Ravishing in Red

Still working on the manuscript... Every time I think Boyfriend Club is almost done, there's more to do. But I stand by the conviction that good writing is good re-writing and I want this book to rock like an earthquake. So this weekend, I'm totally going without any distractions. I won't even be answering the phone, unless it's to call Mel, who I have to confer with several times a day. I'm sure she's completely sick of me and my book. Too bad for her (insert evil laugh in here).

When I finally turn in this manuscript, I'm going to treat myself big. One of the things I'm going to do is read Madeline Hunter's new release Ravishing in Red. Isn't that a great title? MH is my favorite historical romance author. The book trailer is so yummy it makes my mouth water.

4 and 1/2 stars!

Andrea at The Romance Dish gave Bunco Babes Gone Wild a very tasty review and 4.5 stars. Yay! You can read about it right here. She's also giving away a copy of the book, so make sure to leave a comment!

The Boyfriend of the Month Club cover!

So I know it's a little premature, since the book doesn't come out till December, but I just can't keep it in any longer. I have a cover! At least I have a preliminary cover. I really hope nothing changes because I really just love this look so much. It captures everything about the book.

Here's a sneak preview of the unofficial back cover copy:

Stud? Dud? Stick in the mud?
Are all the good ones taken?

At thirty, Grace O’Bryan has dated every loser that Daytona Beach has to offer. After the ultimate date-from-hell, Grace decides to take matters into her own hands and turns her dwindling book club into a Boyfriend of the Month Club, where women can come together to discuss the eligible men in their community. Where are the real live twenty-first century versions of literary heroes such as Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy?

Could it be successful and handsome Brandon Farrell, who is willing to overlook his disastrous first date with Grace and offers financial help for her parents’ failing Florida gift shop? Or maybe sexy dentist Joe Rosenblum, who’s great with a smile but not so great at commitment? Unfortunately, just like books, men cannot always be judged by their covers…

Things I have to be thankful for

Thanksgiving is ten months away (or 2 months ago, depending on on how you see things) but I woke up this morning bright and early, thankful for so many things.

1. I am thankful that everyone in my family is alive and well. My 16 year-old daughter totaled her car yesterday morning on the way to the school. About ten minutes after she walked out the door I got a call on my cell phone from her and I just knew she'd been in an accident. It's been raining for a couple of days straight with some severe flooding in town and I've cringed every time she's gotten in the car. The good news is no one in the 3 car accident got hurt. And the accident wasn't her fault;) The bad news is that now we have to get a new car, but I'm not complaining. The alternative scenario is too scary to think about.

2. I'm almost done with The Boyfriend of the Month Club. It's rough and needs polishing, but I think I'm going to make my deadline. Yay! Plus, I got to see an unofficial sneak peak at the cover and all I can tell you is that the Cover Gods have been very very good to me.

3. Today I have my FPHRW meeting. I love these meetings. I always get so revved up. Plus, honestly, I need to leave the house. This hermit/writing thing is not good for me.

4. I have a hair appointment Monday morning, which means my kudzu growing roots will go bye-bye.

5. And lastly, I recently received this very nice review for Bunco Babes Gone Wild from the Chicklit Romance Writers.

So life is good.

Turn in your Hilton Honor points to help Earthquake victims

This morning, after seeing yet another front page of the horrendous devastation done by the earthquake in Haiti, Mike Geraci turned to me in disgust and said, "Why it always the poorest people in the world always get the shaft?"

I wish I had an answer to that.

Because I'm writing like a fiend right now, I'm pretty much ignoring my email. But I had to open this one. It's brilliant. For every 10,000 points you turn in, Hilton will donate $25 to the Red Cross Haitian relief effort. I don't know if other companies are offering similar deals, but it's a fantastic idea. I turned in all my points (which I rarely even remember to ever use anyway). If you're a member of the Hilton Honors program, all you'll need to provide is your name, your HH act number and how many points you'd like to donate (in increments of 10,000).

Dear Hilton HHonors Members: Help the Earthquake Victims in Haiti.

Hilton HHonors® has partnered with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help victims affected by the January 12th earthquake in Haiti. If you would like to support the effort we have arranged for HHonors members to be able to donate points to support relief efforts. For every 10,000 points you donate, we'll send US$25 to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. If you would like to join us in supporting the victims of the earthquake in Haiti by donating points please visit us here.

Mold-A-Rama!

Ah, there's nothing like the feel of a freshly made warm plastic toy in your hand. Put one up to your nostrils, and it even smells like summer vacation. And fighting with your sister in the back seat of the family car (no seat belts required) and drinking icy cold RC cola out of a glass bottle.

One of the best parts about writing my new book has been the research. If you're old enough to remember Mold-A-Rama machines, then you might get a kick out of knowing that one of these ancient puppies is featured in my new book, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, a romantic comedy due out December, 2010.

A lot of the action in the story takes place at Florida Charlies, an old fashioned Florida tourist trap. Although Florida Charlies is a figment of my imagination, it's modeled after the dozens of roadside stops and attractions that were so popular in Florida during the 1960's when I was but a wee thing. And the best part of a lot of these places were the Mold-A-Rama machines. For about a quarter, or maybe 50 cents, you could watch this strange space-age looking machine make a wax figurine just for you. My favorite was a bird figurine from Busch Gardens (Tampa) which I understand now has some of these almost antique machines still in production. MOSI (Museum of Space and Industry in Tampa), and the Tampa Lowry Park Zoo as well as the Miami zoo are also just a few of the other places that still have working Mold-A-Rama machines.

Once I get my book done and my website revamped I'm going to dedicate a section to some of the research I did. I know, nerdy, of me, isn't it? But I just can't help it. These things were just so much damn fun. Almost as much fun as writing about one of them.

The Help

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but being that I'm in the middle of a book deadline, I'm lucky to be brushing my teeth right now (okay, I do brush my teeth several times a day, it's washing my hair that's taken a sideline). I know there are writers who don't read while they're in deep writing mode, but I'm not one of them. It would be like asking me to stop breathing. I simply can't. I mean, there has to be some kind of break in the day, and I always, always, always, read before going to sleep at night.

A few weeks ago I read The Help (a book that has intrigued me from the moment I first heard of it). I loved it. Absolutely loved it. I cried, I laughed and I mostly marveled at what a fantastic writer Kathryn Stockett is (which means I desperately hate her, of course) Seriously, Kathryn, if you're listening, you make me want to be a better writer.

THE HELP

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

Contest Winner!

Just to dispel any crazy notions out there, I'm still alive. With a January 25th deadline for my next book, I've been hibernating in my writing cave aka closet every spare second I can get. The new book is coming along well (hopefully that's not a delusion), although I always despair that it's never good enough and that my editor will hate it. I'll let you know next month how that goes;)

So last month I ran a review contest. Congratulations to Terri D of Lexington Park, Maryland! She won a $50 gift card to Borders, a book bag from Books-A-Million (cuz I like to share the love) and all the books you see pictured above (some of my very favorite reads!)

Thank you to all of you who entered and to all of you who have taken the time to write a review of my books, especially during the busy holiday season. It really means a lot!