Worth staying up for....

I love finding new authors to read. So when I was browsing through my local Borders a couple of weeks ago and spotted Forget About It, by Caprice Crane, I thought, why not?

I was more than pleasantly surprised. What a fun read! To make it even more interesting, the author is the daughter of Tina Louise. Remember her? Ginger from Gilligan's Isle? I sooo loved Ginger. Mary Ann and her pigtails made me puke. But Ginger. I mean, there was glamour. Forget that they were on a deserted tropical island. Ginger had plenty of blue eyeshadow and sparkly sequined gowns to last a lifetime of being marooned.

I can't recommend this book enough. Next time I hit the bookstore I'm going to pick up her first book, Stupid and Contagious. Great title, huh?

Fed Ex that Puppy!

I mailed off my Golden Heart entry today. Woo Hoo! Afterwards, I called Mel to celebrate and while we were talking, it occurred to me that this friggin contest has so far cost me almost 100 bucks- $50 for the entry fee, $21 to run off copies at Kinkos, and another $20-something bucks to fed-ex the package to Houston.

Of course, I could have probably saved at least 10 bucks if I'd mailed the thing anytime other than the last minute.

Why I waited till the last minute, is a Freudian mystery. I finished the manuscript almost 2 months ago, so I could have had it in snail mail, no problem. But I concluded a long time ago that I'm somewhat of a thrill monkey. Not the kind who likes roller coasters. The kind who likes waiting till the very last second to turn something in. Plus, I think a part of me was hoping that I'd be ineligible for the GH. But alas, no takers yet. As of today I've received 4 rejections from publishers on The Church of Bunco.

But I'm not discouraged.

I love that story, my cps love the story, and my agent loves the story. One publisher is very interested and my agent has yet to hear from the six or other so editors that still have it on their desk, so there is massive hope in the air. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I'm Not a 9-1-1 Girl

Honestly, I function really well as a nurse.

And I've never shied away from the occasional kid's emergency of broken bones, etc... But there's something about fire that brings out the worst in me.

So last night we had our first real cold weather of the year. 50 degrees is cold in Florida. I was feeling pukey and was laying down on the couch, when I decided that a nice little fire would help soothe my stomach. Mike was still at work, so I yelled for the 16 year-old to emerge from his room and his Guitar Hero to make me a fire. (This consists of bringing in a Duraflame log from the garage) Now, 16 year old is enchanted with anything that produces a spark so he is more than happy to do my bidding.

The chemically treated log immediately set off a beautiful and warm looking little fire. I was content to simply lie on my couch and watch it, until I realized the room was getting smoky.

Crap! The chute (right word?) was closed.

I ran and tried to open the chute. But of course, the chute was friggin hot (as there was this nice little fire blazing) so I couldn't open it. I grabbed for the fireplace instruments, all which proved totally useless in helping me get this chute open. The 16 year old was trying his hardest to open the chute, and my oldest was tossing Morton's salt onto the flames in hopes of extinguishing it.

"Call your dad!" I yell pathetically. "He'll know what to do!"

Mike Geraci's advice consisted of this, "Maria, calm down and open the chute."

Yeah. Easier said than done. Now the fire alarms are going off. Lot of help you were, Mike Geraci.

But it's good to know those fire alarms work.

At my wit's end, I grabbed a large pot from the kitchen, filled it with water and tossed it into the fireplace. Yes! Half the fire extinguished. One more potful of water and my fire was out. Of course, now my living room was filled with smoke and my fireplace was a mess, but I didn't have to call 9-1-1 because my living room was on fire.

The funny (or not so funny) thing about this is that this exact same thing happened to my parents last year.

They really ought to put warning labels on fireplaces for us Floridians.

My Friends Can Write

It's Day 5 of my mini-break from work and I'm almost converted back to being a day person. I've slept, read, caught up on some tv and even have some color in my cheeks. I really have to find a way to keep this mini-break going...

Last night I finished reading Kate's new manuscript, Simply Sinful (soon to be pubbed by Kensington). Wow. It's fantastic. Better than fantastic. And even though I'm not completely sure a couple of the sexual positions are doable (Kate says they are, and I'll take her word for it) it's one of the best, most emotion filled erotic reads ever. I can't wait for the first book Simply Sexual to come out. I only got to read 3 chapters of that one, but my appetite has definitely been whetted.

A couple of weeks ago, I finished Terri Garey's debut book, Dead Girls Are Easy. This one is another wowser. I especially loved the voodoo scenes. Very spooky, yet, funny too. I want to know who comes up with Terri's titles. She has some great ones. A Match Made in Hell, and If You've Got It, Haunt It are the follow ups to Dead Girls.

And now, last but not least, I'm reading fellow AT sister, Gerri Russell's Warrior Bride. I'm only a few chapters in, but already I can see why Gerri is making a name for herself in historical romance. I'm totally drawn in to these characters. The hero, Wolf, ( very sexy name for a very sexy guy) is exactly my type of hero. Mysterious, quiet and all alpha male. I'm having to pace myself on reading this because I'm determined to savor every bit of it. It's been awhile since I've read a medieval I could get into.

What Would Jane Do?

So yesterday was my Birthday. I always feel so blessed (for lack of a better word) to have such great friends. My phone rang off the hook yesterday with well wishers. Thanks everyone!

Mel sent me this very cool Jane Austen doll.

Isn't she awesome looking? (okay, and just a tad bit scary, too) LOL.

She's sitting in a place of honor in my writing closet so I can look up at her for inspiration. Would would Jane Do? Or Write? or Say? is the new mantra of the week.

I'm off for a week now from the House of Horrors (aka: Labor and Delivery). We've been incredibly busy at work lately. Don't these women know that Oct/Nov are low birth months?? Apparently not, as they are coming in in droves. I was supposed to fly out to Texas to visit Rhoda, but I cancelled and I feel like a shit for doing that, but I'm literally exhausted. After spending the last few weeks working, doing kids' activities, and polishing up my manuscript to send out, I'm so sleep deprived I'm not sure what sleep is anymore. Last night I took some Tylenol PM and that helped. I slept for about 6 hours (the longest I've slept in one cycle for weeks). I plan to spend the next 6 days cleaning my pigsty of a house, gearing up for the holidays, sleeping, and reading Kate's fabulous new manuscript. Woo hoo!