Tall, Dark and Handsome Blond Men

Pardon my descent into Beefcake. But I just have to talk about blond men.

"Tall, dark and handsome" is more than a romance novel cliche, it's the accepted description for the perfect man. I remember Mel and I once having this discussion about using this description for a blond hero. I was like, "but if he's blond, can you still use the term dark?" (unless he's Wesley Snipes with a dye job)
Mel thought yes, that the term had become a generalized description for "hot".

When I create a hero for one of my books, I use a real live guy to draw inspiration from. I've used Josh Lucas twice now. Once for my (yes, mine) 'Miles Mountkeefe' in my non-pubbed historical, "The War Bride", and I'm recycling him as my redneck Chief of Police, Zeke Grant, in "Bunco Babes Back in Action" (the proposal I'm working on and hope to sell- keep your fingers crossed for me). So I guess you can say I have a thing for Josh Lucas. Can you blame me?

I'm also particularly drawn to Daniel Craig (yum), Simon Baker (he's not just yours, Mel) and the delicious Rupert Penry-Jones.

I'll leave you with this little gift from You-Tube and Rupert. Wait till the end. There's a surprise! (if you're easily offended, don't watch)

My New Cover!

So... since I posted the pic to my new cover for Bunco Babes Gone Wild (see below) from a link on my photobucket account, it won't let me post the pic AND write script. I'm sure there's a way to do this, but I can't quite figure it out:)

Anyhoo, there's my cover. I LOVE it!

And if you have a minute, go check out my post on High Concept over at the Title Wave blog.

Promotion- Learning as I go, or NO dice tattos on naked butts

I'm such a man.
I never stop to ask for directions, let alone read the directions to any new gadget or gizmo I buy. I figure if I have to stop and read directions, then it's too complicated, so I move on. Usually to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how it works on my own (unless Mel knows, then I simply ask her). I've tried to break this pattern, but I simply can't. I think it's just the way I'm wired. So I learn as I go- by trial and error. I'm pretty thick-headed, so I think it's the only way something sinks in. Like this book thing. I have 2 books coming out this year. I've done all I can artistically- I've conceptualized them, written them, edited them, etc. The next part in the process is the promotion of those books. Since I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing I've hired a publicist. But there's still a lot as an author that's up to me.

That's where I'm learning as I go.

Now that the revisions for my 2nd Bunco book are done (yes!) I actually have some time to devote to promotion. I've discovered Facebook (I mean, really discovered it), online Solitaire (whoops), and checking out the stats on Amazon.com. My first book, Bunco Babes Tell All (which can be pre-ordered by the way) has been anywhere from 30 something thousand to the millions in presales stats. It's a mystery. In one day, my book can leap thousands of numbers. Does that mean one person bought my book in that day? Or maybe ten? Or maybe none, and someone else's book has changed its status, thus changing mine? Who knows? I have a feeling this obsessive game could take up a lot of my time.

Right now though, my focus has been on my new website. This process has gone on for over 6 months. The first web designer I worked with wanted to read my book so that he could get a "flavor" of what I wrote. Great, I thought. So I emailed him my manuscript. About 2 months later, he gave me his first mock-up. It was so horrible, I can't even describe it, but I'll try... I was on a writing retreat at the beach with Louisa and Mel and I didn't have Internet access. So in an excited tizzy, we drove to a Panera where they had free WiFi and flipped open my laptop . All we could do was stare in horror. There, on the Home page of what could be my website was a picture of a naked woman's butt with a pair of dice tattooed on her cheek. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In the end, we all laughed. I don't write anything even faintly resembling erotica. So I have no idea how reading my manuscript could have produced that image. Go figure.

On to my 2nd web designer. I told him about the fiasco of the dice tattoo on the naked butt. He laughed (a good sign, I thought) and we talked for a bit on the phone. I immediately got a good gut reaction. In October, he came up with the first design for my website. I loved it. The colors were a bit off, but the concept was exactly what I was looking for. Since I'm doing my own copy, he then asked me for the copy so that he could get a better idea of how to set things up. At the time, I was in the middle of deadline for my 2nd book, so I couldn't get him the copy for almost another month. I had no idea how difficult it was to write copy for a website. I must have studied dozens and dozens of author websites in an attempt to figure out what I wanted. In the end, I sent him 20 pages (copy and detailed instructions for each page). I should be seeing a finalized version this week. I can't wait!

Orgasmic Brownies

Jane, one of the midwives I work with brought a plate of brownies to the hospital the other night. They were, quite simply, the best brownies I've ever tasted. So I promptly went to Publix the next morning and bought the ingredients to make a batch. Mike Geraci brought some to work and I'm still getting rave comments from his co-workers. So this afternoon I made another batch to have for the holidays because really, you can never have enough chocolate in the house. The recipe is from foodnetwork.com and it's called Outrageous Brownies. (Although they really ought to change the title).

Don't be scared away by the "difficult" level. If I can make them, anyone can. Also, don't skip out on the instructions to refrigerate well before cutting. I really think that adds something special to the consistency.

Ingredients
1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Kate Spade is the Devil

Yesterday, while on my trip back to Tally from my parents' house in Melbourne, I stopped at the Prime Outlet Mall outside St. Augustine in the hopes of getting a few Christmas deals. While the economy sucking is a negative for us all, the one bright shining star in this mess is that retailers are going crazy with their sales. Kate Spade had a whooping 40% off all their merchandise, a lot of which had already been marked down to begin with. I tell you, the devil himself couldn't have come up with a better deal to tempt me with. I'm so not a designer type of girl. Prada, Gucci, Coach, they all leave me cold. Kate Spade is another story all together.

But I was strong. I wasn't there to shop for myself, you see, I was there to shop for others. So after combing through the store, I wiped the drool off my chin and shut the door on Kate Spade.

I did go on to find pajamas for my girls, designer fragrances and Christmas ornaments. All at reduced prices, so the trip was a total success.

Hopefully, the January sales will be even better than the ones they're holding now. If Kate goes down to 50% I'll happily throw myself into the inferno.

Oprah is fat again

It's official. Oprah is fat again. She's going to announce it in the January issue of O magazine and start another 'lifestyle' change so she can get healthy, lose weight, and start America on another craze while probably making trillions in the process.

Honestly, with all the crap going on in the world, I really can't believe this sort of stuff makes headlines. Don't get me wrong, I really like Oprah, but please, can't she move on to something else?

In more important news (at least in my universe) I've finished my revisions for Bunco Babe Gone Wild. I didn't have a lot to do, but one of the things my editor asked me to do was to show more of my heroine's growth. So I went in and changed up one scene, which of course had a domino effect. Each scene after that was altered, so I had to go in and fix it, which led to more fixes, and, well, you get the point.

I'm printing it out this morning, finishing my Christmas decorating and then sitting down to read it again from beginning to end. Hopefully, they'll be in her inbox bright and early tomorrow.

Christmas and Revisions

My tree is in the same state it was in 6 days ago. It's up, but there are no ornaments on it yet. A few years ago I convinced Mike Geraci to buy a fake tree. It took lots and lots and lots of whining but I eventually got my way. This is the first year he actually sort of admitted something to the effect that it *was* pretty convenient to simply get your tree out of a box and put it together in a few minutes. He's softening, I tell you. Of course, once it was up, only 1 friggin strand of lights on the tree worked. I swear, he got a gleam in his green eyes with an "I told you so" look, but he was way too smart to actually say it out loud.

This weekend, I'll get around to trimming the tree and putting up the rest of the indoor decorations (I still haven't gotten around to organizing the closets but it's on my list). I also hope to get my revisions on Bunco Babes Gone Wild done and back to my editor early next week. There isn't a lot to do revision-wise, for which I'm grateful, but what I do need to do is subtle layering-in which requires a lot of going over my ms numerous times to make sure I get it just right. Hopefully much progress will be made on all fronts.

Oh, and while you're out Christmas shopping, don't forget to buy the best present of all. Books!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just put my big fat Cuban Turkey in the oven and blogged about it over on the Title Wave blog.
I wish everyone a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving!

American Title 5

I blogged over at Title Wave this morning (very early this morning). Go check it out. I had an opportunity to ask the current American Title 5 contestants a question and got some interesting answers!

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)