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.

A real live chapter!

I feel sort of like Pinocchio jumping around saying he's a real boy, but the analogy is pretty similar. I'm going to have a real live RWA chapter to belong to!

Not that I don't adore my online chapter, RWA Online. It's an awesome community of writers and I'm grateful to have them 24/7. But I've always yearned for some real -live-on-face time with other writers. It's one of the reasons I love going to conferences. Nothing beats the high you get talking about writing with other people who also love talking about writing.

Here's the link to the new chapter: Florida Panhandle Romance Writers.

Best News Evah!!!

This was announced on Publisher's Weekly today:

Rose Hilliard at St. Martin's Press preempted world rights to four books by editor-turned-author Louisa Edwards via Deidre Knight. Set amid the New York restaurant scene, the first book in the series is called Can't Stand the Heat and is slated to launch in fall 2009, with subsequent titles to appear every six months. Knight is a romance author as well as agent, and Edwards was her first editor at NAL. When Edwards left New York publishing, Knight briefly worked with Hilliard, who subsequently left for SMP.

I am so thrilled and excited for Louisa that I can't stand it!!

Writing, Motherhood and Volunteering

Ever since my kids were little, I've always volunteered at whatever function/school event/sports gig they were into. There was probably even a time when I could be considered a professional volunteer. You know the ones- the class mother, etc...

Now that my kids are older and my youngest 2 are in high school, the volunteer days are sparse. A part of me misses the old days, but a bigger part of me is probably relieved. My life is busier now than ever- 2 jobs (nursing and writing) plus helping take care of a house and family. But on the days I do do my volunteer thing, I think I enjoy it more than I did when the kids were little. Probably because it's the only time you can really be around your teenagers when they're doing their thing and they don't seem resentful.

Today, I'm helping with costumes on "Beauty and the Beast". It's an all out high school summer production and it should be awesome. The costumes are being rented from an off Broadway company. I used to be pretty handy with a needle and thread, although it's been awhile since I've sewn. Hopefully, I'll be more help than hindrance:)

Our Town Mondays

My group blog, Title Wave, is undergoing some plastic surgery.

The blog look hasn't changed yet (but it will). What's different right now is the content. We've decided to go with the Our Town Mondays theme created by blogger Travis Erwin.

This Monday is our debut and Gina is blogging about her hometown, LA. Go check it out here.

Live Chat at TKA!

Jessica Andersen & J.R. Ward Chat It Up with TKA this Thursday @ 8pm EST!

JESSICA ANDERSEN, recently picked as one of the “hottest” authors in romance by Publisher’s Weekly, and fellow critique partner, New York Times Bestselling Author, J.R. WARD, will chat with TKA this Thursday. As a special bonus, J.R. will announce the winners of the PURPLE PROSE CONTEST, conducted on her message board last month.

Known for their dynamic characters and mind-bending plot twists, these ladies are forerunners in the field of paranormal romance. Jessica’s latest novel, NIGHTKEEPERS, Book One in THE FINAL PROPHECY SERIES, is based on an ancient Mayan doomsday prophecy, and Book Six of J.R. Ward’s enormously popular, THE BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD SERIES, LOVER ENSHRINED, hit bookshelves this month to worldwide acclaim.

Don’t miss the opportunity to talk with these amazing writers and get the inside scoop on their novels and upcoming projects! Leave a comment in the “Jessica and J.R. Chat It Up” post on the TKA Blog to win a copy of NIGHTKEEPERS and LOVER ENSHRINED. Check back on Thursday to see if you are the lucky winner and read special guest blogger Jess Andersen's views on picking the perfect critique partner.

WHO: Jessica Andersen & J.R. Ward

WHAT: CHATTING LIVE!

WHEN: THURSDAY, JUNE 12th @ 8PM EST

WHERE: TKA CHAT ROOM

HOW TO CHAT: Follow this link TKA CHAT ROOM. Enter a screen name and select “log in.”

Those 2 dirty words: High Concept

It's my turn to blog over at Title Wave today. I blogged on "high concept" a phrase that just a couple of years ago made me cringe. Today, not so much, because I finally think I'm getting it!

On another note, I just finished my second round of revisions for "Church of Bunco". My editor asked me to put in another sex scene, something I was more than happy to do;)

I also sent off the proposal for Bunco book 2, which I'm calling "Bunco Babes Gone Wild". Hopefully, she'll love it. Keep your fingers crossed for me:)

Holy Bull Durham!

Baseball players wearing thongs? Talk about superstitions.

Jason Giambi , a first baseman for the NY Yankees (boo!) admitted last week that he sometimes wears a gold thong under his uniform to help him out of a batting slump.

The ever delicious Derek Jeter ("lazy" eye or not) also admitted to trying it. Man, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the locker room for that one!

The whole thing reminds of that hysterical scene in Bull Durham when Crash (the Kevin Costner character) persuades Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) to wear a garter belt under his uniform to help his "concentrate" while he's pitching.

I've always loved baseball, but it's taken on a whole new meaning for me now:)

Happy Memorial Day

Mike Geraci and I finished re-doing the hall bathroom last night. Like really late last night:) At least my part is done. Today, he's going to finish off the job by putting a coat of clear varnish over the tiles. It was a big job, but the results are fantastic. Will have to post a pic when it's all done.

Will also have to get him to put out the flag today as a reminder to the kids that today is the day they need to be especially thankful for all the freedoms we enjoy as Americans.

Stephanie (oldest daughter) is taking my mother-in-law out to the Florida National Cemetery where my father-in-law is buried. A retired army colonel and veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, John Geraci is only one of thousands of veterans buried there. It's extremely humbling to drive through the miles and miles and headstones.

On a lighter note, tonight's The Bachelorette, and of course, I have to work. But never fear, my trusty DVR will tape all. My rose game predictions for going home tonight:

Chris (nice guy but definitely a filler)

Eric (big nosed and all he and Deanna have in common is that they're Greek. Plus, he's creepy)

Ryan (self-proclaimed virgin)

I know Mel thought I was crazy for liking Sean, but other than the little mullet (which can easily be fixed with a pair of scissors) I really like him for DeAnna. He's cute (has beautiful eyes!), has a great personality (he and Jesse need to go on the road with their lemon act) and I love his Kentucky accent. I predict Sean will go far.

I'd also like to see Jeremy open his mouth. I'm sure he and Deanna had some one on one time during the cocktail party last week that they didn't let us see. Also looking forward to seeing more of Graham, Jason, Jesse and that yummy Brian!

There will be Blood all right

Mine. Because I almost tore my hair out watching this movie. In my quest to catch up on watching the "best" movies of last year, I ordered There Will Be Blood on pay-per-view yesterday. What a waste of $4.99.

I didn't get it. I mean, I got it. But really, 8 Academy Award nominations?? I don't have a problem with Daniel Day Lewis winning Best Actor. As far as I'm concerned Daniel Day Lewis could recite the yellow pages and it would be Oscar worthy. And he deserves it for this film, because his performance is the only good thing about it. But honestly, Best Picture of the Year?

I've never read the Upton Sinclair novel Oil! that the film is based on. Nor do I have any wish to after watching the screen version. It's not only depressing and overly long, but there's something about it that didn't gel for me. Part of it was the lack of dialogue in a lot of the film. And then there was the very distracting sound track. Mike Geraci commented that the music was weird, and I had to agree with him. To be fair, the cinematography was beautiful, but I have no desire to ever see another set of badly stained teeth or another head of greasy hair. Ever.

The best part of the flick, was that both Mike Geraci and I got to sit down for 2 and some hours (we're remodeling our hall bathroom), but then anything would have been a nice break after stripping wallpaper all morning. And... I have to say that after almost 23 years of marriage, it's nice to discover something new about your husband. I had absolutely NO idea that Mike Geraci knew so much about drilling oil. He had this very scientific explanation for everything that happened on screen. At first, I was suspicious, like ,"C'mon, you've seen this movie before!" and he was like, "No, I haven't. I would have killed myself if I'd seen this twice."

LOL. Who knew? My husband, the oil expert.

So far, I've seen Juno, Atonement, and now this crap. 2 more Academy Award flicks to go:)

Chat with Gena Showalter

New York Times Best Selling author (God, I just love writing that!) Gena Showalter is going to be chatting live at the TKA chatroom tomorrow night. Here's the link.

The first book in Gena's Lords of the Underworld series, THE DARKEST NIGHT is climbing its way up the charts. The book is absolutely FANTASTIC and not to be missed. Gena is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and I'm absolutely thrilled for her.

Catching up

I just came back from a fantastic trip to Boston (first time there) where I attended my friend Marley Gibson's Launch party. You can read all about it here on the Title Wave blog. It got me thinking about my own launch party next year. I'm definitely going to plan some sort of Bunco theme ( of course ). I'm thinking frozen margarita machine, beer, and since it will probably be in early May, maybe some sort of Cinco-de-Mayo theme. Of course, I still have to finish the revisions on the book! I tried to get it in by May 1 but I've made so many changes to the second half of the book that it's taken me longer than I originally thought. My editor at Berkley has been very patient. I'm hoping that the full will be in her inbox by next Monday:)

And since all work and no play makes Maria a dull girl, I did surface from revision land to run out to play Bunco last night with my group, the Bunco Broads of Tallahassee. I won most games (I seem to be on some sort of lucky winning streak lately). Hopefully, that will continue...

Unfortunately for Jason Castro, his lucky streak came to an end last night on American Idol. I've loved Jason from the start, but even I was ready for him to go. The past few weeks he's steadily gone downhill. Not sure what Jason's problem is (well, maybe I do- proving the point that you really can get tooo mellow), but he proved to be own worst enemy. Hopefully though, some smart label co. will pick Jason up. As much as I enjoy David Cook, Jason is probably the only artist this season I'd buy a CD from.

Lords of the Underworld

Even the title is breathtakingly sexy, isn't it?

I finished the first book in Gena Showalter's newest series, Lords of the Underworld and it was fantastic! THE DARKEST NIGHT comes out in May, followed in June and July with 2 more books in the series. Best of all, there will be more!

For an excerpt go to Gena's website here: The Darkest Night.

TETL

I had a TETL moment (Too Embarrassed to Live) at work last night. This one directly involved my new Dansko Professional clogs.

About half my unit is wearing these now and everyone raves about them. This clog has been credited with the elimination of aching feet and legs, sore backs, tired muscles, etc. So after I left work Sunday morning feeling like a mule who had been kicked around for 12 hours (don't ever let anyone tell you delivering babies isn't hard work), I decided to bite the bullet (they cost $115) and drink the Dansko Kool-aid.

The girl at the Walk-About store told me it takes a few weeks to "break" them in. My first night wearing them I felt like a Geisha walking on thick wooden slats. My feet are completely flat (no natural arch at all) and there was something poking into the side of my foot. So by the end of the night I was practically limping. But that's okay. I can suffer temporarily if the pay off is worth it in the end.

When I woke up Tuesday, my feet felt fine and I wore them to work again. So there I was, standing by the desk in Triage talking, and I pivoted to turn and leave. I must have turned my ankle because the next thing I knew, I was went down. But just like a movie, I went down in my mind in slo-mo. There was a huge Ultrasound machine stationed on the wall next to me and I can remember thinking I was going to hit my head on it. All I could think was "No! Not the head! Broken bones can be fixed, but I need my brain to finish my revisions!!" Everyone said I went down screaming "I'm fine!!" but I don't remember that. Of course, everyone came running to my aid. I jumped up as fast as anyone wearing 5lb wooden clogs can, my face so hot I could fry an egg off it, saying, "Everyone go back to work!"

Tonight is night 3 of the Dansko Clog. Hopefully, I will master the art of wearing them. I just pray I don't have to run in them anytime soon:)

I'm Back... and Free Books!

I'm back from the beach, where we had an incredibly relaxing week. The weather was crummy (only 1 day of sunshine) but I hear it was like that all over north Florida, so better to be at the beach with crummy weather than at home, right?

Meanwhile, I spoke to my fabulous editor at Berkley, Wendy McCurdy, who gave me some great suggestions for revising my manuscript. Like "up the tension in the last half of the book". Now why didn't I think of that? LOL. She's absolutely right of course. I've been brainstorming with myself, not a sin in the eyes of the Church:) and I think I've come up with a few ideas. Now I just have to put them on paper and see if they work out.

Besides sleeping and shopping and playing lots of Scrabble and Monopoly at the beach, I also got to read an advanced copy of Gena Showalter's fabulous new book The Darkest Night. It's absolutely fabulous and incredibly sexy! A must read for everyone. Kristen Painter is giving away an ARC. Go to her blog and check out the details!




And talk about free books... my friend Marley Gibson's first book comes out in less than a month. Leave a comment on her blog and if she gets more than 50, you'll be eligible for a free copy of Sorority 101- Zeta or Omega? Isn't the cover fabulous? I plan to scoop up a bunch of these at her launch party next month!

Off on Mini-break!

I'm nearly finished packing for my vacation (which starts in about 3 hours!). The family is headed off to Seagrove Beach for a week of sun and fun, which I desperately need. Lately, work has been super hectic and as much as I love it, I need a break from birthin' babies.

On another fun note, I mailed in my contract to Berkley. Very exciting! When the guy at the mail store (who is a big talker and loves to see what you're mailing) asked what I was sending, I couldn't help but practically shout, "It's a publishing contract!". He was duly impressed and helped me double check that I had, indeed, signed everything in the right place. I told him years from now (when I'm rich and famous, of course) he could brag that he had helped me start my career:)

Thanks to Mel, I've been turned on to HBO's new miniseries, John Adams. Based on David McCullough's Pulitzer-winning biography, it stars one of my favorite actors, Paul Giamatti.

It also stars Laura Linney, who I've had trouble connecting with since she played in that really disturbing movie, The Life of David Gale, which is probably a testament to what a good actress she is since I can't quite forget her in that role. However, I'm really loving her as Abigail Adams. I remember one of my girls did a report once on First Ladies and picked AA so I knew she was a remarkable woman and I'm really loving how Laura Linney is playing her. Coincidentally, she and Paul Giamatti have played a married couple before in The Nanny Diaries. We all sort of snickered at my house when we made that connection:)

The series is being hailed as true to McCullough's book and the Colonial times look gruesomely authentic (as shown by a very nasty Inoculation scene). But so far the only scene that's disturbed me is the Tar and Feathering scene from Part I. I really had no idea how nasty the process was. I mean, it almost sounds mild (tar and feathers) as opposed to say, Drawn and Quartered. But watching that scene I cannot believe that the victim could have survived having all that hot tar poured over his body. Ugh. Very nasty stuff that was.

The series continues on next Sunday for a total of 7 episodes. And even though I know how it ends :) I'll be eagerly watching.

Make it Work!

Today was my turn to post on the Title Wave Blog. Go check it out. And Happy Easter, everyone!

AI Update

Kristy Lee Cook has not been kind to The Beatles.

I have nothing against the girl. She has a nice voice, is pretty, and seems very sweet in her interviews with Ryan. But for the second week in a row she's managed to butcher a Beatles song and that's just unpardonable in my book.

Last week, she country-fried steak'd "Eight Days a Week", sounding more like a chipmunk on crack than Dolly Parton on crack (as Simon described). But this week, she admitted to the camera she really isn't familiar with the Beatles (So I know that's probably an age thing , but if you're going to call yourself a musician, then you really need to know the superstar classics. It's like a writer saying she's never heard of Shakespeare).

Since Kristy doesn't know any of the songs, she picked one based on the title. Okay. I can live with that it. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is a great song, sung in a beautiful throaty style by Lennon. But I don't think Kristy got it (Lennon wrote the song in homage to the Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, who for a long time had to hide his homosexuality). While you can certainly interpret the song any way you want, Kristy chose not to interpret it, I guess, since she sang it with all the emotion of a wooden puppet on stage.

As sentimental and entertaining as Beatle fest has been the past two weeks on Idol, I say it's time to move on. Same with Kristy Lee.

American Idol: My top 2

Jason Castro.

He's so deliciously cute and sweet, I could eat him up. My kids snickered as I spent the first night of the competition punching my redial button to vote for him over and over, but there's just something about him that I totally love. I guess it's called "it" or "star appeal". Not sure. But I do know that right now, he's my number #1 pick to win this competition.

This week, he did a beautiful rendition of "Hallelujah", which totally worked. He also went guitar-less, which was a risk, because let's face it, who doesn't love a guy with a guitar? I think that totally sealed the deal for me. He doesn't need the guitar to look good. Plus, he doesn't have some of the weird mannerisms that some of the other singers do. Like Michael Johns. While I find Michael cute and his singing very good, there's something distracting about the way he moves and the way he holds the mic.

And there's my other top 2 pick. David Cook. I wasn't so impressed with him initially, but each week I like him more and more. And this week, he totally sold me. He sang "Hello" by Lionel Richie. Which, normally would have been the kiss of death. I didn't like Lionel's music in the 80's and I certainly don't like his music now, but David managed to take a sappy song and actually make me like it. Plus, he's so damn cute.

Seeing a pattern here? Yep. Cute is in.

Speaking of cute, I guess I need to mention David Archuleta, who is beyond cute and has a fantastic voice on top. While I really like David and I loved his version of "Imagine" last week, this week's "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins left me cold. Although I'm sure the rest of America loved it as he seems to be the AI Poster boy this year. I just have the feeling that I could tired of David A's cuteness. Fast.

Unfortunately, due to it being Bunco night, I missed watching the girls perform last night. For some reason, my DVR didn't record it (although I think it was really Mike Geraci messing with the TV that screwed it up). I'm not broken-hearted over it though. The girls are a snooze fest for me. Other than Carly Smithson, who I think has a good chance to make it to the top, I'm just not that impressed with them.

Megan's Confirmation

Megan's Confirmation

(Picutres above because I can't figure out how to post a slideshow AND write something in it at the same time)

Last Saturday, Megan, my youngest was officially Confirmed in the Catholic Church. A good time was had by all, although you wouldn't know it by the pics, as there are no pictures of anyone in the family except Megan and her sister, Stephanie. Sigh. I'm still getting used to my new Canon camera that I got for Christmas. Of course, it would help if I ever took the time to actually read the directions on how to use it.

After the long, long mass was over, I rushed into the Parish Hall where the Confirmati (not sure this is even a real word- but Megan swears that it is) were all posed for a lovely group picture. However, since I did not have my glasses (those were in my purse which Mike Geraci was holding for me) I couldn't see the pea size setting in order to click on the right button to take a picture. Yes, that is how blind I am. So I had to push my way through the crowd, find Mike (who was now stuffing his face with cake), grab my purse, get my glasses and fix the camera setting. By this time of course, the group had dispersed and we had to stand in line forever to get a pic with the Bishop.

I think Megan looks lovely by the way. We had a bit of a skirmach over the dress. She wanted something "else". Translation: something not really appropriate for the sacrament of Confirmation. Her sister (thank you Stephanie) and I talked her into the sweet beige number she's wearing. In the end, I think she really liked the dress because she got a lot of compliments on it.

Save the Cuban Virgins

I used to joke that I was going to make a custom bumper sticker with that slogan. Honestly, people in south Florida would totally get it.

I've been crazy busy this week and haven't had time to do much, even sleep. So I'm just now getting around to checking out some of my pal's blogs. It seems that the world is full of injustice.

Save the Planet Thursday In which Gina ignores the plight of the Cuban virgins and instead tries to save the entire world. Go Gina!

Project Outrage In which Kristen (also ignoring the plight of the CV's) laments on the way Chris was totally dogged by Heidi and co. I couldn't agree with her more.

Word of the Day It seems that Louisa is in need of some dirty jokes. I would post one, but it concerns Cuban virgins and it probably isn't appropriate.

And last but not least:

Couldn't make this up It was rumoured that it was really a Cuban Virgin who was driving. No one knows what happened to her...

Books I loved, Part 2

In an effort to see what Berkley is publishing (besides me... he he) I ran out and picked up a bunch of books a couple of weeks ago. The first one I read is Unpredictable by Eileen Cook. I'm happy to report back that it's a winner! Not only does it have a great cover (eyes to Heaven and hands folded together in prayer, Please, let me be so lucky) but there's a great story inside as well.

Here's a blurb:

Sophie isn't crazy, she just wants her guy back. And posing as a psychic to give his new girlfriend a fake reading designed to break them up isn't going overboard, is it? Don't answer that.
Faking psychic powers turns out to be fun, especially after a few lessons from Nick, the cute skeptic, who teaches her all the tricks of the trade. But her readings do a lot more than she could have predicted. Now she must decide whether to accept her rising stardom in a less-than-honest line of work-and whether the best option is trying to rekindle her old flame or finding romance with someone new. And, most importantly, she needs to figure out whether the answers lie in the stars-or in herself.

Are you a Scarlett or a Melanie?

Today was my turn to post on the Tidal Wave blog. It's all about my fascination with Gone with the Wind. You can check it out here.

Have a great weekend!

Books I Love, Part 1

I just finished reading fellow American Title 2 sister, Gina Black's debut book, The Raven's Revenge. I always knew Gina was a great writer, so it was no surprise that I loved her book. It's historical romance done so really really well that you feel transported back to another time. I smiled, I got choked up, and like all good books, it's inspired me to improve my own writing. Right now, it's available in ebook format here from The Wild Rose Press and in paperback on June 8.

THE RAVEN'S REVENGE
By Gina Black

Katherine Anne Welles lives a life of duty and obligation, but marrying her villainous neighbor is out of the question. So, she defies her father and risks all by fleeing in the arms of a wounded highwayman, even though she distrusts his offer of help. But traveling with a dashing highwayman who won't ask directions is anything but safe. Especially when his searing hot kisses awaken a yearning for something Katherine never knew she wanted.

Nicholas Montford, the exiled Earl of Ashton, returns to England determined to reclaim his family lands. As a highwayman called the Raven, he takes revenge upon the Puritans who thrived while his family suffered. But when he kidnaps heiress Katherine Welles, thoughts of revenge take second place to kissing her soft lips and teasing the mistrust from her eyes. Can he find redemption in the arms of the woman he will eventually betray?

6 Very Dull things

Yes, Louisa, it's taken me nearly a week to think of 6 unimportant things about myself. Honestly, I think everything about me is important, so this was a toughie:)

Here are the rules:

Rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry.
5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs.

This reminds me of that game they play in Jane Austen's Emma during the picnic scene where Emma accidentally (sort of) disses Miss Bates. That scene is sooo painful to read because you want to shake Emma and scream "no, don't say it!" But of course she does:

"...and she only demands from each of you either one thing very clever, be it prose or verse, original or repeated—or two things moderately clever—or three things very dull indeed, and she engages to laugh heartily at them all."

"Oh! very well," exclaimed Miss Bates, "then I need not be uneasy. 'Three things very dull indeed.' That will just do for me, you know. I shall be sure to say three dull things as soon as ever I open my mouth, shan't I?—(looking round with the most good-humoured dependence on every body's assent)—Do not you all think I shall?"

Emma could not resist.
"Ah! ma'am, but there may be a difficulty. Pardon me—but you will be limited as to number—only three at once."


Okay, so for Louisa, here are 6 VERY dull things about myself:

1. I wake up every morning and do the crossword puzzle while I drink my coffee.

2. I never read the directions unless I absolutely have to.

3. I also never stop to ask for directions. I leave that up to my husband. I will literally drive around in circles before I give in.

4. I have a foot fetish. (I'll leave the details of that up to your imagination).

5. I just don't get the Brad Pitt thing.

6. I am incredibly lucky when it counts. I once went to see Peter Frampton in concert (cut me some slack, it was the 70's) in the Citrus Bowl (downtown Orlando-not a good neighborhood) and after we got into the concert, we realized we left our keys in the car which was parked about 2 blocks away on some random street. If we left the Citrus Bowl we wouldn't be able to get back in and of course, being 18, our priorities were what they were. So after a 6 hour concert we got out at midnight, thinking, "holy shit, what do we do now?" only to discover that the keys to the car were sitting right there in plain view with the car doors open. Yeah, NO ONE deserves to be that lucky.

Now, if I knew 6 people who hadn't already been tagged, I would happily tag them, but I think everyone in the universe has done this one!

Finally, some new TV

Lost premiered last week (yay!) and after that a new show called Eli Stone.

I loved it!

I especially loved Jonny Lee Miller who I've had a crush on since he played Edmund on Mansfield Park (even though I think Edmund is Jane Austen's wimpiest hero), but JL played him sweet and vulnerable and I was totally into him.

But back to Eli Stone.

The show has a great premise: A hot-shot, slightly jaded attorney starts having hallucinations. Really funny ones. Like seeing George Michael-singing-in-his-living-room-type hallucinations. Everyone thinks he's crazy. He goes to an accupuncturist (a really great secondary character named Dr. Chen that I hope is in every show) to try to fix him. But it doesn't work. Then he finds out that he has a brain aneurysm, which maybe explains the hallucinations. Or does it? Cause Eli starts to think maybe he's a prophet (although he doesn't believe in God) which could be another type of hallucination on its own....

His visions tell him what sort of cases he should take and he begins a quest to become a better person. It's a great set up. Loretta Devine plays his mouthy secretary and the show is set in San Francisco, so it's got great visuals.

Plus, I love love seeing British actors play Americans. I'm not sure why, maybe it's because it's the reversal of the ol' fake accent thing (you know, where you fake a British accent) so it's funny to think of them rehearsing an American accent, which of course, doesn't sound like any sort of accent to us... But you get my drift.

Oh, and Eli also has a semi-evil fiance (at least I think she's evil) so there's a romance conflict. I mean, he can't stay with her, right?

I'll have to keep watching to find out.

A thousand Thank you's

I'm finally crawling out of my NyQuil haze to take stock of everything that's happened in the past few days. But I still have to pinch myself to believe it. I'm going to get published! And best of all, I get to write another Bunco book!

When I sent The Church of Bunco off into the publishing void I built a little cocoon around my heart. I let the story go. I let Kitty and Steve go (hero and heroine) even though their story wasn't completely finished. I had to. There was no use writing another book about them because if I didn't sell the first one, then what was the point of another one? This defense mechanism worked pretty well through the holidays. I started another manuscript, only to abandon it after a few weeks in favor of another story. I was just getting my groove into the new plot, when the call came that I'd sold. And that's when I realized just how much I would have hated to have never finished Kitty's story the way I wanted to. I'm just so flippin happy and thankful about that;)

I'm also really happy and thankful that I can breathe again and that my voice sounds almost normal.

And last but not least, I want to thank everyone who took the time to congratulate me. You made me feel like a rock star!

I sold!!

The Church of Bunco sold in a 2 book deal to Wendy McCurdy at Berkley! Woo Hoo!! I couldn't be happier. It was my turn to blog at The Title Wave today, so I spilled the details (in an uncharacteristically long blog) here!

I've been tagged

It's not the first time. But I decided that today I would play. I mostly don't play Blog tag because, frankly, there aren't that many interesting things to know about me (if you keep reading, you'll see what I mean).

Here's the rules:

Link to the person who tagged you;Leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours;Post the rules on your blog;Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog;Tag 7 random people at the end of your post;Include links to their blogs;Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Okay, here goes:

1. I was born in Cuba and Spanish was my first language.

2. I detest most types of condiments (mayo, mustard, salad dressing, etc...) If a food can't stand on its own, it doesn't deserve to be eaten.

3. I almost didn't make my First Holy Communion. Sister Pius (yep, that was her name) caught me making "fun" of the mass during one of our many rehearsals in the blistering central Florida heat of May. After a few tears and numerous recitals of the rosary, she gave in and let me do it anyway.

4. I once confessed to a priest that I'd robbed a bank. I was 7 and none of my sins seemed very exciting to me, so I thought I'd make one up. He was speechless (but still made me say the rosary as a penance).

5. In every "test" I take, I come up as a Left Brained person. Huh?

6. My first car was an orange Pinto with a white vinyl roof. Despite the many exploding Pinto jokes (you'd have to have lived through the 70's), it was probably the most reliable car I've ever driven.

7. Despite 3 & 4, I'm probably the most rule driven person ever. If it says not to walk on the grass, then I don't (mostly).

Okay, now that that's over with, according to the rules I'm supposed to tag 7 people. I tag: Gina, Debra, Ruth, and Lucy. Yes, I know that's only 4, but see number 7 about me.

Love in the time of Global Warming

I actually thought this might be a good title for a book. At least, Leon, the cashier at Walmart thought so. But it was shot down by my fab cp Mel. Louisa (other fab cp) never got a chance to shoot it down, as I quickly came to my senses and crossed it off my list of TTBA (Titles to be announced) before ever mentioning it to her.


But as the title implies, I do have to wonder if the earth's thinning ozone has something to do with all the weirdo-ness going on out there.

I'm referring to my obsession with all things ala Tom Cruise. Those who have known me awhile know how I feel about Tom (Just ask Rhoda and Erin. PS- My locker still looks the same as when you 2 "decorated" it 3 years ago). I love Tom as an actor (Jerry Maguire and Rain Man are 2 of my favorite flicks) but let's get real. Tom is becoming almost as weird as Michael Jackson. Tom first came to my notice way back when he did "Risky Business". His dancing underwear scene was hilarious. But as cute as I found Tom in his tidy whities, I have to admit my Gay-dar went into overdrive. I won't even begin to speculate on all the rumors of Tom being gay, or bi, or whatever. That's between him and Mimi, Nicole, Penelope and Katie...



What I do find fascinatingly bizarre is the supposed rumor from the unauthorized biography of Tom written by Andrew Morton (same guy who wrote the stuff on the Royal family) who claims that:



1. Tom is the # 2 guy in the Scientology Church and his "mission" (should he chose to accept it) is to recruit David Beckham.



2. The Church of Scientology is blackmailing Nicole Kidman to keep quiet about Tom by threatening to expose a series of "sex" tapes they have on her.



2. And best of all, that Suri Cruise is NOT Tom's long awaited bio-child after all. Morton claims that Suri was conceived with the frozen sperm of L. Ron Hubbard. OKAY. This is the one that I actually Don't believe.

I mean, really.


Is it the heat that's doing this to us?

My Un Resolutions

I love the New Year. It's a time for beginnings, but I mostly love it because it means Christmas is over, and while I love Christmas (or at least the idea of it) every year it seems to become more and more stressful. This year was no exception. It was my turn to work Christmas, and while I usually don't mind, it was a very depressing 3 nights (I'd violate Hippa laws if I got into it any more than that). I'll just say I'm glad it's all over.



Which brings me to the dreaded New Year's resolutions. I mentioned a few resolutions to my cps, which I do hope to keep- like trying to write 2 books this year (instead of the usual 1 or less). But as for other resolutions (which for me have always been about trying to change something about myself) I refuse to make any. Mainly because I fail year after year to keep them, which in turn only adds to my Catholic guilt in making me feel like a total loser. I've decided instead to make this the year of the Un Resolution.


So this year, I give up trying to diet. I'll eat when I'm hungry, thank you. Ditto for trying to keep my finances in order (that's what Mike Geraci is for), or trying to be more organized. If it hasn't happened after 48 years, it isn't going to magically happen overnight simply because it's January.



I am going to try a couple of new things. I'm going to journal (in the beautiful leather-bound book Mel gave me) and learn how to use the awesome Canon camera I got for Christmas. I've never been interested in photography before, but I'm completely obsessed with the Canon commercials featuring Maria Sharapova and her little dog Dolce.

Watch for future uploads of Maria Geraci and her little dog, Chewey:)

It's Party Time!

The Knight Agency is throwing a party! Everyone is welcome and there will be free give aways. Don't miss it! It starts at 12:30 pm EST today. Here's the link that will take you to the chat room: TKA Party.

On another cheery note, my good friend and fellow American Title 2 finalist Gina Black's book The Raven's Revenge came out last week. I just started reading it and it's fabulous. It's available now from the The Wild Rose Press. Isn't the cover gorgeous?