the world by riders and farm hands but are also worn as a fashion accessory or Western Jewelry by millions. I suspect that they are more popular as a fashion accessory.

Check out http://www.spillerspurs.com/ Joe Spiller has been a cowboy all his life and has made spurs for rodeo cowboys, ranchers, movie stars and famous people. The Spiller Ranch is locate outside the West, Texas town of Windgate. He's famous for his Texas Buckaroo and Tear Drop spur.

remember to stop by http://firstfamilyofrodeo.blogspot.com/

for the latest information about The Cody's First Family of Rodeo miniseries and fun facts about cowboys.

Marin

Nostalgia

As summer nears the end and the kids are getting ready to go back to school, I'm a little sad it's over.

This past month, my eighty-four year old mom and I drove to Colorado. Since my dad passed away in 1987, she and I have taken a trip together each year. I think my husband secretly looks forward to the quiet.

She and I've been to New England and taken in the fall foliage, to San Francisco and even watched the sunrise from a hot air balloon over Napa Valley. But this year, she wanted to go back to Colorado. When my dad was alive, the three of us always took a summer vacation and Colorado was one of our favorite destinations. Partly to escape the intense Texas heat, but mostly because Colorado has so many beautiful vistas and quaint little mountain towns.

Mom is deaf, but she mapped out where she wanted to go and I just sat back and drove. We arrived in Trinidad the first night and I listened to her memories about how she and my dad were always so thrilled to hit the cooler weather when they arrived in Raton or Trinidad the first night out.

The next morning we drove north through Colorado Springs where my son and daughter-in-law were stationed at Fort Carson when my two grandsons were born. She talked about when she and I drove through the snow to see the baby and the excitement of meeting her first great-grandson. And the second great-grandson two years later.

Then up to Estes Park and across Trail Ridge Road. Did I remember the snowstorm we got into once there in June when I was eight? On to Winter Park, Vail, Gunnison, and finally arrived in Ouray. Without this reading like a travel brochure, what made this particular trip nostalgic was listening to all her tales. Times she and my dad came with friends before I was born and how they paid fifteen dollars a night for a hotel room and split it between two couples. They thought that was outrageous for a place to sleep. She wanted to know if I remembered riding in a horse drawn wagon at a little hotel along the way when I was five. A man had offered to take me and my friend Mike around the hotel parking lot. I hadn't thought about that in years. We drove beside a river where my dad loved to fly fish and did I remember the picnic we had there? She laughed remembering the huge bear prints we discovered on the hood of our car one morning in Lake City. And what about when we used to try to come up with all the 'B' words to describe the brook. Bity, baby, bubbling, babbling brook. And who started that silly game? It was a river, after all. We laughed.

While I drove, she lamented about renting a jeep when Dad was alive and driving the trail from Lake City across the mountain to Ouray for fresh homemade pie. And how while they were eating lunch, she noticed that my dad had a crust of mud on his forehead from the muddy jeep trail. Well the little corner restaurant is no longer the same. The building she thinks it was in is now a saloon. We did find a different restaurant that had homemade pie, but she was too full to have desert that evening. The next morning we drove to Telluride and there were some wonderful restaurants to stop for lunch, but she insisted that we drive back to Ouray because she was having pie for lunch. We laughed all the way back and each had a small cup of soup and homemade pie for desert.

I feel like I relived a piece of my childhood just listening to her talk. She laughed more than I’ve heard her laugh in years. I saw a glimpse into what my parents enjoyed and things they did when they were first married and how much fun they had together. Not only did I relive old memories, but created a few new ones of my own.

Rain and Dogs and College

(Me with my freshly graduated kiddos back in June.)

Glory be & hallelujah it's raining in Tulsa, Oklahoma!!

This has been the hottest, driest, most miserable summer we've had in a while. With temps over a hundred for days and days, I've been feeling a tad panicky. I LOATHE being hot. Running simple errands becomes an endurance marathon. Though the AC is blasting, it's never quite cool enough for real relief.

The hotter I get, the more grumpy I get, which has made getting everybody ready for college even tougher than I'd anticipated. Through shimmering heat rising from blacktop parking lots, I've schlucked comforters and throw rugs and pillows. Clothes and more clothes and enough extra underwear to last the first semester. We've got shower tubs and shoes and monogrammed wraps and towels. Mirrors and photo frames and a room-sized wall mural of the bare-chested Abercrombie & Fitch guy that my daughter's store manager gifted her with for her dorm. All of the above now resides in my living room, which has got the dogs freaking out.

Home is my favorite place to be, so last month when I left for a week in Orlando at the Romance Writers of America's annual conference, all of my furry babies went on hunger strike. Now that they're once again seeing piles of stuff being packed, they eye me with suspicion every time I near the front door. I am the giver of cuddling and food, but the kids play with Cocoa, Sweet Pea and Daisy. So when Hannah, Terry & Russell leave, I fear there may be more doggy trouble.

Back to the heat, it has been an odd blessing. I'm so annoyed by the hot weather, that it's temporarily taken my mind off the gravity of Monday morning. Save for vacations and holidays, my nest will never be full again. I'm not even kind of sure how to process that statement. Was it really me who used to pray for school to start so I'd finally be home alone?

I play games with myself, thinking never having to share the TV won't be bad. (Poor Hubby doesn't get a vote!!! LOL!!) For the first time in eighteen years, the house will be clean. No more laundry mountains. With no more pizza rolls and cookies and fast food, I'll be instantly skinny--stop laughing!! But seriously, I'm scared. If change is supposed to be good for us, then why am I secretly filled with terror? I want to snatch up my beautiful smart and funny babies and never let go. In the same breath, I'm so proud of them and excited for their new adventures that I know it's time to let go.

It's odd to me that just as I make the final push to send them off, the heat has broken. Throughout the packing process, I've been a warrior. Shopping and sorting and organizing as if it was the essay question on my final parenting exam. Now that it's nearly done, like summer's heat, I'm exhausted. Flooded with memories, and wondering why I was so eager for my cute third graders to go back to school.

My daughter asked what I used to do before I had kids and honestly, I don't remember. That person doesn't seem real. For eighteen years, I've put everyone else's needs ahead of my own to the point that with just me to focus on, I feel a little lost. Is it wrong to at the same time feel a little excited? Maybe with my extra hours I will manage to exercise. I'll watch movies only I want to see and wake not when school schedules tell me, but when my body tells me. I'll "waste" entire afternoons reading for pleasure and never again go to PTA.

If I had this morning's rain falling in a book, just in time for the heroine's breakdown, it'd feel almost cliche. But for me, it's a tremendous relief. Like a sign that just as this awful heat has passed, so will my angst. I really will feel whole again and love it. I just need to make it past Monday . . .

Of Gators and Thongs and Heat and Nice People and the Orlando Conference

Warning! rather long and perhaps boring for some…

Orlando was hell – as in, it was hot as hell.

Stepping off the plane, we were blasted with furnace strength hot air and it wasn’t much better inside the terminal. Americans have unfortunately discovered that running their air-conditioning set on Frigid costs a lot more money that setting it to say, Medium Warm. Still, it’s at least cooler than outside.

The Disney experience started at the airport where we had to board a monorail to take us to the baggage terminal. It got even more surreal when we boarded the shuttle bus to our hotel – called the Swan and Dolphin (decorated with 100 foot high swans and dolphins frolicking) – can you believe it???

Everyone in Florida drives at least 20 mph over the speed limit and never indicates. So we hurtled down the freeways at breakneck speed, changing lanes like the Artful Dodger while our driver yelled into his cell phone in some strange language (he was from Haiti so whatever they speak there apart from English and French) the radio blasted steel drum music and I kept an eye out for gators lurking in the ditches that surrounded the roadways. (the place is one huge swamp) Although I’m not sure why I was so scared of meeting a gator face to face because it would be crushed beneath the wheels of the shuttle before it got anywhere near me!

Fortunately, hubby and I arrived at the hotel in one piece and were given a lovely suite. After checking the bathtub for gators and ordering room service, we got a good night’s sleep.

Went to Disney’s Epcot before the conf. started and it was so hot that I ended up with huge blisters on the balls of my feet from the heat coming up through the acres—no make that square miles—of concrete in the place. (I was wearing shoes, not barefooted btw)

People were dropping like flies from the heat. I felt so sorry for any of the workers who had to work outside, it was dreadful. There were lots of garden areas with trees but they were fenced off and the trees rarely shaded the paths (read: 4 lane roads, the paths were so wide). Not that it mattered, the temp. was the same in the shade as in the sun. L Even at 11 pm it was still just as hot – ugh!

My husband forced me to accompany him on this horrendously frightening simulator ride that was a voyage to Mars, complete with vertical takeoff! It was hideous! I screamed the whole time as the G-forces felt like I really was taking off right through the roof of the space pavilion. In fact, I could feel my face doing that wobbly thing that you see on astronauts when they’re in that frightfully, sick-making (notice the copious and gratuitous use of adjectives) g-force training machine.

Hubby could feel his face doing it too (we established this about half an hour after the ride when we were capable of speaking coherently and without drooling) so it wasn’t just my imagination.

I tried closing my eyes, hoping that getting rid of the visuals would take the ghastly –“I’m gonna throw up the entire contents of my body cavity!” feeling away, but that only made it worse, so I had to open my eyes and watch as we hurtled towards planet Mars, me screaming all the way. Hubby was probably screaming too, but I couldn’t hear him above the noise I was making. They really should have to stop those things if people scream too much. You could easily have a heart attack, or worse. The thing is, you’re locked inside this spaceship capsule with 3 other people and there is NO escape! I should sue them for scaring 10 years off my life. And get a new husband – one who doesn’t make me go on scary rides with him.

Anyway, back to my feet, since they’re so interesting to me. They hurt so much, I couldn’t get into a pair of shoes and had to spend the entire conference wearing my thongs. (no, not the rubber ones you get at Woolies for 79c, these were more upmarket - from Walmart…). So then I felt I had to keep apologizing to people for looking like a dag and wearing my thongs to the conference. Which of course caused many a raised eyebrow because of course in the US, thongs are women’s underwear (the uncomfortable type that is similar to tooth-flossing one’s backside, if you get my drift). They call them flip flops here (is there a sillier word for footwear?) I became known far and wide as the delegate who wore her thongs (and dared to talk about it) J

On Thursday I met with my wonderful editor, Paula Eykelhof, for breakfast and pitched my Jane Austen adaptation to her. She seemed to like what she heard. Lucky I’m popping over to the UK in a couple of weeks to start my research isn’t it?

Later that afternoon I met again with Paula and the editor of Harlequin American, gorgeous Kathleen Scheibling to discuss more of The O’Malley Men series. J

On Friday I had the huge honor of being a featured author at the Harlequin Spotlight, where Kathleen discussed how they found me (at an Aussie conference) and why they picked me up (because my writing has energy and humor J and I’m willing to work with editorial direction, apparently.) J

Also on Friday I participated in the Harlequin book signing and met many new readers and some lovely people from both the New England and Desert Rose Chapters and thanked them for awarding me the Bean Pot Award and the Golden Quill for “Colorado Christmas”.

That evening, the HAR team took us to dinner at a very posh restaurant in the hotel. I ordered scallops and prime beef and pavlova and enjoyed every morsel! Was delighted to make the acquaintance of fellow HAR author, Leigh Duncan who reminds me of Debbie Macomber, because she has a lovely open face and smile!

Oh, and on the Wed. night before the conf. started, I became a star for two whole seconds on u-tube at another signing – The RWA literacy signing. Here’s the link. I’m about 2min 41 secs in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=docOBvGf2-M Hope you like the Minnie ears I’m wearing in the clip?
We had a fabulous time at the Harlequin party on the Friday night – they bring in the same DJ every year because he’s so good. (no idea where the guy really lives, will ask next conf.) Good food and great music. Somewhere on this blog is a pic of my conference buddy, Cathleen Ross and I eating the decorations (yes, the decorations, ‘cos there’s only so much sugar a girl can take) at the Harlequin bash.

The awards night on Saturday was spectacular as usual and Kandy Shepherd and I cheered the Aussie finalists in the GH and Ritas madly (and anyone else we really liked.) We were stoked when Kylie Griffin won the Paranormal Romance GH for her story, Bloodborn: Book One in the Light Blade Series. I have no idea what any of her title means, but I’m so very happy for her and hope she gets The Call very soon!

Hubby was a trooper throughout (apart from the hiccup with the simulator and ensuing divorce procedings). He spent a lot of time at the pool. Not that it was refreshing – more like swimming in warm soup. I say, soup rather than a bath because there were so many kids in the pool that it contained an awful lot of icky stuff that wasn’t pure H2O.

There were dire warning on the lagoons surrounding the resort, not to swim in the lagoons. They didn’t actually state why it was dangerous – although I suspect the ubiquitous gators were part of the reason. However, they did look awfully inviting, edged by acres of white sand. If you didn’t read English then you could be mighty tempted to take a dip (provided you didn’t fry your feet to a crisp on the white hot sand getting there in the first place).


Attended heaps of workshops by top-selling authors, met lots more and caught up with old friends.
By Sunday it was all over and we were looking forward to returning home to Colorado. Except our flight was delayed 3 hours. While waiting in the Bus. class lounge (thank you American Express!) a huge thunderstorm struck with lightning striking the ground everywhere. We had a bird’s-eye view of all the excitement. Planes were stranded out on the tarmac as they couldn’t dock at the airbridges because it does something with the earthing and people end up fried to a crisp (like it’s any different walking around Orlando in the heat of the day?) Or night… for that matter.

While there, I bumped into a very elegantly dressed African American woman in the loo and admired her beautiful shawl. She thanked me very politely and we went our separate ways. She looked familiar. Then a bit later I heard the lounge attendant saying that Patti LaBelle had just left. No wonder she was familiar! Had heaps of Top 40 hits in the 70’s and 80’s including Lady Marmalade, which I loved. So will add that to my brush with fame after meeting Robin Williams in the Zen lounge at San Fran. He kindly signed a book for me btw.

I wonder if either of them saw me on u-tube?…

Make a comment and you could win a copy of my latest tome, “The Sheriff and the Baby”. The one signed by Robin Willliams!
Till next time!
CC

Favorite characters

YAY! I remembered my blog day before it passed this time! I’ve been having a busy summer – with deadlines, kids home and the writers conference in Orlando. At the Harlequin party during the conference, I received a pin for having 25 books published with them. That was such a thrill and an honor. My upcoming September Harlequin American SINGLE DAD SHERIFF is my 26th, and one of my favorite books I’ve written. There’s a little scene stealer that takes over the book from the first chapter right through to the epilogue. Tommy Phillips is definitely a favorite character of mine and quite a character.

I’d love to hear about your favorite characters – real or fictional. Leave a comment and I’ll draw a couple of winners for signed copies of my April Harlequin American, HIS BABY SURPRISE.

Hope you’re all having a great summer.
Happy Reading!
Lisa

Happy to be Home by Megan

Ahh, to be home again. The best thing about traveling away from my family is the homecoming. As much as I enjoy seeing new places and meeting writers and readers, I love being with my husband and children even more. Home is my personal but lesser-known Happiest Place.

However, I admit to having a great time while gone, too.
I returned from the Romance Writers of America conference in Orlando with some fun pix. That's me on the far right with Pooh,

my kids' favorite character when they were small. The other characters are Regan Loyd, Tigger, and Kimberly Killion. :)

And, okay, even I have to admit posing with a sign that says "The American Adventure" was kind of cheesey as an author for Harlequin American. lol But y'all know I'm a sentimental, hokey person.

--And don't look at my hat hair! Kim and Regan made me take off my "Wicked" hat for this one. ;)

During dinner with the American editors, Kathleen, Johanna and Laura, I met Barbara Daly and reconnected with Laura Bradford.

Here we are at the Harlequin party. I'm waiting for a pic of the dinner from someone else's camera, which I'll post on my FaceBook page.

And I got to say Hi again to sweet friend (and fellow Farmville buddy) Laura Marie Altom at the RWA Literacy signing. Laura made me feel welcome back in 2007 at my first Harlequin American get-together, when I was totally intimidated being in a room with authors I'd read and loved. As a newly contracted author with no book, no title, no release date, I kept waiting to get tossed out on my keister as a party-crasher. I'll always remember the kindness of the people in that room, especially Laura and Cathy McDavid. (For some reason, I can't figure out how to post the pic of me and Laura, so head to my FaceBook page for that one too. It's there now.)

Now I return home, spend time with the family and start a new book! Life doesn't get much better than this.

Megan Kelly

http://www.megankellybooks.com/

What to Look for in a Series Romance

Our own assistant editor, Laura Barth, is a final round judge in the Gateway to the Best contest, which is put on by MORWA, my home chapter in St. Louis. While this could sound like a blatant plug for people to enter, I also thought it would be interesting to read what Laura looks for in a submission. Those interested in entering the contest can visit MORWA at www.morwa.org to read about the contest rules and details (like multiple entries being discounted half-price!).
LAURA says: "The most important elements when considering a contemporary series submission are fit, voice, conflict, characterization, and freshness."
If it fits the line for which it's submitted, she then looks at "the author's voice and writing style. The prose should be smooth, clear and natural. The tone should be right for the story and the author should engage the reader without intruding into the story."
And we all know the characters are key to making a story work. Laura says, "The hero and heroine must ultimately be likable and believeable. I want to see a heroine who can stand on her own but be vulnerable and human enough to make me care about her plight. I want to see a hero who's masculine but self-aware and mature enough to show compassion and concern for others."
Sounds like every woman's dream man!
She wants a compelling conflict that's "organic"--it comes from the story rather than the author. It isn't based on misunderstandings and coincidences. And of course, there must be internal as well as external conflicts.
"Finally, it can be difficult, to say the least, to come up with a totally original story for a romance novel and still have it fit within the parameters of your line. But your approach still needs to be fresh." She suggests giving your story "a new twist" to make it stand out from the crowd.
And y'all thought writing was easy? LOL Well, somedays yes, somedays not so much.
The Gateway also has other categories for non-series writers. Deadline is September 10th, so check it out now.
Megan Kelly
www.megankellybooks.com

Monthly Recipes - On the Road!

Good morning from Louisville, Kentucky! I'm on a road trip with fellow writer friend Rebecca Russell. Last night we ate local specialties at B.B. King's restaurant on Beale Street in Memphis, TN. www.bbkingblues.com/menu/index.html Tonight we ate at one of my favorite places, Captain's Quarters, on River Road overlooking the Ohio River. www.cqriverside.com Tomorrow I'm going to foodie haven Lynn's Paradise Cafe in Louisville, which has been featured several times on Food Network. www.lynnsparadisecafe.com

The reason I'm telling you this is because I don't have a specific recipe to post right now. I'm going to post some photos and details of the recipes used by Lynn's Paradise Cafe later today. Please bear with me as I make this fun and food-oriented road trip from Dallas, TX, to Louisville, Indianapolis, and finally to Carey, Ohio before returning to Dallas next week. (I might even have a report on the food from Careyfest, a local custom in Rebecca's hometown.) http://www.careyohio.org/index.asp?Type=B_EV&SEC={91BC1D57-EE40-4291-B151-448DCB226FCD}&DE={B25FF5BD-802A-4D2F-9ED2-3917B97D82A6} See you later!

JULY WINNER!!!

Congratulations Varina M!! You're the July winner. Please contact Marin Thomas, Lee McKenzie and Laura Bradford through their websites for your free books. To enter the contest simply post to the American blog and your name will go into the drawing. Good luck and thank you for participating in the Harlequin American blog.

The Corn Is as High as a Novelist’s Eye…

I’m not really growing corn this summer, because as some of you may recall from a few months ago, we have raccoons poking about and I hear they love corn. Best not to tempt fate.

But we do have vegetables. Boy, do we. Stuff is growing way higher than any decent vegetable ought to. Even the acorn squash … misled by the term winter squash, I figured it took months to ripen, and wasn’t ready to cook till fall.

Instead, I’m microwaving the stuff till I’m green in the face. Acorn squash with butter and salt. Acorn squash with brown sugar. Acorn squash with maple syrup.

Being always in search of new and delicious recipes that use my summer vegetables, I am going to share with you the latest really tasty one I’ve come across (and already forgotten where I found it … sorry, Internet chefs. Anyway, I made a few key changes).

It’s called Sweet and Sour Zucchini.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cayenne pepper, minced (optional)
½ cup chopped, seeded tomato
4 cups sliced zucchini
1 cup thin-sliced onion
½ cup chicken bouillon (or chicken stock)
2 tbsps. sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. cider vinegar

Sautée the garlic, onion, pepper and tomato for a few seconds. Add the zucchini and bouillon. Cover and cook for five minutes.
Separately, mix together the soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. Blend these into the zucchini mixture and serve.

This is great over rice because the sauce is so tasty.

Oh, if you're wondering about the acorn squash: Cut it in half (carefully -- it's tough) and scoop out the seeds. Turn cut-side down on a plate or cutting board, cover and microwave for 5-6 minutes. Remove carefully -- don't burn yourself -- and turn it over. Score the interior with a fork and add either 1 tablespoon of butter plus salt, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, or 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Cover again and microwave another 5 minutes until deliciously soft and gooey.

Recharge

First, an apology for being late posting this morning.

Second, an explanation. I'm currently writing this post from the Dolphin/Swan resort in Florida (site of this year's RWA national conference).

In just the 24 hours I've been here, I've seen friends I haven't seen in entirely too long and I've met new people I wouldn't know if not for RWA. I've attended my first of many parties (this one for my agency), and participated in the big Literacy Signing that is held at this conference each year.

My favorite part of any conference is being with like minded people (readers and writers alike). It's motivating and it's exciting. It is, in many ways, the juice that recharges my battery.

So, tell me, what are ways you recharge your battery in life?

~Laura

Delays

I am so sorry to get this in so late, but my mind has been swamped with packing, polishing my pitch and getting ready for the Romance Writer's of America convention in Orlando. I'm so excited! This is my favorite convention and I anticipate it for weeks ahead of time--then spend weeks recovering.

This year, I'm participating in the "Readers for Life" Literacy Signing. What a fabulous program! I am always amazed by--and proud of--the amount of money that is raised. If you've never been there, it is an awesome feeling to be in the same room as all those published writers. Incredibly inspiring, too.

I'm also giving a workshop at the conference this year. My friend, Sarah White, and I are talking about our "Deeply Flawed Heroes" and how to take them to bed (and not regret it in the morning!). We're planning to have a ton of fun and maybe impart a lesson or two. It's our first time presenting at the convention, so we're nervous, but looking forward to the experience.

Some news from me this month is that my upcoming release, Baby Bombshell, got 4 stars from RT Magazine. I confess to being a little concerned aobut this book. You see, Evan is one of those "deeply flawed" heroes I'm going to be talking about on Saturday. I am so happy that someone else loved him too. Well, besides Anna Berzani, the heroine of the book.

Take care and I'll see you next month.

Cars and Shoe Shopping

What is it about cars? Why do they choose the least convenient times to break down?

I know. I know. I’m assigning human emotions to inanimate objects. Cars can’t think, feel, react. But after nearly ten years and a hundred-and-twenty thousand miles, our SUV is almost a member of the family. A member who’s reached the sunset years and now suffers from aches and pains and occasional breakdowns.

That’s what happened this week. A breakdown. The good news—if there can be any good news about a car that won’t start—is that it went belly-up in my own driveway. The bad news—Did I mention a dead car is never a good thing?—is that it’s the week before the Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference, and there were a couple of serious shoe shopping excursions on the agenda. I may not be a foot model but, as far as I’m concerned, the real purpose of a conference is to give me an excuse for buying new shoes. So, there I was, debit card in one hand, shoe list in the other…and no way to get to the store.

Now, I’ve heard that some cars will do anything to keep a mechanic from tinkering with their insides. And I guess, mine is one of those. Because the SUV which wouldn’t start for me, dear hubby, the neighbor, or the guys who came with the tow rig, purred like a kitten once it arrived at the repair shop. And for two days, while the mechanic scratched his head, it kept purring.

Which caused dear hubby to deem the car “unreliable.” Which means I can’t drive it the sixty miles to Orlando for the RWA conference. Or, equally important, take it shoe shopping. Which, in my mind, means we need a new car since I believe they should be reliable without requiring monthly trips to the repair shop.

Dear hubby, however, did not see the breakdown as an excuse to go car shopping. Instead, he decided to drive me (in his car, the reliable one) to conference a day ahead of schedule. So, yesterday, we embarked on a marathon errand running, shoe shopping extravaganza which was absolutely necessary in order to compress all the stuff I would have done last week (if the car hadn’t broken down) and the stuff I had planned to do this weekend, into one day.

One. Very. Long. Day.

The end result? Six pairs of shoes and a change of heart on the new car thing.

The ideal vehicle would tow our boat, occasionally seat seven, and not be too thirsty at the gas pump. In other words, fit my life like the perfect pair of shoes. Any suggestions?