Showing posts with label T-shirts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label T-shirts. Show all posts
Friday, November 27, 2009

MAKE ME LAUGH

    by suzanne

    No, I'm not asking for your best Internet forward joke...although I have a great one best told in a bar with an Irish accent. What I want, what I'm craving is a funny book to read. A light-hearted fare or one where there are brilliant moments of comic relief.


    The first Susan Elizabeth Phillips (SEP) book I ever read was NOBODY'S BABY, BUT MINE. Now, this wasn't a slap-stick funny book. But when she removes all the marshmallows from the cereal box to make it more healthy for him and he says, "I've married a cereal killer!", I cracked up! When she insists on driving up the North Carolina mountain in a storm to have her baby, yep, got me laughing out loud! And it also had me back at the bookstore the next day buying everyone of SEP's back list.





    My friend, Jo Davis,(author of TRIAL BY FIRE, UNDER FIRE and HIDDEN FIRE), who reads mostly suspense, claims AIN'T SHE SWEET was the funniest book she can remember reading. One of her favorite parts? When the dog in the front seat beside the heroine farts at her. The heroine thinks, "yep, even the dog hates me.





    Another author who mixes great characters, good story telling, some suspense and comic relief is Julie Garwood. In SAVING GRACE , two clans are trying to live on the same land under the same laird, only they refuse to merge into one clan. Many funny episodes occur as the heroine uses quiet defiance and even tosses shattered crockery to get her point across. I chuckle my way through that book every time I read it. (28 at a last reading.)



    Another dear friend, Sandy Blair, (author of A MAN IN A KILT, A ROUGE IN A KILT, A THIEF IN A KILT and A HIGHLANDER FOR CHRISTMAS) says the funniest book she can remember was Garwood's THE GIFT. What makes it so funny? Sandy says it's knowing what's coming next from the heroine's POV and the hero's exasperated reaction to what he perceives as illogical. Garwood sprinkles these gems throughout all her books. One of the reasons she's one of our favorite feel-good authors.





    Addison Fox, (author of WARRIOR ASCENDED: The Sons of the Zodiac, coming in March 2010), couldn't pinpoint a specific book by Nora Roberts, but says one of her favorite reasons to read Nora's books is her ability to have witty dialogue that relieves some of the suspense and have her readers chuckling in different places throughout her books.






    One of the funniest books I've ever read was Linda Howard's TO DIE FOR. This book works in so many ways. First it is in first person, (not my usual cup of tea), and because we're mostly in the heroine's head we understand why she does the things she does, even if she admits they're stupid. We also get to see the hero's frustrations at her actions, he's banging his head on his desk. This is also a different kind of suspense for Ms. Howard, totally at odds with her usual dark fare. When I was reading it, Rocky-the-wonder-dog was parked on the bed beside me. I laughed so hard the bed shook and he gave me that irritated male dog look (very reminiscent of irritated male human look). I had to stop reading long enough to stop laughing in order to read some more!




    Jane Graves, a romantic comedy author, (HOT WHEELS AND HIGH HEELS, TALL TALES AND WEDDING VEILS), points to any book by Jennifer Crusie. Jane says, "I always feel a special sense of delight at her word choice, her sentence structure, and especially her dialogue. Her books are just flat-out fun to read, sentence after sentence, page after page. They're not funny in a laugh-out-loud way, at least not to me. They're just...fun. She's one of the few authors out there who can entertain me with almost every sentence she writes." My daughter, Alison, agrees whole heartily.

    In fact, the idea for this blog originally titled, "where have all the funny books gone?", came from my daughter. She was going through a pregnancy, was home on maternity leave a few weeks early and was looking for books to read. She asked me, "Mom, I'm tired of reading serious, dark books. I want to laugh. I need a funny book, do you know of any?"

    So, I need some help.

    Who would you like to read? What writer makes you laugh? Who do you read when you want a good chuckle or to relieve some of the stress in your own life?Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/T-shirts
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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Passionate Booty!

    BIG THANX to everyone who turned out for our 06 Packer buddies Anthea and Lawson!

    The cookie recipes and links were GREAT! But then, what's not to love about cookies?!?! And what's not to love about wonderful historical romances?!?! So without further ado, the winner of Anthea Lawson's Golden Heart and Rita finalist Passionate is:

    LAURIE!

    Super congrats and thanx for the yummy recipes for Chocolate Tipped Log Cookies and Best Darn Sugar Cookies Ever!

    Please send your snail mail info. to anthea AT anthealawson DOT com to claim your copy of Passionate.Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/T-shirts
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Saturday, November 21, 2009

What Kind of Cake Are You?

    by Anna Sugden

    I admit it - I'm a Food Network junkie. One of the things I knew I was going to miss when we moved back home to England was my daily dose of Food Network favourites.

    Imagine my delight the other evening when a new channel popped up on our TV guide - yes, we now have The Food Network! *happy sigh* With ESPN America showing live hockey, what more could a girl want? (TNT and the old series of Trick my Truck - love that Chrome Shop Mafia! - but that's another story!)

    Now, I love shows like Iron Chef America, but I'm a total and utter fan-girl when it comes to Ace of Cakes.

    It's hard to resist Duff Goldman and the crew at Charm City Cakes. Duff, a former graffiti artist turned cake-maker extraordinaire appeals the rebel in me - you gotta adore a guy who likes to do things his way, against the odds and against the norms. Kind of like us romance writers!

    But, the thing I enjoy most about this show is the unbelievably creativity, skill and talent of the team as they create the most spectacular cakes.

    As someone who has zero capability for anything crafty, I can only watch in awe as they turn sheet cakes and fondant into amazing sculptures, from library carts to Hogwarts, from a shark ray called Sweet Pea to a Star Trek cake, from the Millennium Falcon to Wrigley Field!

    All of which got me thinking.

    I love fun cakes. When I was little, my mum made me a chocolate train cake out of chocolate Swiss rolls and sweeties. There was also a house cake . There were name cakes, with each letter made from cake - both my full name, Anahita and Anna. I also remember a cake in my teens with the car from Starsky and Hutch on it.

    I know Charm City Cakes don't deliver cakes to England *unhappy sigh*, but if they did, and I could afford their prices, what kind of cake would I want them to make for me?

    Hmm. Well, I collect penguins, so a penguin cake would work. I love cats, so maybe a pair of cat cakes - one black and one tuxedo, like Jersey Girl and CC.

    I write romances, so perhaps an aspirational cake - a romance novel with my name on it!

    Or, some kind of hockey cake. A rink with mini-hockey players. A puck smashing into a cake. *g*. Maybe even a bobblehead cake of my favourite player. Now, that sounds like an Ace of Cakes type of cake!

    What about you? If Duff and his team were to make you a special cake, what kind of cake would it be?Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/T-shirts
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Friday, November 20, 2009

Dishing on Romance

    Today we welcome four of our buddies in as our guests! We're celebrating the launch this month of the new blog The Romance Dish by four veteran bloggers. Welcome, y'all!

    Thank you so much for inviting us to spend the day in the Lair. We are very excited to be here and are planning to have a fabulous time with the Bandits and Bandit Buddies! And before you even ask, PJ has been working up a storm in the kitchen and there are turtles for everyone. Yes, enough for everyone!!

    We hope Sven and the Gladiators have rested up and are ready for us.

    Oooooh boys, where are you??

    What is The Romance Dish, and who created it?

    The Romance Dish is a blog and review site where we "serve up our thoughts on books, romance and life." We came up with the idea for The Romance Dish while the four of us were attending the Moonlight and Magnolias Conference last month in Atlanta. As reviewers at RNTV, we enjoyed sharing our love of romance, and when Marisa and Maria decided to close the site, we decided to begin our own blog. And thus a blog was born.

    What's the long-term goal of your new blog?

    Everything happened so quickly! It has only been 7 short weeks since we decided to run our own blog site. It has been a whirlwind adventure and things have not slowed down one bit. We have been so busy we have not even thought of long-term goals for The Romance Dish.

    What are the regular features?

    Besides reviews, guest author spots and the occasional recipe, we have many monthly features at The Romance Dish. Around the first week of the month, we have Andrea's New Releases, where she lists tons of new releases by sub-genre. On the 10th of every month, Trish Milburn brings us her Teen Menu, where she features the latest in YA romance and movies. Buffie, the Queen of the Hotties, shares her latest hottie with us in her Hot Dish on the 15th of every month. And on the 24th of every month, Anna Campbell gives us a Second Helping review of a book we may have missed.

    What are the reading preferences of the various Dishers?

    (Andrea) The first romance I ever read was a historical and I was instantly enraptured, which is funny because I hated learning about history in high school. Now I realize it must have been the teacher. For many years, historicals were all I ever read, but in recent years I have discovered straight contemporaries (both full length and categories) and I love them as well! I also enjoy a little paranormal and urban fantasy.

    (Buffie) Drawn into reading romance on a fluke, the first romance novel I read was an historical, a medieval to more precise. Needless to say, the historical genre is my first love, and within that genre medievals are at the top of my list. I love to escape to another time and place and who doesn’t love a Highlander in a kilt!! After I started reviewing books, my eyes were opened wide to the joy and fun of other genres. Now I pretty much read everything.

    (Gannon) Historical romances are my first love. They were my introduction to the romance genre. Honestly, I'll read just about anything. But my favorites are historical, paranormal, and contemporary. Reviewing books has allowed me to discover some fabulous new authors, which I so enjoy. Who doesn't want to add more books to their TBR pile? Mine is reminiscent of Mt. Everest!

    (PJ) I rotate among a variety of sub-genres. Historicals were my first love and, if forced to choose, I would probably still list them as my favorite. I also enjoy reading contemporaries, romantic suspense and what I call paranormal "lite". I've recently begun venturing into urban fantasy and some SciFi/Futuristic romance. I also enjoy reading mysteries and political thrillers.

    Could each of you tell us what drew you into blogging about books?

    (PJ) I've always enjoyed sharing my love of romance through my comments at various boards and blogs. About two years ago, Maria and Marisa at RomanceNovel.TV approached me with the suggestion that I formalize the thoughts I had been posting at the RNTV Forum by writing book reviews for them. I discovered that writing reviews was not only challenging and rewarding, it was fun!

    (Gannon)--I was a regular commenter at SquawkRadio--may it rest in peace ;)--as well as Eloisa James and Julia Quinn's BB, Romance Novel TV and of course, hackey hudjson. *g* After about a year of posting at RNTV, the M's asked if I would like to join the review team and I, of course, said "Heck, yeah!" It was the best of both worlds: reading fabulous books (and getting those coveted ARCs) and sharing my love of romance. It was a win win situation.


    (Andrea) My story is similar to Gannon's. I was a regular visitor/lurker at various sites like the Avon Authors BB, Squawk Radio, the EJ/JQ BB, the hackey hudjson and Romance Novel TV and loved talking about the books that I've read and loved. It was nice to have a place to share my love of romance novels with others who felt the same way, because no one in my "real life" read romance (though, my sister does now. *g*) When Maria and Marisa (from RNTV) asked me if I'd like to formally review books, I jumped at the chance and haven't looked back!

    (Buffie) Several years ago, I found the Avon Authors BB and was so happy to find a large group of women who loved to read and talk about romance novels. I was astounded at how much they knew about authors and books. I believe I actually fell out of my chair when Julia Quinn herself answered one of my questions about her books. I couldn’t believe that authors actually visited boards and chatted with readers! Then I found my way to other boards – Squawk Radio, Romance Reader at Heart, Eloisa James and Julia Quinn BB, The hackey hudjson, and finally RNTV. I think I smiled for days after Marisa and Maria asked me to review books. There’s nothing like sharing my love of romance with everyone!

    Are you interested in guest bloggers? If you are, what do you want to see from people interested in being guests?

    Oh yes, we very interested in guest bloggers. We love it when authors stop by and visit with us for a day. It is always nice to hear about a new release directly from the author. But we also enjoy reading about day to day activities in a guest blogger’s life. Sometimes the smallest thing impacts the most people. Anyone interested in being a guest blogger at The Romance Dish can contact us via email at theromancedishATgmailDOTcom.

    Now here are a couple questions for all of you. What do you enjoy reading most on a blog? Is it a great review or the chance to talk with your favorite author? What subject draws you out of your shell and makes you comment?

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Ohhhhhh, Opryland!!! and Big Zero Birthdays...

    by Jeanne Adams

    When a friend turns thirty - you know, the big THREE-OH! - it's often the time to plan one heck of a party, right?

    I mean, it's not everyday a gal reaches that milestone, that mark of maturity and magnificent vibrant LIFE! It's an achievement. You remember turning thirty, don't you?

    (Or if you haven't turned it yet, just hush, don't make us have to sick the GR on you...)

    So, when you're an organization of romance writers, mostly women, it's REALLY an achievement to make it to the big birthdays. Next year, RWA turns thirty. The conference, in Nashville, Tennessee, will be a celebration of all that's fabulous, past and present and headin' into the future, about RWA. How cool is that?

    The pillars of our industry are going to be there, some of them are going to be speaking, some will be there to present awards, some will just be there having a grand "birthday" celebration with the rest of us. Seriously, this is going to be one great shindig.

    Now, some of you may be yawning over this. Some may be rolling their eyes over my enthusiasm, thinking (or saying to your monitor): "...Just another conference in another town..."

    Well, let me just beg to differ. I need to tell you that the hotel is a party alllllll by itself.

    Seriously.

    If you've never been to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, you have missed an experience. (No, they did NOT slip me an envelope to write this. Although if they choose to now...welll...we could tawk...) Grins.

    The sheer magnitude of this place rivals the best spa, the best hotels, the best resorts I've ever seen. Now lest you think that a specious comment, I've seen and stayed in a number of the Ritz Carlton's properties, several Fairmonts, seen a few luxury suites and even stayed in the Mt. Kenya Safari Club.

    (Ever stay there on your trips, KJ? Woweee... Heeeeyyyy, I could write a blog about that one too...*makes note for future post*)

    Sorry, momentary diversion. Where was I?

    Oh yes, the Gaylord Opryland.

    The waterfalls begin as soon as you leave the lobby, which is huge, and features comfy seating areas and a coffee bar. There are gardens and waterfalls, riverboats, fountains, grottoes, and pathways all over the hotel. I walked and walked and walked just for fun INSIDE the amazing, fabulous atriums. I never saw the same places twice unless I chose to, but when I decided to return to my room, the paths were well marked and I easily found my way. The food was great in all the venues I sampled, from Irish Pub to Rusty's Sports Bar to the Jack Daniels Saloon. I didn't try it, but I heard the sushi place was pretty cool too. (They even have a "food court" type option, very good and pretty darn reasonable!)

    Oh, and the Coooookkkkiiiiieeees! OMGosh, they have this cookie place....Ohhhhhh. It's called Christies. (Trish, do they just sell these at Opryland?) And the cookie place had ice cream in luscious flavors. Yummmmm.

    Did I also mention that there's a Godiva shop in one wing? Hmmmm?

    Oh, yes, there is. *dreamy sigh*

    It doesn't seem to matter what room you're in, or what floor you're on, the views are lovely. In a brisk walk, you can get to a nearby mall (they also run a shuttle), or take another shuttle to the Opryland Center for music. It's just cool. If you're so inclined, you can also visit one of the biggest darn Bass Pro Shops I've ever seen!

    This weekend when we were there, they were finalizing the Christmas decor. Talk about breathtaking!! Oh, my goodness. Millions of lights, an enormous nativity scene outside, and elves, bears and nutcrackers, (oh, my!), lights, balloons and glittering Magi inside made the place a virtual wonderland for holiday visiting. (Check out the videos on YouTube by searching Gaylord Opryland Hotel - there were so many...all gorgeous!)

    I found myself wishing you could all see it now AND in July.

    Then again, in July, the gorgeous pools will be open; it was a bit tooooo nippy for swimming this time of year! I stopped into the Spa - fabulous! - and checked out the nightclub - hip and cool - and had a ton of fun just exploring.

    So, if you're an RWA Member, you saw the HotSheet with the lineup of speakers from Sherrilyn Kenyon to Jayne Ann Krentz to Nora Roberts and back to our own BB Friend, Sabrina Jeffries. What's not to love about THAT? I don't care what city we're in (well, I do, but rhetorically...) that is one heck of a line-up right there. I'd go just for that. Then, there will be the fab-o workshops, as always.

    This year, we have the extra fun of the hotel being a "guest destination" too. I'm already plotting and scheming to get a weekend away here, just for me and the hubster. I want to take him on the Delta Riverboat Cruise, just the two of us. Fab-U-Lous.

    This place beats all heck out of Las Vegas, in my book. I loved the themes out there, but the smoke and gambling-focus was so distracting.

    At the Opryland, it's apparently alllll about the guest experience. Hey...next summer that means it's all about US!! Yeah!

    So, have you ever been to a massive "attraction hotel" like this before? Like Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, or that water park one in Chicago?

    What about Nashville and the Wild Horse Saloon? Anyone been there? (There are mustangs on the ceiling...)

    I'd love to hear your favorite destination hotel experience. Just for fun, I have a box of Godiva to give away....tempt, tempt, tempt...
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Welcome Anthea Lawson To The Lair!

    posted by hackey hudjson

    Today we welcome not one, but TWO special guests to the Lair! Anthea Lawson is the pseudonym for a husband-wife team who write spicy Victorian romance. Their debut novel, PASSIONATE, was nominated for a Best First Book RITA in 2009 and was a Golden Heart finalist (under a different title) in 2006. Their newest book, ALL HE DESIRES, hit the shelves on November 3rd.

    Today, one lucky commenter will win a copy of their first book, PASSIONATE!

    AC: You are a husband and wife writing team. Please share how that partnership came about. Any particular challenges with having a spouse as a co-writer? Advantages?


    A&L: We didn’t plan on writing together, but like many projects that one of us starts, the other gives it a look and says “hmm, that seems interesting.” It’s a natural extension of our relationship—we’re used to working closely together on all kinds of things (music, house remodels, raising a kid) so it made sense to figure out the craft of writing fiction together. It can be challenging to live with your co-writer, especially when you have different ideas of how much writing is reasonable to do in a day. The advantages are multifold—we get to really explore the depths of the story together and it’s wonderful to have another perspective to bounce plot ideas off and problem solve with.


    AC: We love "Call Stories" here in the Lair, please share yours with us.


    A&L: Our agent had been shopping around our first book, and we’d gotten a number of rejections – in hindsight we realize that a Victorian-set story featuring a botanical expedition to Tunisia is a hard sell in the publishing industry. Our agent finally called one morning, telling us that Hilary Sares at Kensington loved the story and wanted to offer us a two-book contract! Much rejoicing ensued. Then we looked at each other with wide eyes and said, “We’d better get to work on that second book.”


    AC: Please tell us a little about your new release All He Desires. How did you come up with the plot and characters?

    Were there any special things that happened during the writing of this book? Anything that made it easier or more difficult than other books you've written?


    A&L: We knew we wanted to take one of the secondary characters from the first book, and we chose the hero’s sister. That way we could continue to use the villainous cousin, and we knew our heroine’s backstory—so those parts were easier. We also knew we wanted to use another unusual setting, and chose Crete as the background for part of the book.


    ALL HE DESIRES is a more emotionally-driven story than our first book, and it was a challenge to learn how to get deeper inside the characters up the emotional intensity.


    AC: Your first book Passionate was a Golden Heart and a RITA finalist! Can you share any special tidbits with us about the writing of this book?


    A&L: PASSIONATE was actually the first manuscript we’d ever written,

    although we did rewrite it a number of times as we learned how to write fiction. The publisher didn't require any editorial changes, just copy edits, so what you see in print is pretty much what we submitted. Mostly we wrote PASSIONATE because we wanted to see if we could do it—write a fun story that satisfied us and was a complete and solid piece of fiction. Being nominated for the Golden Heart, a RITA, and seeing the book in print really felt like success.


    AC: Any tips on researching historical details or the exotic locations you use for settings?


    We use the internet to track down source material, then use our fabulous interlibrary loan to get a copy. (The Tunisia of Ahmad Bey, 1837-1855 by Carl Brown was a particularly good find, brought to us from the University of Oregon library.) We have not been to the Mediterranean basin (yet!) but the climate is similar to Southern California, where we’ve spent a lot of time visiting with family. We were able to take some of those sensory impressions of warm days and the scent of orange-blossoms and transmute them into our books.

    AC: As a multi-published Golden Heart and Rita finalist, what advice can you give the AYU (As Yet Unpublished) writers out there?


    A&L: Persevere. It’s something you’ll always have to do, published or as-yet-unpublished—we’ve found that out in the two years since the “sold” call.


    Share the journey with others. It makes writing and waiting so much more fun. The romance writing community is a fabulous resource for support, information, and connection. You’re not alone as you work toward publication.


    AC: What is next for Anthea Lawson?


    We’re waiting to hear back on an exciting proposal we have out to editors. We’re also delighted that we’ve been asked to contribute a story to the Mammoth Book of Regency Romance, out next summer.


    AC: Thank you Anthea and Lawson for being here today and sharing a lot of great info with us! Here's wishing you MUCH SUCCESS with you new book, ALL HE DESIRES and your future projects! Anything you'd like to add? How 'bout a question for our readers?


    A&L: It’s great to spend a day at the lair with our ’06 GH Finalist friends! And so exciting to see everyone’s successes, large and small.


    Our question, appropriate for the upcoming holiday season– What’s your absolute favorite kind of cookie? (Extra points for links to recipes) And don't forget, one lucky commenter wins a copy of PASSIONATE!


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Booty Call!

    We have mega-booty to give away!

    My travel schedule for November has put me behind on winner posts. Lots of things are coming out of the treasure chest tonight. So here we go:


    The winner of Skin Game (or an alternative from the backlist) by Ann Aguirre is Tetewa;

    Karen White's winner, who'll receive a signed copy of The House on Tradd Street, is Donnas;

    Julie Kenner's Tainted goes to Stacy McKitrick;

    And Dee Davis's Match Made on Madison goes to Linda Rader!

    Winners should email me via the hackey hudjson link with the name of the appropriate author in the email, and I'll forward the information. Please put the winner and the author's name in the subject line.

    Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone for stopping by!Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/T-shirts
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Monday, November 16, 2009

To Be or Not to Be...

    by Christie Kelley

    Organized that is. I spent Sunday afternoon attempting to reorganize my kitchen. It's been about a year and a half since I moved out from my old kitchen into the new kitchen. I told myself that I would organize everything over the winter.

    I meant last winter.

    But it got me thinking about organization. I'm a somewhat organized person. Well, not according to my husband, but he is a super-organized person. I do like things to have a place especially in the kitchen. The only problem with that is I don't unload the dishwasher all the time. So I'm dependent on one of the three boys (that includes DH) to put things where they belong.

    It rarely happens.

    So what makes one person more organzied than others? After living with Mr. Organizer for 25 years, I have one theory. It's called the memory theory. While I might have a pile of papers on my desk, if someone needs one of those pieces of paper, I can find it in a minute. Because I remember where I put things. If I ask Mr. Organizer for a paper I know he has in his office, he has to sort through several files and try to figure out where he might have put it. He doesn't remember.

    Now, having too many piles on my desk can drive me nuts. I'm pretty much at that point. My office is going to be reorganized next weekend. Usually after I finish a book, I do a thorough clean out of my office. That didn't happen when I turned in Scandal of the Season. I had to start book 5 (hopefully, some day it will have a title) immediately so the clutter continued to accumulate.

    So what do you think? Are you an organized person, somewhat organized person or completely disorganized? Any comments that being organized is based on memory capacity? Source URL: https://violeta-diario.blogspot.com/search/label/T-shirts
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Sunday, November 15, 2009

A SoHo Setup

    Today, award-winning author Dee Davis returns to the lair to chat about her newest “matchmaker” novel, Set Up in Soho. Welcome back, Dee!

    Tell us about this book.

    The Matchmaker Chronicles continue…

    When Andrea Sevalas’ long time boyfriend announces he’s seeing someone else, Andi’s thrown for a loop—well, actually, down a cellar. Head throbbing and nose out of joint, she’s rescued by one of New York’s finest – attorney’s that is. Ethan McCay -- the upper east side heir to the kingdom of Manhattan. But Andi isn’t interested in princes. At least not the uptown variety. She’s a downtown girl with no time for Park Avenue royalty.


    So what’s a fairy godmother supposed to do? Well, if she’s Andi’s Aunt Althea (the infamous Manhattan matchmaker) a little manipulation is in order. After all, even Cinderella needed a little prodding to go to the ball. And with a little help from her friends, Althea’s plan goes charmingly – until the clock strikes midnight and the truth is revealed.

    Certain that she’s been betrayed by the people she trusted the most, Andi runs for the safety of SoHo. But matchmakers don’t give up that easily, and with Althea at the helm, Andi will discover that love comes in all kinds of packages. And that sometimes all it takes to recognize the fact, is opening your heart to the possibility – that and a fairly substantial shove from your not so fairy godmother.

    In the book, the heroine hosts a local cooking show. You were also a host of a local cooking show once. What aspects of yourself do you see in Andi, and what aspects of her do you aspire to or admire?

    I think all of my characters tend to be, at least in some way, a reflection of parts of myself. I would love to have the opportunities Andi does with her cooking show. If only there’d been a Food Network when I was first starting out. There’s something so wonderfully challenging about taking various ingredients and combining them to make something mouthwateringly delicious. My grandmothers were both excellent cooks and I learned from them, very much the way Andi learned from Bernie. And I have to admit, like Andi, I absolutely love trying to recreate a fabulous dish I’ve eaten somewhere.


    Will we see characters from A Match Made on Madison?

    Absolutely. Andi is friends with Cybil and Vanessa and so their social worlds often intersect. As well as Mark Grayson and Stephen Hobbs. And since Althea is Andi’s aunt, and a famous matchmaker with a penchant for interfering—I think we can safely say that she plays a major role in the book.

    Any special tips for doing research on New York or other major cities?

    I’m lucky that I live in Manhattan—so for me research is as simple as walking out the door of my apartment. And like A Match Made on Madison, Set-Up in SoHo features some of my favorite places in the city. But for people that don’t live in the city they’re writing about I think travel books and internet sites about those cities are a good way to get a feel for a place. Also online groups discussing the area—its restaurants, sites, local flora and fauna, even its architecture, can be a wonderful way to add authentic color about the place you’re setting your story. In addition, contacting people who do live there is a wonderful way to get insight into the place. And information about how things work in that particular location. I often call places to get information or to make certain that my description of something is accurate. I even called Riker’s Island once to find out which bus a person would take if he/she was released from prison there. I find that most people are more than willing to help when asked.

    Can we have a peek inside Set Up in Soho?

    Sure—from the first chapter:

    “Fine,” I said, brushing angrily at my tears. I’d be damned if I’d let him be the one to cast the death blow. “Then let’s just end it now.”

    Without giving him a chance to respond, I turned and walked away with as much dignity as I could muster considering the circumstances and the fact that I was wearing four inch heels. Okay, there was also the small matter of a little too much champagne. But hey, I was thankful for the insulation.

    Three minutes later and I was out on the sidewalk, hand extended for a cab. Except of course there wasn’t one in sight. So I turned and started walking, reaction setting in, my body shaking as the tears began to fall in earnest. I still couldn’t comprehend the enormity of what had happened. In less than two minutes my life had imploded. Everything I’d believed to be true proving false.

    Tears dripped off the end of my nose and I swiped at them, trying to keep my pain to myself. Fortunately, it wasn’t that difficult of a task. In Manhattan, no one really gives a damn. Which meant my break-down was going pretty much unnoticed. Except for a guy in a box on an abandoned stoop.

    “Hey, lady,” he called from his cardboard studio. “It can’t be that bad.”

    I shook my head in answer, his words triggering the floodgates. Tears turned to sobs, and I closed my eyes, struggling for at least some semblance of composure. I could fall apart later. First, I had to get home.

    I sucked in a breath, squared my shoulders and moved forward, my foot landing on—nothing.

    Nothing at all.

    And, with an inverted jackknife worthy of an Olympian diver, I fell, butt first, into the abyss.


    What’s next for you?

    I’m hard at work on a new romantic suspense series coming from Grand Central Press. The first book, Dark Deceptions comes out in April 2010, followed by the second, Dangerous Desires (July) and Desperate Deeds (Aug). Here’s the blurb for Dark Deceptions:

    TORN BETWEEN DUTY AND DESIRE

    Covert operations expert Nash Brennon has spent the last eight years trying to forget Annie Gallagher, his former field partner and the only woman he ever loved. Annie betrayed him when he needed her most, then vanished without a trace. Now suddenly she’s back in the game—this time as a suspected traitor and threat to national security.

    Annie’s son has been kidnapped by political terrorists. The price for his life? Assassinate a UN ambassador. When Nash and his group find her, the smoldering passion between Annie and the man she swore she’d never contact again blazes out of control. But can Nash trust her? The stakes couldn’t be higher: Their enemy’s endgame is personal, and one false move could cost them their lives.

    Way cool! And you're coming back to talk to us about that in April.

    What's your favorite matchmaker story? Your favorite mismatched couple?

    Dee's giving away a copy of Match Made on Madison to one commenter.
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The Color of Feelings

    by Jo Robertson


    Three year old Annie was whining the other day.

    “What’s wrong, baby,” says her mother, seriously refraining from any eye rolling.

    “Well,” Annie says, “I just have a bad feeling that someone’s going to eat me.”

    “Don’t you hate that feeling?” her wise mom answers.

    The color of fear – is it black, blue, red?

    I have a dear friend whose father died young, leaving her mother with six children, the oldest of whom was twelve. She and her husband had been long-time friends with a couple who also had six children, all nearly the same ages.

    The mother of this family also died. As time passed and with much soul-searching, the man and my friend’s mother decided to marry, blending their family of twelve children. Wow! That’s courage! They eventually had a thirteenth child who blended the two families.

    The new father was a psychologist whose favorite story was about the child who kept doing all his drawings at school in black. Everything black, gloomy, dark. He was concerned about the child until she explained that when she got to the table, all the crayons were gone and black was the only color left.

    Sometimes black is just a color.

    We talk about being “blue.”

    Or being so mad we see “red.”

    Daffodils are yellow and such a friendly color that we think of sunshine and the outdoors.

    Brides wear white, sometimes.

    So what about you? What’s your favorite color? Why?
    What colors elict what emotions in you? Is green really soothing and why so many institutional places have walls of green? Is blue cool and detached? Is black or dark brown dangerous?

    My favorite color is purple and as I grow older I love more and more the poem about wearing purple when I grow older. It’s such a bold color.
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Of Wifi and Wooly Worms

    by Cassondra Murray


    Do y'all have wooly worms where you live? We do.



    I've always had a thing for wooly worms. You have to admit that even if you dislike bugs in general, it's hard to hate a wooly worm. They don't fly around and make a racket when they sproing-oing-oing into your screens at night. They don't bite you or suck your blood, and they don't get tangled in your hair and cause screaming hissy fits. They're fuzzy, unassuming, and non-threatening. The Zen of caterpillars. If you mess with them, they curl up and play dead. I don't like being crawled on by anything with more than two legs, but I will let a wooly worm meander across my hand and up my arm.


    Wooly worms are famous around here for foretelling the length and severity of the winter season. If they're light-colored, the old folks say, it's supposed to be an easy winter. The darker they are (or the broader the dark section of wooly fuzz) the harsher the winter will be.


    Here in Kentucky, in early November, there are usually a few last warm, wonderful days that reach into the lower 70s, and as you're driving down the road on those days, you'll see the fuzzy little guys crawling across the pavement in front of you. Sometimes there will be several in view at once. This time of year wooly worms are always in a big hurry, searching for a warm place to hibernate for the winter. They race across the asphalt at breakneck wooly-worm speed. I sometimes swerve across the road to avoid them. I mean, who wants to smoosh the teddy bear of caterpillars? But no matter how fast they go, they're never fast enough. I always end up running over some.

    The poor, peaceful little creatures, no matter how they try, are no match for the slick speed of my modern machine. They can't outrun it, can't get out of the way of it, and inevitably end up smooshed. Flattened by progress.

    I can relate.




    Two weeks ago I bought a new cell phone. One with a touch pad. I did my research, went into a store and poked at the one I liked, emailed my buddy who tests phones for a living and she gave her stamp of approval to my phone choice. Got it activated and left the store. That's the one I bought, there on the left.


    I could not make a phone call. I couldn't get the dang thing to let me into my contact list to find the number. I had to go to a parking lot, stop, get out the quick start guide, and look at the instructions to make a call.


    Later I realized my pictures had not transferred from my old phone when they fixed up my new SIM card. Hey, I was just proud that I actually took pictures with a freakin' phone. But now I was going to lose them. So I took it back to the store. Cutie pie behind the phone counter, who was about 20, poked around in the phone's menu.

    "You can bluetooth them," Cutie Pie said.

    "What?"

    "You can bluetooth them to your new phone."


    Now I will admit that when bluetooth technology arrived in the world, I pumped my fist in the air and said, "yessssssss!" Because I have spent so much of my life driving long-distance, and having to do other stuff WHILE driving, I immediately saw the beauty of a tiny earpiece through which I could operate my cell phone. I was instantly hooked.


    But I can send pictures from my old, dead phone, to my new, cool phone using bluetooth? I stared for a minute. Six months ago I couldn't change phones and keep my same phone number (this is an exaggeration, I realize, but it's that speed thing again..time has collapsed and I'm behind.) Cutie Pie obviously sensed my distress, even though she never stopped punching buttons and looking at the phones. She held my old one in one hand, and the new one in the other hand, and punched buttons on both at the same time.

    "Let me see what you're doing," I said. "So I can watch what menus you're navigating through to do this."

    "Really it would be easier," Cutie Pie said, "if you got somebody you know to do it for you....." She paused as she punched more buttons. "You know, like....a kid."

    And that's when I knew.

    I am a wooly worm.

    A hapless,fuzzy weather prognosticator, tottering through a doppler radar world. Overwhelmed by the slick, fast, digital machine of progress. And although I race at breakneck wooly-worm speed across the pavement, I am destined to be flattened. A middle-aged chick who needs to ask a little kid to help her understand her stinkin' phone.


    This has not always been the case. I was once technologically on the ball. I could operate any kind of recording or sound reproduction equipment, do light and sound production for stage and broadcast, and set up satellite links for television remotes. I could make any number of international long-distance calls or have directory assistance billed to my home phone number without ever once speaking to a live person. I could do it just by punching numbers into the...uhm.........well....the pay phone.


    But between then and now, digital technology happened, ones and zeroes took over the world, and somewhere along the way I...well, I grew fuzz.

    I resisted technology, I suppose, because I hate, on principle, to embrace something that is old before I open the box, and also because I think it's a little silly to believe that I NEED to be able to take videos and then email them to friends ALL WITH MY PHONE. Perhaps it's my resistance to the instant-gratification society we've become. NOOOOOO, I can't wait to get home to do this. I must email it NOW. They must see it noooooooowwwwwwwwww or we will all die.

    Never mind the piles of cell phones, like this pile on the right, which are going into landfills due to this ravenous hunger for disposable technology. The speed of it...well, that's another thing. There's no time to smell the roses. Heck, we'll just generate them digitally right here in front of us. Yes, they're flat, and they smell a bit like rose-scented plastic, but what the hey, they sure are FAST!

    Blech.

    Alas, the tide of technology has overtaken me. I had a pivotal birthday a month ago. Not one of the BIG pivotal ones, but pivotal enough. And for this birthday, which made me feel not just old, but olde, I got......drum roll please..... an iPod. A pretty purple one, specially engraved with a poem Steve wrote for me. My friend, Adam, who is MUCH younger than I am, came over and helped me figure it out. I have 58 songs loaded so far.



    Then a few days later I got a cool cable that lets me play my iPod over my car stereo, which is awesome. Then a couple of weeks later I got the touchpad phone. (NO, I do NOT have internet on my phone. Yet.) Today I got two gigs of new RAM for my desktop, to speed up my digital world and......another drum roll please.....a wireless router.


    I'm typing this blog and posting it to the internet while I sit on a stool at my kitchen counter. I'm feeling distinctly less fuzzy. I am being assimilated. Clearly, resistance is futile.

    The guy who sold me the wireless router was NOT the same Cutie Pie who told me, in so many words, that I was a wooly worm, but he was much younger than I. Still, he was nice enough to say, "I've worked with computers all my life, but I took two years off from the business a while back, and I had to study to catch up. It happens to everybody."

    Maybe.


    I do not like that it has happened to me. Wooly worms are cool, but I do not enjoy being one.


    And yet I have one last holdout. I refuse to text. That's a whole nuther sore subject, and this blog is already too long. Hmmm....perhaps I am clinging to a bit of wooly-ness after all.

    So tell me, Banditas and friends,

    Are there any other Techno-wooly worms out there?

    Do you jump on new technology the minute it arrives?

    Or do you cling to your old stuff until it no longer functions, the way I hung onto my cool pink Razr phone until its circuitry was so fried it no longer remembered who it was?

    Do you surf the web from your screened porch? Or are you stuck to a wire like the neanderthal I was?

    Does technology make you faster, or slow you down?


    Do you love it or hate it?

    And do you have wooly worms where you live?


    If so, what color are they this year?


    Will it be a hard winter, or an easy one?


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