World Peace And Organized Closets

My dreams in life are simple:

1. World peace.
2. Keep the people I love healthy, safe and happy.
3. That my books become wildly successful.
4. That the Noles win another football championship under Bobby Bowden.
5. And that I one day, organize all the closets in my house.

Is that too much to ask for?

One day, I dropped my husband off at the aiport for a 2 week business trip and left him thinking I was finally going to orgazize all the closets in the house. I started writing a novel instead. Now 6 years and 4 manuscripts later, I'm finally going to start organizing those closets. Wish me luck. Here'a an ugly preview of this weekend's job:

Laundry room, laundry room shelves and kid's hall closet

Bunco Babes Gone Wild!

I can't believe it's already time to cover conference my 2nd book. My editor contacted me last week and asked what I envisioned on the cover. I always feel so un-artistic at times like this. I swear, I'm a totally left-brained person (I'm not even sure how I manage to write fiction). So I had to call Mel and ask her opinion (Louisa was on the eve of deadline, otherwise she'd have gotten a call too) and she gave me a few things to pass along. Otherwise, I think I might have been blank. I'll just have to trust the folks at Berkley to come up with something fantastic.

And speaking of fantastic, I got my cover copy today. I really love it! I think they got the spirit of the book perfectly. Here's the back cover blurb:

BUNCO BABES GONE WILD

Georgia Meyer needs some time to think—and what better place to get her head on straight than Whispering Bay, Florida, in the company of her sister Frida and her sister’s Bunco friends, better known as the Bunco Babes? Georgia’s boyfriend—and boss—Spencer Moody made a slight miscalculation in the romance department and gave her a calculator instead of an engagement ring. So she needs some sisterly advice, in between rolling dice and drinking frozen margaritas, as to her next move.

While considering subtracting Spencer, Georgia meets the very handsome Dave Hernandez. Unfortunately when a Bunco night gets a little out of hand, Georgia reveals more of herself to Dave than she intended. Now, as she helps the Babes prepare for a Bunco Black Tie fundraiser, she needs to search her heart—and keep her shirt on—long enough to decide if a love affair with Dave might be a dream come true or just a flash in the pan.

I'm on Amazon.com!

Pretty cool, huh?

Mel found my first book Bunco Babes Tell All available for purchase on Amazon last week. She called just as Crystal put the color on my hair. There I was, pacing around Red Hots (my hair salon) with my hair sticking up on end, hyperventilating.

It's a pretty awesome feeling.

Of course, it's early and the cover isn't up on the site yet, but this means people can start ordering my book!

Good Dialogue and warm garlic cure everything

It's no secret I love old movies. But somehow, I've always managed to miss The Lady Eve. It's been on my netflix list forever, but kept getting bumped down for something else. I finally watched it last night. I might have to watch it again tonight. That's how much I enjoyed it. There was so much terrific dialogue and I know I missed half of it because I was laughing so hard. Plus I had garlic in one of my ears, so my hearing was a little under par.

Let me back up a day.

I went to bed Thursday with a mild sore throat and woke up Friday morning with an earache. My mother-in-law swears that sticking a piece of warm garlic in your ear helps cure earaches. By Friday night I was miserable. I thought, why not? I warmed up the garlic, stuck it in my ear, and curled up to watch T.V. The instant I saw "The Lady Eve" pop up on my list of Free Movies On Demand, I clicked it.

Let me tell you, they just don't write dialogue like that anymore.

The plot is deliciously simple: Card shark/con artist Barbara Stanwyck tries to scam bumbling/handsome/naive millionaire Henry Fonda. Of course they fall in love. But the ending isn't exactly typical.

Watching Barbara Stanwyck outwit/outsmart/outplay Henry Fonda is like eating chocolate cake. And the fact that I woke up this morning without my earache is the whipped cream on top of it.

Done!

I sent off my finished manuscript Bunco Babes Gone Wild to NY last Monday. Now I've got my fingers crossed and hope my editor loves it as much as I do. I know they'll be revisions, but I really think the story is all there.

Of course, all the crunch writing I've done the past 2 weeks have left me exhausted. My throat aches and my ear feels funny. I don't do sick very well (don't have the time, either). I'm hoping a good night's sleep will fix all that. Ever the optimist, I am.

Oh, and for any writers out there wondering if they should book signings, go check out Gerri Russell's great booksigning tips right HERE. With my first book coming out next May, I've already been stressing a little about this. She makes it sound so easy! I'm sure it's not, but as usual, her advice is fantastic.

On Stephen King

Mel pays tribute to Stephen King over at the Knight Agency Blog today. It's scary stuff. Go check it out HERE.

Procrastination City

That's the name of my new town.

I bet you've lived there too. At least once in your life.

I've lived there a lot. I might even retire there. You can read about it in the Title Wave Blog.

How I spent my weekend

Or rather, my last, last weekend. Technically, I'm not supposed to be doing anything but writing (and working, etc...) but a girl has to take time out to have a little fun.

That's a picture of the lovely Deidre Knight (friend and fantastic agent) at her recent book signing in Madison. A good time was had by all. The book signing was held at this nice little restaurant in Madison called Town 220. Madison is the cutest town ever. It's so cute, books are set there ( Marley Gibson's "Ghost Huntress" series and Mary Kay Andrew's "Hissy Fit") to name two.



Deidre was signing copies of her new book RED FIRE. The book is the first in a series featuring yummy immortal Spartans. I can't wait to tear into my copy. But I'm saving it for after I finish my first draft of Bunco Babes Gone Wild. It will be my reward, so to speak.

Author Talk!

I took this off Gena Showalter's blog. It's just too delicious! Deidre Knight's new book Red Fire comes out Oct 7. Don't miss it!

The Ex List

I need to get hooked to another television show like I need a hole in the head, but tonight I'll either be watching or definitely tivo'ing CBS's new show The Ex List.

I can kick myself for not thinking of the premise first. It would make a great book.

What if you learned you had already met your soul mate? When a bachelorette-party psychic reveals to Bella Bloom that she has already met the true love of her life, she goes on a quest to find this mystery man from her past. With a limited time to locate him, Bella puts her normal skepticism aside and, with the help of her friends, lists all the males she has dated, befriended or even briefly encountered in her lifetime. It’s an illuminating and sometimes humiliating search, but Bella knows it might be her only chance to find “the one.”

The actress in the show was the chick with the fake (or not fake?) amnesia from Grey's Anatomy, that story line being one of the many reasons I don't watch GA anymore (I have to agree with Katherine Heigl- the writing on GA leaves a lot to be desired) but I'm always harder on medical shows than other genre-dramas, so I'm probably not the most neutral person on that score.

I really hope I like this show. In my opinion, the world needs more good romantic comedy!

Bunco Octoberfest

Last night the Bunco Broads had Octoberfest at Joan's house. A good time was had by more than all (that's all I say about that). Joan outdid herself. She served bratwurst and knockwurst (although I always get those two confused), sauerkraut, potatoes, pickles, beer, wine, you name it. It was all muy yummy:)

I had the distinction of rolling 2 boobies, which means I wore the boobie hat most of the night. I'm kicking myself for not having brought my camera, because really, the boobie hat looked more like pimp apparel. Believe me, when I wore this hat, the dice were actually afraid of me.

I also brought my computer along so I could share my book cover to Bunco Babes Tell All. The Broads all loved it! I wish I could post a pic of my cov er but unfortunately it's not in jpeg form and I have no clue how to convert it, if it's even convert-able that is, so I'll have to wait to share.

On another note, I'm completely Dunder-Mifflined (yes, that's my own made up word) that The Office will not be on tonight. The VP debate is apparently knocking out regularly scheduled programs. Grrrr... Jim's proposal to Pam last week was the best. After half a season of trying to find the perfect way to pop the question, he drops to his knees in front of a gas station while it's pouring rain and blurts it out. Romantic? Yes! It was spontaneous and so unexpected. I had tears in my eyes. Pam, being no dummy, said yes. I swear, Jim was my soulmate in another life (no disrespect meant to Mike Geraci- my soulmate in this one)

Project Ugly

Thanks to Loinfruit (eldest daughter) and a little help from Mel, Kristen and Kiwana, for the past 2 seasons, I've been totally hooked on Project Runway. Last night's challenge was a fun one. Outed designers from this season came back to pair up with the remaining contestants to come up with an Avant-garde look inspired by an astrological sign.



Since I'm a fashion idiot I had to go look up the phrase. I mean, I sort of knew what it meant, but couldn't really put it into words. Here's what wikipedia had to say:

Avant-garde (pronounced [avɑ̃gaʁd] in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard".[1] The adjective form is used in English, to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics.
Avant-garde represents a pushing of the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm.


Notice that nowhere in that definition is the word UGLY mentioned. Of course, ugly is in the eye of the beholder. But really, people, take a look at this:

The outfit on the left was designed by Blayne, who went home last night.


The stunner on the right was Kenley's creation. She should have gone home last night too, but Terri, who's just a tad more irritating than Kenley got the boot. I think the judges were tired of her attitude. I think this was supposed to represent Aquiruis? But I don't get it.


















Jerell was the winner last night, although I wasn't crazy about this design.








These were my personal faves.
Leanne on the left, who, I personally find a little wimpy in personality, but her designs are really growing on me. I think the only reason she didn't win is because she's won the past 2 challenges. But as a Scorpio, I found this design to be brilliantly dead on.


Same with Korto. I LOVE this look on the right. Korto is by far, the most consistent designer in my opinion. Other than one dud look this season, the rest of her stuff has been dead on.

Is that a hammer in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

Okay, that line is corny as all out, but apparently Mel won't be satisfied until I blog about the hunky guy who came to fix my bathroom the other day.

Currently, the kid's bathroom (which was infested by termites but that's a long story I won't bore anyone with), has been in a state of disarray for the past 2 months and is being renovated. I can't wait until it's finished. Seriously. We only have 2 bathrooms in the house and it's been hell, what with 2 teenagers, one of which I now realize showers for at least 30 minutes a day. But I shouldn't complain. There are people all over the world without decent plumbing so whining about my termite-infested bathroom makes me feel a little selfish, but I digress...

So there I was, pounding away on my laptop computer when my door bell rings. It's the 2 guys who are going to work on my bathroom today. One of whom is Dave Hernandez (the hero in my current wip- Bunco Babes Gone Wild). Of course, this guy wasn't really Dave H, since Dave H is a totally made up guy in my head, but honestly, he was a dead-ringer for the guy in my imagination. They even share the same occupation.

Talk about inspiration. How many excuses can I make to go "check out the progress" they're making?

My muse is now on over-drive as I discreetly try to catch any glimpse of my Dave-look-alike as he makes his frequent trips from the bathroom to the front lawn where they have set up some sort of lumber-yard, I kid you not.

My fingers fly all over my lap top.

At the end of the day, the guys ask me to come see their work. They want to make sure I'm satisfied before they leave (won't even go there)...

So I amble over to my bathroom, which seems very tiny now, with these 2 guys and me trapped in there, as I ooh and ah over their work.

"Great job!" I exclaim.

Both guys smile.

I turn red. I can feel it. My Dave-look-alike is smiling straight at me. He knows I've been crushing on him all day long.

And suddenly, the scene I've been working on takes a whole new meaning and before I know it, that corny line ends up in my manuscript. I'm just not sure who says it yet... him, or her:)

BUNCO BABES TELL ALL goes to NY!

Last night, I hit a writing milestone. I sent my first edited manuscript back to NY!

I have to admit, I was pretty overwhelmed when I ripped open my FedEx package and found my first ever set of copy edits. There were all these blue squiggly marks over it, most of which I was clueless about. It looked like a high school freshman English project:(

But thanks to Mel and the Internet I was able to figure it out.

Of course, I procrastinated doing my edits until I had absolutely no choice. Mostly, because the thought of rereading my manuscript yet one more time was like going to the dentist. And partly because I was terrified that I'd read it again and proclaim it to be crap. Happily, only a teeny part of it read like crap to me (which Mel says is normal) but overall I was pretty happy with it.

I have to give a big shout-out to the girl at the Kinkos on Thomasville Rd who helped me last night. She copied all 423 pages of it in color (and only charged me for black and white), then helped me find a suitable, ie- CHEAP package to send my baby off. In the end, we used the same exact bubble wrapped big-ass envelope it came in, so we were being environmentally correct too. Talk about excellent service:)

Back to Bunco and Sangria de cava

Last night, my Bunco group, the soon-to-be-made-famous by my books (ha, ha) Bunco Broads of Tallahassee had our annual planning session. An extremely good time was had by all.

Debbie (my fellow Bunco Broad co-founder) hosted and served up this most delicious (and I cannot emphasize that enough) Sangria de cava. The recipe is from the famous Columbia Restaurant, an Ybor City tradition since 1905. For those of you who don't know, Ybor City is the old Cuban section of Tampa- think rolled cigars and Cuban coffee- two of the best smells in the world.

I had no idea that The Columbia gave out recipes on their website. To be honest, I, who consider myself just a little bit computer savvy (don't laugh, Mel) didn't even now that the Columbia had a website. But I do now :)

Back from the Beach

I'm back from my writing vacation in which Mel, Louisa and I accomplished much and a good time was had by all. Still not unpacked of course (much to Mike Geraci's chagrin) but if I give in and put the suitcase away too early he might think his procrastinating wife has been abducted by aliens. Wouldn't want that, would we?

I blogged about my days on the RR (redneck riviera) over on the Title Wave blog. Go check it out:)

Mel's got a new website!

Mel has a rockin new website Bitchin Ficion!

On another note, I am totally in love with Hank the Clydesdale. Apparently this was a superbowl commercial, but since I didn't watch the superbowl, I missed it. Thanks to the Olympics, I'm now catching up on all these fantastic commercials.

Charmed and Ready

Isn't that a great title? And it's got an awesome cover to go along with it. Candace Havens' 2nd book in her campy witch series is being rereleased in Mass Market Paper Back format. Here's a blurb on the book:

After spending most of her life single-practically an occupational hazard for a witch-Bronwyn's finally found a sexy warlock to love. But it's going to take more than a few love spells to keep him from getting jealous about her latest gig-protecting a rock star named Zane from the creepy Goth guys in cloaks who keep showing up at his concerts and zapping his mojo. Bronwyn would like nothing better than to blow them up in an inferno of Love That Red smoke, but they're proving elusive. And in the meantime-what girl wouldn't want to hang with the hottest man in music?

You can find out more info on Cadace and her books here.

I'm so praying that the Berkley Cover Gods give my Bunco series an equally awesome cover:)

I can't believe it's over

So America's newest Favorite Dancer is Joshua. I never voted for him, but I have to admit, he was awesome. My personal fave was the runner up, Twitch- a name I'm planning to steal for a character some day. Even though Twitch wasn't the best technical dancer, I always loved watching him.


Thing's I'll miss most about the show:

Cat Deeley's gorgeous self- her beautiful smile, her sometimes outrageous outfits, her not-so-funny-but-who-gives-a shit-because-she's-just-so -lovable jokes, and her ability to make even the booted contestants think they've just won by giving them a hug.

The awesome dancing.

Watching what Mark does to his hair for each routine.

Watching Courtney and Gev (who never disappointed me).I really wish Courtney would break up with her boyfriend for Gev. They'd just be so damn cute together.

Hearing Mary Murphy scream someone was on the Hot Tamale Train:)


Things I WON'T miss:


Mia Michaels and the sour-puss look on her face when someone out-choreographs her (although that is pretty rare, because she is a kick-ass choreographer)

Nigel's Electric Smile. Seriously, I think Nigel accidentally knocked his teeth out during an especially dangerous tap routine and he had to have veneers before the art of veneers was perfected. Nigel, you're a billionaire. Get yourself some teeth that fit!

My poor DVR is going to go through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The only 2 things I have scheduled now is Project Runway and Madmen. Until the new fall line up, of course :)

Insomnia and Happy Anniversary to me

It's 3:23 am and I'm still up. No big surprise. With my work schedule, I'm used to having insomnia. I just hate that it hits at the worst times. Tomorrow or rather today, is my 23rd wedding anniversary. Mike Geraci and I are going to celebrate in some special way. We'll see. All I know is that I'm dragging him to see Mama Mia. Everyone has seen it and loved it and now it's my turn:)

So I'm trying to take advantage of the fact that I'm up. I should write. My second Bunco book is due November 1 and I really thought I'd be a lot further along than I am now. I'm such a slow writer though, and I have to stop to self-edit. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help myself. And it doesn't help when Mel tempts me to stop writing by gushing over Emily Giffin's newest book Love The One You're With. So what do I do? I run to the bookstore and buy it, despite the fact that I was saving it as a treat to take to the beach later this month. I read it in one day. She's such an awesome writer, you can't put it down. I won't give away the ending, but I will say, I would have ended it a little differently.

Okay, so no more distractions, I'm determined to write until I fall asleep. Hopefully it won't be my own writing that does the trick.