Will You Marry Me?

Happy February--the Love Month!!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and many women across the world will be asked for their hand in marriage on Feb 14th--the most romantic day of the year for some couples. I've compiled a list "Perfect Marriage Proposal Locations/Scenarios" below.

Top Ten Marriage Proposal Places www.about.com

1) In a garden
2) In a winery
3) On a mountaintop
4) On a beach
5) At a zoo
6) In the back of a limo
7) At a world famous landmark
8) In a revolving restaurant
9) Atop the Empire State Building
10) Atop the Eiffel Tower


Top Ten Marriage Proposal Places www.askmen.com

1) On top of a mountain after a day of rock climbing
2) Make a personal video
3) In mid-air (flight attendant does the asking for the guy)
4) Billboard
5) Movie Theater-preview across the big screen
6) Niagara Falls
7) Vegas
8) On Valentine's Day
9) During lovemaking
10) Cop pulls your girl over and gives her a ticket (written proposal)
11) On her birthday
12) E-mail
13) Radio dedication
14) At a baseball game

And my personal favorite from http://www.diamondhelpers.com/

Arrange to meet her in a beautiful park near some riding stables. Rent a knight's armor from a costume shop or theatrical company and pick it up on the way. Rent a horse at the stables, don the armor, ride up to meet her and offer to be her prince. Present the ring with princely flair on bended knee. You could have someone in the bushes nearby ready to play Holst's "Jupiter" as she starts to see you in the distance.

Join the fun, tell us your idea of the perfect marriage proposal and/or the real one you received from Mr. Right!

Marin Thomas
Nelson in Command (Jan 07)
http://www.marinthomas.com/

Transitions, and why we write

People sometimes ask series romance authors why we write these “little” books instead of tackling big important themes.

Here’s why.

A little over a week ago, I received word that a good friend and former critique partner, Barbara Seranella, had died following a long struggle with liver disease. In case you haven’t read her colorful Munch Mancini mysteries, Barbara was a former wild child (motorcycle gangs and drugs) who got clean, became an auto mechanic, and then wrote a series with a main character based on herself.

I can still hear her drily humorous voice reading aloud passages from her books at our critique meetings. And see her expressive face at her 50th birthday party. Although everyone knew that might be her last birthday, we hoped there’d be more. Sadly, there weren’t.

A few days ago, my family rallied to help my mother-in-law following surgery (for a non-life-threatening condition, fortunately). This woman who’s always been there for others needed others to be there for her. I’m delighted to say she’s home and doing very well.

In the process of talking to family members, I learned that my niece is expecting a baby in August. This will be the first, and very much wanted, child of that generation in the family.

Talk about life-changing events, all rolled into such a short time! Death, transitions, and the miraculous cycle of life.

Why do we write these “little” books? Because love, family and commitment are truly the greatest story of all. That’s what I’ve tried to capture in my February release, The Doctor’s Little Secret. That’s what we all strive for every time we write.

Thanks for taking the journey with us!

Letters and other end of the month miscellaneous stuff

Okay, today's my day and I'm pretty speechless. You know the time when you've got 50 million things to do and no time to do any of them? January is like that. We have to process taxes, resolutions, new semesters, etc. etc.

Life is crazy. Superbowl's next weekend, which means I'll see friends from college that I now only see twice a year. I look forward to hanging out with them and catching up.

As I bought a pick me up card for a friend last night, I realized my life has moved online. I loved Kara's comments on letters below because I, too, have had those types of letters and emails. Sometimes they are hard to deal with. But the ones I love best are the ones from my former students. They find me from blogs, books, and websites and drop a line to say hello. They've sent baby pictures. It's fun to hear that they are doing so well.

So happy Tuesday and I'll keep this short and sweet.

Michele

You've Got Mail

And if you're an author, you might not want to read it!

I enjoy hearing from readers, truly I do. And the vast majority of correspondence I get is positive. When a reader takes time out of her busy life to let me know that my book made her laugh or cry or remember what it's like to fall in love, it makes my day. Then there are those other letters ...

There's a woman who writes to not just me, but lots of romance authors, asking if we'd like to have our mouths washed out with soap, or would we like to come wash her mouth out with soap? She's written me at least half a dozen letters, and each one, no matter how it begins, descends into a discussion of profanity and mouth-washing. Then there are the readers we call the Minutia Militia*, who lie in wait for you to make a mistake in your research, then jump out of the bushes to point out your errors with great glee.

I get lots of e-mails from people who clearly have never read any of my books ("Dear Author:") but still want me to send them free stuff. And finally, there is the man who sent me his book, in installments ... from prison. He expected me to publish it for him, and he checked on me every so often to see how the publishing was coming along. When a letter came indicating he would be out of prison soon and would be along in person to check on things, I contacted the prison. They assured me he would not be getting out any time soon.

I'm thinking about fan mail today because I got a great one this morning. A female volunteer firefighter wrote to tell me she'd read the first book in my Firehouse 59 series and enjoyed it, partly because I'd used the correct terms and she could identify with my female firefighter. Since I agonized over researching the details, her letter was music to my ears!

So once in a while, take a moment to let an author know if you like her book. It's so easy now--almost every author has a website with contact information. A couple of minutes of your time could really make an author smile.

*I don't know who coined "Minutia Militia," but I heard it from Sandy Blair.

I love to shop

I’ve been buried in revisions and deadlines for what seems forever. Yesterday, after working four hours straight, I hit the wall and took a break. Headed for Pacific Place, an upscale mall in downtown Seattle. There I met Ann Defee, who also blogs here, for lunch and a few hours of chitchat (all right, a little gossip, too!), laughter and shopping. Late January is a great time to shop for clothes, because the sales are amazing. Not only that, the day was perfect—sunny and a balmy 57 degrees.

Hanging out with a writer friend always relaxes me. Writers understand when you’re so burned out from writing, you can’t think of the right word for something. Word exhaustion, a clever writer aptly named it. Non-writing friends think you’re… well, getting old. But writer friends think, she used up all her words writing today.

So when I told Ann, “I haven’t found a new whatchamacallit yet—that thing you put on your bed?” She supplied “bedspread” and we both laughed about it.

Several hours later I came home with a smile on my face, several cool new tops and pants (all on sale!), and a head full of words. Yep, the word exhaustion was gone. So thanks, Ann!

Today I’m refreshed and ready to plunge back into work.

Let's Talk Stories

Harlequin American Romance Authors

I'm not sure this will work, but I thought today was my blog day. Found out it was yesterday---sorry. I'll pop in today anyway. I have a writer friend who asked an interesting question of me---"why aren't publishers buying stories about families any more?"
I thought they were. Hope they are as I love to write family type stories. Now I wonder if they aren't buying as many new authors with family stories. There are a lot of paranormal, other world stories being bought right now. Even in the Harlequin lines I'm wondering if new books being bought don't focus on family as much as on straight hero/heroine romances. No added secondary characters. I read a lot. It seems to me there are families in the books. But I remind myself those were bought a year ago. So what say all of you who have sold recently? Families, no families, and what is the focus?
Roz D. Fox

Simply A Surprise

I received some great news last week. One of my writing friends emailed a congratulations. She saw on a list that Simple Gifts was nominated by Romantic Times Magazine as one of their favorite Harlequin Americans of 2006. Saying this was a surprise was pretty much an understatement. And because I was so surprised, I quickly wrote my friend back and told her that I thought she had made a mistake. Maybe she'd mistakenly pressed SEND to the wrong girl?

Well, Cathy wrote me back with a big : ) and said nope, she had it right...and listed all five Harlequin American Authors who were nominated. I called in my husband and we stared at the list on the screen together: Laura Marie Altom. Pamela Browning. Shelley Galloway. Debra Salonen, Marin Thomas. Yep, there I was, neatly stuck in the middle of such a great group of authors. So amazing!

Don't you love surprises like that? Unexpected ones which take you so off-guard that you can honestly say you're shocked? I don't think they happen too often in life...so each one is very sweet, to say the least.

Well, after I made my two teenagers come look at the screen, too, (Um, good job, Mom) I did the only thing I could do...I called my critique partner, Heather Webber. Luckily, she was home, and luckily, she finally made it real..."Yay!" she called out, then said she felt like crying. So, that's what we did. I stood in my kitchen, talked to Heather, and cried with my writing buddy, because she knew how much Simple Gifts had meant to me, and how much writing for Harlequin means to me. I think I mainly got all teary because it's nice to have girlfriends who can give you an really nice suprise on a Sunday evening, and to have girlfriends who will pick up the phone and be thrilled for you...just because.

So, congratulations to Laura and Pamela and Debra and Marin. And here's to good, very sweet, totally unexpected surprises. I hope everyone gets a sweet surprise one day very soon.

Shelley

Harlequin American Romance Authors

Harlequin American Romance Authors

Hello from sunny Texas! As I walked into my kitchen this morning, I knew something was different. Gone was the constant rain, drizzle, mist, sleet, snow and ice. I suddenly realized that I was not living in Seattle, but indeed, resided in suburban Dallas! What a nice surprise after all the bad weather. My heart goes out to those in the midwest who are still iced in, without power or otherwise stranded in the ice.

I'm working on a Christmas book - the first of my career. TEXAN FOR THE HOLIDAYS is the second book of my new Brody's Crossing series and will be released in December 2007. It's been a lot of fun writing a Christmas book over the actual holidays, but now the ceramics, candles, photos, lights, greenery and ornaments are going back into storage (eventually, I tell my husband!) and still my characters are in the joy of the season.

Prolonging Christmas through my characters is giving me a chance to relax a bit after the "real" holiday is over. You see, our December was quite hectic. Our daughter (my only child) was married on December 30 in Las Vegas, and as soon as we returned, I hosted a reception at our house for them. The trip to Las Vegas was delayed for almost an entire day due to storms at the airport, so we drove to Austin and flew out of there. There were multiple false fire alarms at the hotel, a missing wedding gown, and much illness in our wedding party. Overall, it's amazing that one of us didn't say, "Have you thought about going downtown to the JP?" But we didn't, and the wedding was beautiful.

A couple of friends (not my writing friends, because they know better) said that I should use all the mishaps in a book. I told them that no one would believe everything that happened to us if it were in a book. Truly, things like this only happen in real life - well, except maybe for Jennifer Crusie books, because she can make me believe almost anything could happen. Have you ever read what happened to the dead body in WELCOME TO TEMPTATION? Anyway, I digress. What I wanted to convey is that I have to make up almost all the silly things that happen in my books. One exception is the incident in TEMPORARILY TEXAN, my July 2007 release when the hero, Troy, tries to teach his Yankee vegetarian houseguest how to country-western dance. Yes, I actually sent a shoe flying across the dance floor when I tried the Cotton-Eyed Joe. Needless to say, I'm a writer, not a dancer!

Thanks for taking time to read the Harlequin American author's blog. If you'd like more information on my upcoming releases, please check my website.

How a cover comes to life

I've always said that covers are like giving birth. You don't know what you're going to get until it comes out. Harlequin American has been doing some fantastic covers lately (I'm still with both Kathleen and Linda--moving to Toronto and finding that hot guy on her cowboy book. I'm single--I can do that, smile).

Above is my cover for my April release, Nine Months' Notice. I received the cover pdf via email about a week ago. At Harlequin American, here's how the cover process works (at least for me). It may vary for the other authors, but I'm betting it's 90 percent the same.First step is completing an on line art fact sheet. These can be done up to a year in advance.

For example, I completed this art fact sheet in either September or October this year. I haven't done one yet for my November American, but I have for my NASCAR book. The art fact sheet asks for all the pertinent details like hair color, height, etc., basically how the characters look. The sheet also asks for the setting of the story, any important landmarks, and three important scenes. We also answer some questions that allow us to describe the mood of the book and how the characters grow and change. If we have an idea for the cover, we can include that in this section.

Then we're done. That's our part. I don't submit pictures or anything like that, letting the art department take it away. From what I understand from a Harlequin workshop I went to, Harlequin holds a meeting with the editors, marketing, and art people. Then they brainstorm what they want. Someone writes the text. Models come in and are posed so that pictures are taken, and then the artist uses a computer to create the art. This is why some covers look so lifelike--because those people really exist out there and they were actually posed into that position so the artist had something to work from. Just like Disney brought in real lions for The Lion King, Harlequin brings in real people.

From there, they take it away, editing, fixing, and tweaking until satisfied. Then, around three to four months before the book debuts, I can request the cover be sent to me and I open it. There in full view on my computer screen is the cover of the book I sweated over and loved writing. I print it out, hold it, and show it off. Hence, the birth of a baby analogy.I've been blessed to have some wonderful covers. (They are at www.micheledunaway.com Click on backlist.) The full cover text of my April cover is at my personal blog, www.micheledunaway.blogspot.com if you want to read what it says on the back cover.

Thanks for taking part in this "birth" with me. My April book is child number 14 for Harlequin American since my first book debuted in October 2000. I still pinch myself every time that I get to do this.

All the best and happy weekend,
Michele

Exploding Eggs

Yesterday I decided I wanted hard boiled eggs for lunch. My system for hard-cooking the eggs is simple: bring a pan of water containing the eggs to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let it sit twenty minutes. Viola— the eggs are perfect.

No problem. Except, I am in the middle of an intense round for revisions, due next week. With my thoughts on the scene of the morning, I filled the pan, turned on the heat, and promptly forgot about it.

Awhile later, engrossed in my work, I vaguely heard a loud pop. Quickly followed by my husband’s bellow: “Annie!” (He calls me Annie and always has.) Fearing he’d had an accident or broken something, I rushed upstairs. Only to be greeted by nasty fumes and bits of egg everywhere!

As awful as this was, I found it funny. Laughed hysterically as we cleaned the mess from the floor, ceiling, walls, and even the dining room. (I never knew projectiled hardboiled egg chunks could travel that far.)

Unlike me, my husband failed to see the humor. For all I know, he thinks I’m developing Alzheimer’s. I’m not, of course. What really happened was, I got so wrapped up in my work that the real world faded away.

As I thought about this later, I realized that only another writer would understand. A call to a close writer friend confirmed this. She laughed right along with me. Thank God for friends who “get it.”

I did learn my lesson, though. Next time I want hard-boiled eggs, I’m setting the timer.

The weather outside...

The weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful…

Winter has arrived at my house—full blast, and that song has been running through my head for the past couple of days. And it’s not Christmas. It’s just &&&& cold. I live in Central Texas and this Texan is not used to temperatures in the twenties.

From my office, I can see the icicles hanging on the frozen ice laden trees and the grass and shrubs sparkle with a blanket of icy white crystals. The driveway is a film of ice. Every now and then I can hear the sleet tapping on my window. In the distance, I can see the highline poles and the endless stretch of electrical lines. Ice and icicles are accumulating on the lines and I’m praying the extra weight doesn’t cause them to break. The cold aside, it’s really very pretty—a winter ice land.

We have two fireplaces in our house and in all the ten years we’ve been here we’ve probably used them about four times. And that was at the holidays when we had company. With the central heat and our mild winters, we’ve never needed them. With the frigid cold, both fireplaces have been burning for past two days. I really like the fire. It’s cozy and romantic. I love sleeping with the fire going. And it really great to read by. Tonight, with my husband beside me, I’m curling up in front of the fire in the bedroom and reading one of the books I received for the Rita Contest. Can’t get any better than that.

What’s the weather like in your area? It sounds bad all over the US, so I hope you have a warm fire and a good book to read.

Oh, the weather outside…

How does this happen?!

My gosh. It's January 17th. Already!

Seems like just three days ago we were ringing in the new year. And now the first month of it's more than half gone. Where it went, I wish I knew....

They say everyone has the same number of hours in a day, but sometimes those hours become awfully hard to hang onto. It's no wonder, with every one of us involved in working outside the house, working inside the home, raising children, and/or caring for aging parents. Not to mention juggling housework, yardwork, grocery shopping, and laundry. Oh, and don't forget the gazillion other errands on that "To Do" list.

The days get away from us, and even when we do have a free moment here and there, we're too busy to notice!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were a Minute Elf to gather up the stray bits of time that have fallen through the cracks? Sort of the way the Tooth Fairy comes and collects our teeth. The Tooth Fairy pays us in cold, hard cash, which isn't such a bad thing, of course. But if "time is money," as the old saying goes, maybe the Minute Elf could reward us with seconds and minutes and—if we're very lucky--hours, to replace whatever moments of our lives had slipped away.

That would be worth more than a few coins under your pillow, don't you think?
All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille

Quirky Characters

Recently, I received an e-mail from a reader commenting on the quirky pig herder my hero crosses paths with in the opening scene of Nelson in Command (Jan 07), the second book in my McKade Brothers series--in stores now.

I love goofy characters--probably because I come from a long line of oddball family members--a seventy-year-old aunt who showed up at a family graduation barbecue in a bikini top and shorts, and too many others to mention here.

The reason I use quirky characters in my books is because they're believable. Every one of us knows or has met an "oddball" at one time or another. We come in contact with these kinds of people every day of our lives, so why shouldn’t our characters?

The antics of quirky characters provide a bit of humorous relief that lends the story a light-hearted feel, even when there are more serious issues at stake. Putting the hero or heroine in situations where they're out of their element and forced to interact with individuals they would normally never encounter helps demonstrate their true character. Achieving the balance between deep emotional concerns and cheerfulness isn't always easy, but something I strive for in my writing.

If you love zany, weird, funny, ridiculous…tell us about a quirky character from a book you've read recently.

Happy Reading!
Marin
Check out Marin's Quirky "Rooster Contest" http://www.marinthomas.com

Where authors gather

Once upon a time – when I sold my first book, some 25 years ago – it wasn’t easy to connect with other authors. Since I live in Orange County, California, I had the good fortune to belong to a terrific critique group and occasionally encountered other writers at library events or through my then-job as a news reporter.

Mostly, though, I worked in isolation.

Then, in 1984, I discovered Romance Writers of America, which had been founded just a few years earlier. It was so small and informal that, when a vacancy arose on the national board of directors, my local chapter was able to get me appointed to the board for a one-year term.

Since then, RWA has grown to major international stature and, among its many activities, sponsors an annual conference (often referred to as Nationals) that’s absolutely staggering. Most agents and editors who work in the romance and/or women’s fiction field participate. So do roughly two thousand writers, both published and aspiring. There are heaps of seminars on every aspect of the business and craft of writing, plus book signings and other events. This year, the conference will be held in Dallas on July 11-14. (For more information, check out www.rwanational.org.)

My local Orange County chapter is one of the largest in the country. Every month we have outstanding guest speakers, who’ve included Jackie Collins, Dean Koontz, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Mary Balogh, Tami Hoag, Kristin Hannah, Diana Gabaldon, Debbie Macomber and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This past Saturday, we had the good fortune to hear noted TV producer and novelist Stephen J. Cannell, who gave us insights into his writing methods and successful career. You can get more information about the group at www.occrwa.com.

The encouragement and information that authors exchange is invaluable. Rather than competing, we support each other. It’s truly amazing how helpful people are, and how much better communication we’ve established with editors and agents, who appreciate the level of professionalism that RWA fosters. With the advent of online resources, including websites, email loops and blogs like this one, RWA members can reach out even further.

If you’re a writer like me, aren’t we lucky to have these resources? And if you’re a reader, you benefit from the ferment of creativity and enthusiasm that writers generate when they can mingle with their colleagues.

So if you wondered what we were referring to in this blog when we mention RWA or Nationals, now you’re an insider, too!

Oops! I forgot my Saturday blog

Since Christmas I've been so slammed with deadlines I've spaced a ton of things, including my Saturday blog. So here are the ruminations of a chick who has done nothing for the past couple of weeks but sit in front of a computer terminal. This is a typical day - I get up before the sun comes up, slam my hair into a Bam-Bam ponytail, put on some sweats, grab the dog and head to our huge park for a rousing three mile hike - then I'm back to the keyboard.

And we've had the worst winter ever. At the risk of sounding like I work for the weather channel I'll tell you we've had wind storms, snowstorms, and ice storms - round and round, one after the other. And believe me, the folks in the Pacific Northwest are not good winter drivers.
Scary! So, I suppose, all in all, this is a good time to have 2 revisions and an anthology due. That doesn't, however, keep me from fantasizing about going to Nordstroms, or Target, or even the grocery store. Can you believe someone actually wants to peruse the produce aisle!!??

Thanks goodness my hubby's a good sport - he does the cooking and errands - and get this, the man actually vacuums. He's a keeper!

So back to work. Talk to you next Saturday.

Ann DeFee

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow . . .

Brrrrr!!!! Here in Tulsa, we're getting hammered with day three of an ice storm. Silly me, I called Hubby home early on Friday to load up on snow food in the attempt to keep three housebound teens happy.

Being a writer, I tend to have a rich fantasy life, so here I am picturing Hubby and I snagging some romantic anti-kid time, stealing kisses on lonely cookie aisles. We'd get home, laugh our way inside while carting our goodies through tumbling snow. We'd then maybe make cocoa, share quality time talking and snuggling in front of a roaring fire. Once the kids got home, we'd bake cookies and gather 'round the fire again to make s'mores and play board games. Ahhh . . . Don't you just love snow?? HA!!

Okay, so here's what really happened . . .

Hubby and I hit the store only to find thousands (literally!!!) of other folks had already had the same idea. It was insane!! People grabbing and snatching and fighting to the death over the last bags of Double Stuff Oreos!! Every check-out line wound down the aisles, so I planted Hubby at the end of one, while I dodged shopping carts and slow folks on their cell phones, chatting about how this was going to be an amazing storm.

There was no romance to be found--especially not when it came time to lug $400 bucks worth of junk food and Gatorade (the ONLY thing my kids drink) into the house. Driving sleet hammered me like mini, stabbing ice swords while I'm hefting eighteen plastic sacks at a time to try and finish fast. Meanwhile, Hubby's dorking around with rock salt, gently sprinkling with a little metal scooper while I growl my way past.

Once inside, my mother calls. She and Dad are at their house in the Bahamas. She was calling to tell me their new washer and dryer set was being delivered by boat in about in hour. Isn't that exciting??? GRRR!!! LOL!!! She then had to tell me how pretty the weather's been--they're wearing shorts--and that she got a hug from their hunky neighbor--he's insanely hot!! Even Daughter agrees!!! Okay, so here she's getting hugs from hunky neighbors, and I can't even get my Hubby to help with groceries, let alone give me sugar!! Double GRRR!!!

While I was on the phone, Hubby did put away a lot, so that was sweet, but immediately after, he dashed off to Son #1's new X-Box 360. I didn't see him again till bedtime!!

Backing up a little time-wise, I snatched the kids early from school, and what does Son #1 say the second he gets in the car? Not, "Boy, Mom, I can't wait to bake cookies with you!" But, "Geez, this weekend's going to blow. Can I have a friend sleep over?" Thank goodness the power hasn't gone out, or things would've really gotten ugly! But wait, before I get too excited, we're supposed to get two more inches of ice around noon, and Daughter's cheer coach just announced they have practice at two!!

If your weekend has gone roughly the same as mine, I have a fun new book out this month called, HER MILITARY MAN. Promise--Constance and Garret's journey to Happily Ever After is waaaay more fun than ours here in the nutty Altom household!! LOL!!!

P.S. Hubby finally beat his video game guy, meaning I finally got a few kisses!!!

The Book's Soundtrack (or the musical part of the writing process)

Okay, I needed an excuse to put Kenny Chesney in a blog. He's my favorite country artist and he just won a People's Choice Award for fan-voted favorite male singer, so I guess he's also a lot of people's favorites. (For more, go to www.kennychesney.com) Congrats to Kenny on this achievement.

I dedicated a book to Kenny (and have the autographed thank-you photo to prove it) and have just about every one of his albums. Most of them have been the soundtrack behind my books.

When I'm writing, many times I have music playing. I set the CD or windows media player to repeat, so oftentimes the CD is played at least three times without my even noticing that I've listened to it over and over. I've written books to greatest hits albums of my favorite 80s bands (yes, I'm a child of the 80s--high school 83 and college 87). I've put in new artists I find and let the CD play. Brain research shows that listening to music can help get a person in her "right brain" which is the creative side. (The left is the logical part--when I edit the room is silent, which is the way I read a book.) Many author besides me have music playing.

Right now I'm also hard at work on Picture Perfect (working title), my November 2007 American. I wrote that to Trent Tomlinson's Country is My Rock, Montogomery Gentry's Greatest Hits, and REO Speedwagon's Greatest Hits.

So do you write to music? Or are you one who has to have silence?

Michele

Benefits of Marrying a Writer

My husband is also a fulltime, stay-at-home writer. A lot of people ask, "So, how's that working for you?" My answer is, there are a lot more advantages than drawbacks. Here's my top ten list of advantages:

10) "I'm going down for coffee. Want me to get you a refill?"

9) No one in this house ever says, "Why don't you go out and get a real job?"

8) I never have to pick up the dry cleaning--because there isn't any. Our work wardrobes consist of sweats, jeans, T-shirts and occasionally, pajamas.

7) There's always someone around to brainstorm with or critique my work.

6) It's cost-efficient. We only have one color printer between us, for example. We can share reference books, an Internet connection and a P.O. box. We ride together to our writers' meetings. (Separate offices are a must, however.)

5) If I run out of paper, he probably has some. If he runs out of envelopes, I probably have some. If we both run out of stamps, we can walk to the post office together.

4) We always have someone to share a room with at writers' conferences. (This can also be a drawback; I sometimes miss the "slumber party" atmosphere of the old days.)

3) I have someone to share the good news with, someone who will celebrate with me unconditionally.

2) I have someone's shoulder to cry on when I get a rejection--someone who really understands!

1) Which brings me to the number-one benefit of having a writer spouse--mutual encouragement. Writing can be a lonely business, but when I have doubts, when I'm down or when I'm taking a big risk with my writing, my husband is always there to cheer me on, and I like to think I do the same for him.

Bonus Benefit: When I want to hang out all night with a group of hunky firefighters, he doesn't blink because it's "just research"!

Surprise Blogger--Kathleen Scheibling

Happy New Year to all American Romance authors and readers! Is it too late to say that? I hope not because I feel like celebrating, and I’ll tell you why.

We started off 2007 with some great news. Our Great American Romance Contest closed on the last day of the year and we’ve received hundreds of entries! I’m absolutely delighted with the response – and hoping I find some gold in the pile. Now I’ve got a lot of reading to do. Winners will be notified in February, and then we’ll announce the winners on eHarlequin.com in early March.

I’m excited about our line-up of books in 2007. We have two new authors appearing this calendar year, as well a few authors who are new to this series. And we’re still looking for new authors – who knows what the coming year will bring?

How many of you are coming to Dallas for Nationals? I think this year we’ll host a meet and greet for our authors. Last year in Atlanta I realized that many of you writing for the line haven’t met before, or have only met online. So we’re going to have ourselves a party. That’s something to look forward to this summer.

Linda – thanks for posting your cover for ONCE A COWBOY. Aren’t our covers looking fantastic? I love the work our art team is doing. This cover is a bit different for us, but we couldn’t resist once we saw this shot of a hunky cowboy. This model is actually a firefighter in real life! Can you imagine how many girls he has chasing after him? We all want to meet him and are begging Tony (our art editor) to let us come to a shoot. We have promised to behave ourselves. Although that doesn’t mean I can’t start a little trashcan fire on the set and yell, “is there a firefighter in the house?!” just to see him in action.

OK, I better to get to that pile of contest entries. It looks as if 2007 will be a busy one – what else is new?

Cheers to all of you out there for all the work you do. Thanks for making 2006 a successful year for American Romance. Here’s to an even better one.

Kathleen

A NEW YEAR. A NEW BOOK.

A NEW YEAR. A NEW BOOK

It’s a new year and I have a new American coming out in February, Once A Cowboy. I’m excited because I love this book. I’m hoping everyone else will, too. And it has a fabulous cover—a sexy cowboy. You can’t get any better than that. I’ll try to post the cover so you can see it. Hope it works.

Is it just me or have the American covers been great lately? I’m liking them all. What do you think? Have you noticed a difference in the covers? Now here’s the big question. Does a cover influence you when you buy a book?

When I’m in a bookstore, a good cover will attract my attention. However, for me it’s that back blurb that’s the selling point. Of course, an author’s name does that, too. What’s the selling point for you?

Happy new year to everyone. Here’s hoping for mega sales for American in 2007.

Be sure to check in tomorrow. There’s a rumor going around that a Harlequin editor might stop by.