On Florida Charlie's and setting and starting over

It's time to start a new book. Something that both excites and terrifies me.

The exciting part is obvious. At this point, although I still have copy edits and final proofs that will have to be done on Boyfriend of the Month, I'm sick of 'em all. I've lived, breathed, slept Grace, Joe, Brandon, Charlie, Sarah, Abuela and the rest of the gang for almost a year now and it's time to move on. Kind of like a relationship gone stale. I want the excitement of fresh characters. People who I don't know yet, but am interested in knowing. Not that I won't miss the gang from BOTM. I love those people! I made them up, after all. But I can't do anything more with them. Their story is over. Kaput. Finis. I gave everyone who deserved it a HEA, and everyone who didn't deserve a HEA, well, I gave them the potential of one, because after all, I do write fun, romantic women's fiction (After 3 books and much soul searching, that's the tagline I've decided on).

So back to the new book. The idea for the story started long before I ever actually wrote the first chapter ( I have 10 pages, yay!) It started just like Boyfriend and the Bunco books did, with the idea of a place, a community. Which is interesting, because I think I write character driven novels. But setting is character too. It lives and breathes with a life of its own. Even though Whispering Bay (the town I set my Bunco novels in) is imaginary, when I close my eyes, I can see it. It has real streets and real shops and the people who live there have a very distinctive mindset about them. Kind of like when you ask someone where they're from and they say, "New York city" or "Two Egg, Florida" (yes, there is a town called Two-Egg- it's not too far from Tallahassee). Whether right or not, I already have an idea about that person, because where you're from and where you've been raised has as much influence over the kind of person you become as anything else, I think.

Before I ever thought of the concept of Boyfriend of the Month (or even thought of the title) the idea of Florida Charlie's (the tourist shop where a lot of the action in the book takes place) had already come to me. It had been germinating like a seed in the recesses of my mind and had taken root. Although BOTM is set in Daytona Beach, a real town, the novel's true "location" is Florida Charlie's. A tourist shop still stuck in the 1960s. A place that gave away free samples of orange juice and shipped citrus, and sold old fashioned gifts and had a corny mascot. A place that was a bit of a Florida icon in its day but had been brushed aside by the big tourism machine (you know who I'm talking about here- the little guy with the ears). I think the one character I'll truly miss the most when I completely leave Boyfriend is that shop. Funny, but true.

Which gets me back to the new novel. Tentatively titled Girlfriends are Forever (but that could easily change). The seed for this book started with the Race for the Rock. A high tech scavenger hunt that took place back in May in Bainbridge, Ga (just about 30 minutes north of Tallahassee). The prize? A $10,000 engagement ring, hidden somewhere in the city. The idea of it is so brilliant, it gave me shivers. And immediately got me thinking about this new imaginary place. A town somewhere south of St. Augustine. A town that claims that Ponce de Leon actually discovered the fountain of youth in their neck of the woods. A town that's kind of dyin' and needs something big to revive it. And revive the people who live there. And voila... Exploration, Florida was born. Not sure if I'm crazy about that name but I'm already in love with the town. And the people who live there. And I think that's good.

The way to a man's heart is through flan

In my upcoming novel, The Boyfriend of the Month Club, my main character, Grace, needs to apologize to Joe, her sexy new dentist for jumping to an erroneous conclusion about him. Knowing that a simple "sorry" won't cut it, she goes to her abuela for advice.

“Flan,” Abuela blurted. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. When your abuelo Pedro was courting me my mother used to make him flan. He couldn’t resist it. Make him a flan and he’ll throw himself at your feet.”

I had so much fun writing this chapter! The recipe Grace uses belongs to my mother and is also featured in the back of the book, but since you're reading my blog you get first dibs at it. So here it is, Pioneer Woman style:

Carmen Palacios' Flan de queso

Grace had seen her mother make countless flans in her lifetime. But she’d never actually made one herself.
“You know what’s funny, Abuela?”
Before Grace could finish, Abuela’s gaze went back to the television screen. “Eggs, sugar, evaporated milk…” When Grace didn’t do anything, Abuela shooed her with her hand. “You know what goes inside!”

Okay, so Grace has an unfair advantage because as you've just read, she's seen her mother make countless flans. But I'll tell you exactly what goes inside. Here it is:

5 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
dash of salt

Put all the ingredients in a blender. And mix.

Grace placed the remaining ingredients into a blender and whirled them together. She took a second to sniff the frothy liquid. The smell of vanilla wafted up enveloping her in familiar comfort.

Put the blender aside and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure out 2 additional cups of sugar and place in a skillet over med/high heat. This will make the caramel for the flan.

She set the stove for medium heat, then dumped two cups of sugar into a skillet.
“The secret to a good flan is to make enough syrup so that the custard doesn’t stick. Did you put in sufficient sugar?” Abuela asked.

Eventually, the sugar will start to dissolve. This is the part where you must have patience. The whole process only takes about 10-15 minutes but it always seems longer to me. Every once in a while, give the skillet a little shake. It's probably not really necessary, but it gives you something to do.

Grace gave the skillet a jiggle. Watching the sugar melt was her favorite part. The transformation from solid to liquid as the white crystals morphed into a lovely brown liquid caramel, all gooey and hot. As a child the temptation to stick her finger in the syrup had always gotten her a whack on the bottom. But it had been worth it each time.

He began walking her backward, his kisses turning her from a solid into a warm liquid caramel, all bubbly and hot and easy to slide around, just like the sugar in her flan.

Woops! That's from a much later chapter. But you get my drift...

So, back to the recipe. Place the melted caramel mixture into a Bundt pan or other pan with a hole in the center, making sure you coat as much of the pan with the caramel as you can. Be careful, the pan will get hot!

Let the caramel set for a couple of minutes, then gently pour the liquid egg mixture into the pan.

She got out the pan her mother used to bake the flan, set it on the counter and frowned. Something was missing…
“You need to make a bano de Maria. So that the flan doesn’t stick to the pan,” Abuela said.

A bano de maria is basically a larger pan filled with an inch of so of water. Place the Bundt pan inside the larger pan with the water. This helps the custard to "set." PS: the n in bano needs a squiggle over it but I can't figure out how to do it.

Place the entire set up in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until flan is brownish and firm. Test with a toothpick to make sure it's done. If the toothpick is still wet, it needs longer cooking time.


Take the flan out of the bano de maria and let cool to room temp, then refrigerate. When you are ready to serve the flan, set it at room temp for about 30 minutes, then flip it. This is what you get if your flan isn't cooked well enough or you try to flip it when it's still warm. Not pretty.

Voila! Here is your perfectly cooked, perfectly flipped flan. Since the flan has been refrigerated, there will be 'stuck' syrup in the bottom of your Bundt pan. Let it warm up to room temp some more, then drizzle as much of the syrup as you can over the flan. Decorate if you desire with fruit on the side. Refrigerate leftovers. If you have any.

There! That wasn’t so hard.
“Don’t forget to cool it well before placing it in the refrigerator,” Abuela said. “But when you’re ready to flip it, make sure it’s been at room temperature first. Do you have a plate to serve it in?”

Grace nodded. “Thanks, Abuela.”

“For what? You already knew how to make a flan.”

Book club fun

Dang it. This picture is way too dark and that's what I get for forgetting my camera. (There's only so much my trusty iPhone can do). But this was taken last night at Bonefish Grill where I met the nicest group of ladies. Their book club read Bunco Babes Tell All and they invited me to their meeting, where a fabulous time was had by all.

One of the members of the group, Beth (a total sweetheart), had contacted me shortly after reading BBTA last year and we've kept in contact. She's also a member of a Bunco group and helped put together the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Bunco fundraiser I attended back in the winter. I absolutely love how these ladies cherish their girl time. Whether it's Bunco, book clubs, or just a few friends getting together for dinner or drinks, it's so important that we take the time from our busy lives to kick back and enjoy our female friendships. Oh, and it was fun talking about writing too. Nothing is better than hearing other people tell you how much they enjoy your books! Thanks again, ladies!

The Bachelorette and Krazy Kasey

It's no secret to anyone I know that I've been hooked on the The Bachelor/Bachelorette since it's inception. I know. It's bad reality TV/or not, but still, I can't help myself. So why try?

Last night's show just made me a little mad though. I know they try to hide the real love story (if there is one) because it doesn't make for as compelling TV as the loony fabricated stories they love to showcase. First, it was Justin "Rated R's" 2 mile trek on crutches to Ally's mansion last week. Yeah. I really bought that one. It's so obvious that he's there to promote his career as an entertainment wrestler and honestly, I don't blame him for tying to grab his 15 minutes. Ally doesn't mind either, but she'll pretend she does when the time is right, because after all, in her quest for true love, she's also getting paid some 300,000 bucks, so she'll produce just the right amount of angst to make us hate Justin even more. Which should only help Justin's career as a bad boy wrestler. Total win/win scenario for everyone.

But what I don't get is the Krazy Kasey storyline. His 1:1 date with Ally last night was beyond painful. It made her date last week with Hunter seem like a love fest. She has zip chemistry with this guy. So what does she do? Instead of giving him the boot, she tells him she can't give him a rose, but she doesn't want him to go either. Talk about mixed signals. Believe me, this is totally producer driven. What they're getting, I understand- It's the weird-guy-willing-to-do-anything-to-win-Ally's-love storyline. But what is Kasey getting out of this? I can only believe that the producers made him go off his meds for the show and he's not responsible for his actions. So to prove his "love" for Ally, Kasey decides to get a tattoo. Only when he goes to show it to her, Frank interrupts their one on one time. Kind of funny, if you ask me.

As for Frank, he started off strong, now he's getting the jealous/obsessed edit. Enough already.

And Kirk. Where did he come from? Every time you turn around, Ally's kissing him. He's getting the most "face" time with her (literally) yet they're not showing much else of him. He gets a 1:1 with her next week. In the previews, over dinner, he pauses and tells Ally he needs to tell her a secret. The look on Ally's face is priceless. Can't wait to hear what the big secret is. I'm sure it's something really stupid.

Roberto was awesome in The Lion King. He's adorable and seems to have the front runner slot.

As for Chris L? My favorite (if it were up to me to pick) but I'm afraid he's getting the Reid edit. (Reid, my most favorite bachelor by far on any season!) What's the Reid edit, you ask? This is the guy the producers make you fall in love with, then he ends up on the "friends" list. I think his date with Ally last night was pretty good, but it was choppy so it was hard to tell how real the chemistry was. Plus, he's being hidden most of the time. This is usually because he's either the "winner" and they don't want to show the chemistry too early, or they want to hide the fact that Ally isn't as into him as they want to make you believe. It's too early to tell. But I'll say this. I kind of don't want to Chris to win because I'd really love to see him as the next Bachelor.

Just please, let Kasey go the way of the weatherman (if one more guy sings to Ally with his guitar I'll puke). And for God's sake, let's hope Kasey's tattoo was a fake. Or that the producers promised him some primo plastic surgery to get rid of it.

Getting Inspired

Today I blogged over at the Florida Panhandle Romance Writers site about our terrific guest speaker Leigh Duncan. You can read about it right here.

And is it geeky or romantic of me to admit that I saw North and South again last night? All 4 delicious hours of it!

Move over, Mr. Darcy

So I couldn't sleep last night and got up to watch a little T.V. I've had the BBC adaption of Elizabeth Gaskell's famous novel North and South on my Netflix list forever, but for some reason, I kept bumping it down. Thanks to my son who has rigged up his Wi, I can get most of my Netflix movies instantly now, so I finally got to watch this beautifully romantic and moving story. So glad I did! it's absolutely wonderful. And Richard Armitage as the stoic Mr. Thornton is beyond yummy. Really. I think Mr. Darcy has some stiff competition.

The curly hair dilemma

Recently, I was reading a list of top hairdresser "do nots." You know, stuff that hairdressers hate about their clients. Like clients who don't tip, etc. One of the things on the list that hairdressers supposedly hate is "clients who doesn't respect their curly hair and blow it out even on high humidity days."

Speaking as someone who has naturally curly hair and lives in a high humidity state I was a bit miffed at this one. Yeah, yeah, I know. I should LOVE my curly hair. I've had hairdressers tell me I shouldn't blow dry my hair straight, use a flat iron, etc. Embrace your curliness! Only not all curly hair is the same. We don't all look like Keri Russell on a good day. Sometimes it just goes all Shirley Temple on us, or worse, starts sticking out in all directions, even ones we don't want them to go. And believe me, if you want your curly hair to go in the right direction, you have to work it. Which means, finger drying it with lots of sticky product to make it go right. For me it was kind of like hearing, "embrace your gray hair!" or for someone else "embrace your mousy brown hair. No highlights! No coloring!" Now I don't always blow dry my hair and straighten it because sometimes there's no use fighting mother nature and sometimes I actually do want to go curly. When I'm at the beach, I always go natural, but hey, even though I live in Florida I don't always hang at the beach, comprende?

The main character in TBOTMC has the same hair problem I do (imagine that). In the book's opening scene she's going on a big date, but because she lives in Florida, the humidity is high. So instead of channeling Julianna Margulies Good Wife, she ends up looking more like Julianna Margulies ER. Not that there's anything wrong with that. However, you can see how much happier Julianna is when her hair is blow dried out straight. Just sayin'.

A whole day just to myself

Just like Kevin in Home Alone who yearns for his own hot delicious cheese pizza, I yearn for a day to myself (what working mother doesn't?) Like Kevin's dream, my dream is pretty simple too, because I'm not talking about a spa day or a day spent leisurely reading, eating bon bons and going out to lunch with girlfriends, although that all sounds pretty damn good to me right now. But the truth is I just want a day to get things DONE. A day to clean the house (yes, because fur balls aren't pretty), to actually go outside for a power walk (but only if I can get it in before nine a.m. because after all, this is Florida in the summer time) and a day to finally organize all my writing stuff.

In the eight months or so it took me to write TBOTMC I had to let a lot slide. Hence, I am now in a heap of not-so-nice disorganization, which drives me absolutely bat crazy. Not that I'm the most organized person, not by a long shot, but I've reached the point where I can't find anything and that can't continue.

So... stuff to do today. Clean house. Make a flan that will flip properly. And if I have time, try the banana nut bread recipe I found on Jenny Crusie's blog this morning (under the comment section) because coincidentally, I have 3 very ripe (past eating) bananas sitting on my kitchen counter top that I'd been wonderin' what to do with. Now I know.

Oh, and one more thing. Could the Glee finale last night have been any more wonderful? I had about 20 kids in the living room, snacking on chicken wings and chips, etc, watching on the big TV while Mike Geraci and I were snuggled together in the den watching... yes, the Glee season finale on another TV.

I have totally hooked Mike Geraci on Glee which is a hoot because every 5 minutes someone starts singing on the show, which I totally love, and ordinarily he wouldn't, but hey, it's all about execution and it works here, so that just goes to show that anything can be done. It just has to be done right. The best part of the night? Listening to the kid's laughing and screaming at all the great parts while we smiled at them while sitting on the couch in the den. Oh, and while I totally called Quinn's water breaking spontaneously (because on TV that's how everyone goes into labor, but in the real world - NOT) I missed the timing because I really thought they would have her water break on stage just as they were finishing their big number. I'm so glad the writers didn't go there.

Flip Flan

So... besides a reader's guide for The Boyfriend of the Month Club there will also be a recipe in the back of the book. My main character, Grace (who is half Cuban) makes her first flan somewhere around chapter 11, I believe. If you're not familiar with flan, then you're really missing something. It's a wonderful custard dessert covered in syrup. The recipe in the book is my mothers and it's fabulous.

Unlike Grace, who is a flan virgin (she's seen her mother make millions but has never actually made one herself) I've made literally dozens of flans in my lifetime. When I first started out, I never made enough syrup or ended up flipping it too early and getting a gooey mess. But that hasn't happened to me in decades. Except for the other night when I decided to make one and take pictures for my website. In my haste, yes... I prematurely flipped my flan and the picture below is the result. It still tasted good though! Watch my blog in the next week or so for a picture of a perfectly flipped flan...

Making the Book Trailer

This has been so much fun, I tell you. Not that I'm any kind of expert with Windows Movie Maker, but it's almost Maria proof (which means even a child could do it). If you follow my blog, you know that I'm making my first book trailer for my upcoming novel The Boyfriend of the Month Club. Goal was to have it finished by the end of summer, only because I had no idea how long it was going to take me to do it and I was going to work on it in my spare time, etc...

The first thing I did was story board my idea, which I have to give Mike Geraci a lot of credit for. I don't want to give it all away because part of the fun of the trailer are the "surprise" actors but he can really be brilliant sometimes, even if he forgets it almost immediately (Typical Electrical Engineer- kind of like the absent-minded professor).

So once I had a feel for my story and had acquainted myself with the Movie Maker program, I had to select some music. Music is so important in a book trailer. Not only does it serve as backdrop, it sets the entire mood for the clip. Since I'm making this trailer on air (not spending any money) I wanted to use royalty free music. This is the site I used. After listening to music for a couple of days, I narrowed it down to 2 tunes. Plain Loafer and Radio Martini. While I loved the name Radio Martini, I ended up going with Plain Loafer. It's funky, but not too funky, but mostly upbeat and happy sounding, which is exactly what I'm going for.

I'm a getting a reader's guide!

Or rather, The Boyfriend of the Month Club is. Yay!

When I asked my editor at Berkley about the possibility of getting a reader's guide for my upcoming novel, she said she'd look into it. She thought it was a terrific idea, but warned me that marketing doesn't usually select lighter, more romantic reads for reader's guides. Before she told me this I really had no idea that a reader's guide was a marketing decision and that someone else actually writes the discussion questions. In my lack of publishing sophistication, I really thought that the author came up with those questions herself (although I guess it could be different depending on each publishing house).

So anyhoo, I found out yesterday that yes, Boyfriend will get a reader's guide and I couldn't be happier. I honestly think it will be a terrific read (not that I'm prejudiced or anything) for book clubs and I'm excited to see what kind of themes someone else will pull out of my story.

Happy Memorial Day

If you haven't watched HBO's original series The Pacific, you should. Everything about the 10 part mini-series was outstanding. Great acting, great cinematography, and a seemingly seamless integration of the stories of 3 real life marines who served in the Pacific theater during WW II.

One of the best parts of the series was seeing the real life clips of the men whose lives were portrayed in the series and listening to their voice overs, so stoic sometimes, other times their voices drenched with emotion, fighting back tears as they recalled events that happened 60 some years ago.

In every multi-protagonist story there's always one person who stands out. For me, it was Eugene Sledge (Sledgehammer). A doctor's son from Mobile, Alabama, he enlisted as a starry-eyed young boy and came back from the war a conflicted man. Beautifully portrayed by actor Joe Mazello (remember the kid from Jurassic Park? Man, do I feel old!)

And in case you're wondering, yes, I did cry during almost each episode, none more so than the last one where they wrapped up all the stories. I think my favorite scene in that last episode was the closing. The war has been over for a bit and Eugene is sitting out in the yard of his family home in Mobile, lost in thought and emotion, contemplating nothing or maybe everything, and his mother tells him that he needs to get over his mulling and get his life "in order." His father gently leads Eugene's mother away and tells her to leave him alone. "You don't know what he's been through." Then there's a fade out and that's it. Poignantly simple and beautifully done.

So you think you can dance!

Best show on TV by a mile. And the new season started last night! Of course, it's the audition segment that they do similar to AI style, going city to city, giving you a tease of the best dancers and doing those awful clips of the people who can only be there as a joke.

There was no Sex last night (if you're a fan of the show, you'll know who I'm referring to). Yes, they promised us last season that it was Sex's last season to audition, but really? As awful and corny as he is, I really hope they were joking because what would a SYTYCD season be without Sex? And without Nigel with his electric teeth turning to Mary (who was conspicuously absent last night) and asking her how Sex was for her this year. I heard a rumor that Mary was leaving the show and that Mia was taking over for her on a permanent basis. I really hope that's not true. I love Mary! I love her obnoxious laugh and her Hot Tamale train scream. I love Mia as a choreographer, but hate her as a judge. Her beady blue/green eyes give me the willies.

Oh, and it took less than an hour for Adam to cry, or at least get his eyes watery. Don't get me wrong. I adore Adam. Love him love him love him. He is a genius and I want to go out partying with him. But if one more gay dancer gets on stage and talks about how his dad never accepted him... well, let's just say we need to move on!

One thing that has me concerned about this season. Supposedly only 10 dancers will make it out of Vegas as opposed to the regular 20. How are they gonna do that? I guess I'll have to stay tuned. But that won't be a problem.

Add on: I've just been told that the 10 finalists will be paired up with favorite dancers from other seasons. Woo Hoo!

My summer project: I'm going to make a Book Trailer

Never mind that my techno knowledge borders on the ridiculously inept. Hey, 8 years ago while driving in my car I decided I was going to write a book. It wasn't easy, and my first attempts were awful. I mean really really awful (Just ask my first crit partners). But I had an intense drive and once I found my niche and my voice, got really lucky and got an agent, everything fell into place. So if I can write a book and get published I can make a 60 second book trailer. Right? I am woman. Hear me roar.

What made me decide to do a trailer? First off, I'm an extremely visual person. There's nothing like actually seeing something with your own two eyes to drive home a point, which makes book trailers a great marketing tool to hook someone like me. I've bought books that I never thought I'd be interested in after watching a trailer. Plus, I had a trailer for my first book Bunco Babes Tell All and I think it helped generate some good buzz. Thank you Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe!

Now, since my marketing budget is extremely tight, I'll be making this little gem on a shoestring budget. Like as close to free as possible. And since I have no idea where to start I'll be surfing the Internet for help trying to get an idea of what works and what doesn't. Check out Whitney Moore's blog Book Trailers Love or Hate? I agree with what she says. A book trailer should not be a movie trailer. It shouldn't strip the reader of their imagination.

Stay tuned as I fumble my way through the creation and production of what I hope will be an awesome trailer that will have readers salivating to read my upcoming December release, The Boyfriend of the Month Club.

And in case you missed it, here's the trailer for my first book.

The Popcorn Dialogues!

I've been a huge fan of Jennifer Crusie ever since I heard her speak at the RWA conference in New York some, oh, I don't know, 7 or 8 years ago. My friend Rhoda and I had just started writing and it was our first conference and JC absolutely wow'd me. Welcome to Temptation and Faking It and Bet Me are among some of my favorite books. So add JC to another favorite of mine (romantic comedy movies) and you have a winning recipe.

Jenny and her partner in crime, Lucy March (better known to most as Lani Diane Rich) have started a new blog called The Popcorn Dialogues. The purpose of the blog is to analyze and discuss romantic comedies. There will be a podcast involved, some twittering, and lots of good ol' back and forth discussion. Think of it as film class with Jenny Crusie.

Every Friday starting June 4, they will take one movie (all voted on already on Jenny's blog ARGH INK) and slice, dice, and dissect it to see what works and what doesn't. The movies start in chronological order from the 30's to present. Let me tell you, this is so up my alley. There is nothing I like better than taking something apart to see why it works or why it doesn't (just ask Mel.)

Coming June 4, It Happened One Night with Clark Cable and Claudette Colbert. The hallmark film of romantic comedies. I can't wait!

Why you should never get your 100 lb senile dog in the shower

Grrr... The Powers that be, The Man, Big Brother, whatever you want to call him, has apparently decreed that The Office clip showing Ryan talking about Woof! had to come down. I just hate that. Don't they know that any publicity is good publicity? I guess not. I guess they want to keep their funny clips to themselves. Oh, well, that's not exactly what I meant to blog about.

Note to everyone out there: NEVER put your 100 lb plus dog who is 12 years old (which means he's a zillion years old in human years) and slightly senile into your shower. I usually wait for Mike Geraci to come home before bathing Charlie. A professional groomer has been out of the question for the past 3 years because...well, let's just say Charlie gets too jittery around strangers now so we do it ourselves. He has horrible dermatitis and is on steroids. You get the picture. Poor baby has to have a bath.

But I can't lift him in the tub and he can't get in there himself, so I thought the shower was a most excellent option. Until that is... poor Charlie lost his um... bowels. In a most liquid way all over the place while he was still lathered up. Which meant not only was my barefooted, already wet self swimming in it, I had to stay in it longer to rinse him off. All while my 10 lb Daschund, Truffles, stood on the other side of the shower door howling her lungs off convinced Charlie and I were having too much "special time." I am on my 3rd bleaching of the shower stall. And Mike Geraci is still laughing. Next time, it's his turn to wash the dog.

Social networking 101

In my day (yeah, I know...) social networking meant talking to someone. As in face-to-face. Or picking up the phone and calling them. I remember the first time I heard the phrase, just like the first time I heard the phrase foodie which left me kind of clueless until someone filled me in (as in social networked with me). So a foodie is someone who likes to eat? Yeah, count me in. Of course the term means a little more than that, but you catch my drift.

So everyone is doing it these days (get your mind out of the gutter I'm still talking about social networking) and it seems that each day, I hear about more ways to network. There's websites of course, and blogging, and Facebook (which I love a little too much, I think), Twitter, Tumblr, and lots of others.

As an author, it's also a great way to hook up with people who are interested in your work. I have a Facebook account that I started when I wanted to connect with old friends and it's awesome. I love seeing my friend's kids' prom pictures and the anniversary trip to Hawaii, etc... but I started getting a lot of requests from people I don't know, people who want to connect with me as a writer. So I saw the wisdom in starting a Fan page, where people can "like" me. It's so Sally Field-ish of me, but I have to admit to really digging that term. I've also tried Twittering, and while I do enjoy it on occasion, it's brevity leaves me cold and I hate the "am clipping my toenails" kind of twitters.

So apparently, there's a new social network website out there called Woof! (he he) If you're an Office fan (or even if you're not) check it out.

I'm now off to do some commercial networking at Target...

Sex and the Austen Girl

Having just finished the revisions on The Boyfriend of the Month Club (yay! I cannot tell you how relieved I am) I am now in the mood to celebrate. This will involve reading, relaxing, and a bit of housework thrown in for good measure only because my house is so damn dirty right now it cannot be put off a second longer. But I digress...

If you haven't read Lauie Viera Rigler's novels- Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, then you're really missing something. I read both books in one sitting. Loved them. And now, Babelgum has produced a web series based on the books, titled Sex and The Austen Girl. Follow this link to watch it. It's just a few minutes long and funny as all out. Thanks, Marilyn Brant for turning me on to Laurie's books!

http://www.babelgum.com/5003878/sex-and-the-austen-girl-meeting-men-episode-1.html

Best Acceptance Speech ever

Has it really been 15 years since Emma Thompson's fabulous Golden Globe acceptance speech for her screenplay adaption of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility? I remember watching this on t.v. and thinking "I want to be Emma Thompson!" Or at least, as clever as Emma Thompson.

Today is the monthly meeting of the Florida Panhandle Romance Writers and I'll be leading an interactive dialogue workshop, so in preparation I've been thinking a lot about dialogue. It made me dig up this awesome little gem of a speech. It's absolutely perfect.

Travel Insurance, good idea or not?

The jury is still out on this one. I have never in my life bought travel insurance on a domestic airline ticket. Mainly because the price of most airfares seem pretty reasonable and it seems silly to spend an extra 25 bucks or so on a ticket that you're trying to skimp on. So why a couple of months ago I bought travel insurance on an airline ticket from Tallahassee to Nashville, I really can't say. I think mostly it was due to the fact that the ticket cost me almost $500. Yeah. Traveling anywhere from Tallahassee sucks. But I still wouldn't want to live anywhere else, so that's that. I bought my ticket and pretty much ignored the email that came along with it from Access America (my new corporate BFF or enemy- verdict to be determined in 7-14 days).

Then, the rains came. And Nashville and the Grand Opryland Hotel were flooded and suddenly the RWA (Romance Writers of America) conference I was scheduled to attend there in late July was cancelled. I waited, along with a couple thousand other writers to see where the conference would be moved to. Orlando! Wow. Okay. My second home town (I grew up in Melbourne). I cringed (just a bit) when I heard that the conference would be held at the Swan and Dolphin Hotel at Disney World (not that it's not a lovely hotel and conference center) but as a native Floridian, I tend to get tired when all people associate Florida with is Mickey Mouse. But hey, the rat has been good to Florida tourism (as opposed to say, BP oil) so I'm not harping on Mickey and his friends. The hotel is lovely, the conference will be awesome and as long as a hurricane doesn't come along, we'll be in business:) It's a bit early in Hurricane season, so we should be fine. Okay, back to the travel insurance. Now that the conference will be in Orlando, I don't need an airline ticket. I can drive to Orlando faster than it takes to get through airport security. So I go into my saved email and find the Access America post and actually start to read my policy. And somewhere between the pages I begin to think that I have pretty solid grounds to get all my money back and believe me, an extra $500 sounds pretty good to me right now. So I put in my claim, forward all the information they ask for and wait my 7 days to see if I'm approved. I even spoke to a very helpful agent on the phone who aided me with the process.

So, yesterday the 7 days were up. I got on the Internet to see the status of my claim and of course, I couldn't tell what it was from the information provided, so I called the 1-800 number and spoke to another helpful agent on the phone who was also very polite and helpful in telling me that my claim has been pushed forward another 7-14 days. Humph. Okay, I'm not in a hurry, but I'm beginning to get suspicious. Being the patient person I am, I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

Stay tuned...

Newest Emily Giffin comes out today

And according to the email I rec'd last night from Amazon, my copy is on the way. I can't wait to dig in and start reading!

HEART OF THE MATTER

Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her mother’s warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life.

Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie---a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance---and even, to some degree, friendships---believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.
Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.

In alternating, pitch-perfect points of view, Emily Giffin creates a moving, luminous story of good people caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.

Spending money on a good cause

I've always loved the semi-oxymoronic (if that's not a real word, then it is now) thought behind spending money to save money. Especially if in the process the money you've spent to save, helps a good cause.

Every year, NY Times best selling author Brenda Novak holds a month long online auction with proceeds benefiting Diabetes research, a cause that's near and dear to her heart (her son has juvenile onset diabetes). I've always sort of watched the auction from afar, but this year I've decided to throw my hat in the ring. There's a terrific AuthorBuzz package worth over a thousand bucks that I plan to bid on (don't go bidding against me now!) as well as a few other things I have my eye on.

If you're a writer or a reader there are scads of deliciously lovely things (like editor and agent critiques, autographed books, etc ) to bid on. Go check it out.

Happy Mothers Day!

First, I'll be here.

Then, I'll be here. Yum!

And lastly, I'll be here.

Have a Happy Mothers Day, everyone!

I'm stalking Emily Giffin

Seriously. I love that she has a blog on her new website and that she's giving out so much scoop on the Something Borrowed movie. It's got an awesome cast. With Kate Hudson as Darcy (how perfect is that?) Ginnifer Goodwin as good girl Rachel and John Krasinski as Ethan (love love love that!) it promises to do the book justice. I'm thinking they must be combining both Something Borrowed and Something Blue for the movie, since Darcy and Rachel's story isn't finished in the first book.



Now, if only Sophie Kinsella would blog more frequently, I'd stalk her too. But apparently she just had another baby, so I can't give her any grief there. I just finished her latest novel, Twenties Girl. I absolutely loved it. I laughed, I cried, and I was so sorry when it was over. I really think this is Kinsella's best novel and that's saying a lot for me because I've loved them all.

Happy Anniversary to Me

One year ago today my debut novel Bunco Babes Tell All hit the shelves. It's been a whirlwind year, full of ups and downs and lots of in-betweens. As cliched as it sounds, I wish I knew then what I know now. Ah, well. If I could go back in time I would tell myself the following things:

1. The sales numbers at Amazon.com change hourly. And daily (somewhere around 6:30 am) for Barnes and Noble (although the sales number at B&N do occasionally fluctuate through out the day- not sure why it does this sometimes). No amount of mental telepathy can lower your figures. Trust me, The Great Maria has tried this and failed.

2. Learn to take compliments well and ignore the snide remarks. You have no idea how hard it is for me to take a compliment but I'm learning.

Reader/fan/friend: "I loved your book!"
Old Maria of a year ago (and of course you know I don't mean old literally): "Really? I think the scene on page 242 could have been a little tighter, though. Don't you think?"
Reader/fan/friend: Blank stare.
New and Improved Maria: "Thank you! I love my book too!"

Reader/fan/"friend": "Wow, there sure is a lot of sex in your book!"
Old Maria: cringe
New and Improved Maria: "I know, isn't it great?"

3. Don't sweat the small stuff (I didn't make this one up). I repeat: Don't sweat the small stuff.

And there you have it. I can only hope this time next year I'll be even smarter.

How beautiful is this?

Will someone please make this and serve it to me in bed on Mother's Day? Tomorrow morning will be fine too.

I ripped this saliva inducing pic off Pioneer Woman (who else?) Although the recipe is actually from Savory Sweet Life and can also be found here at Tasty Kitchen. The demo pics are almost as delicious as I'm sure the French Toast is.

Give me a choice of any breakfast food and I'll almost always go for the French Toast. I think it stems back to my Girl Scout days (5th and 6th grade were the best "girl" days of my life). I can remember going camping and making French Toast, not this version, of course, but a pretty damn good one for an open camp fire. Good times :)

Win a copy of Simply Insatiable

My good pal, Naughty Kate is celebrating the release of her newest "Simply" book by doing a give away. Go to her blog right here, leave a comment, and you could be the proud owner of this hot new erotic romance. My copy should be coming from Amazon in the mail any day and I can't wait to read it. Kate simply never ever disappoints.

SIMPLY INSATIABLE

Forgiveness and seduction are important rules in SIMPLY INSATIABLE’s game of love and surrender. Lives are changed and old hurts are mended. Simply one of the best erotic historical romances this spring; SIMPLY INSATIABLE is too marvelous to read only once. Blaize and Jane’s story is a keeper! 5 Blue Ribbons, Romance Junkies

No fantasy is too wild for Madame Helene’s Pleasure House—a brothel in Regency England where forbidden desires are more than welcome…

The most scandalous passions…

Lord Minshom is known throughout London for embracing every illicit longing—the more scandalous the better. When his estranged wife, Lady Jane returns with an ultimatum he flatly refuses—even if it means she will turn to other men. Forced to watch Jane flirt shamelessly at the House of Pleasure, Minshom is enraged…and excited. The innocent girl he wed at seventeen has transformed into a voluptuous woman who still ignites a scorching hunger within him…

Are always the most pleasureable…

After seven years apart from her husband, Jane is now ready to settle their differences and start afresh. But when she is reunited with Minshom, his attitude infuriates her—and she is determined to teach him a lesson. Yet even as Jane accepts the attentions of other men, it is Minshom she truly wants. For she alone knows how to satisfy all of his wicked needs…

Seriously, this should be outlawed

It's that good. Talenti gelato is my own personal crack cocaine. The frozen food aisle at Publix is where I score.

In my revision madness, I made myself a little goal. For every chapter I progress, I get a spoonful of gelato. Trust me, this method is working. Of course, I might not have anything left in my closet to wear, but the manuscript is coming along beautifully.

Still Revising...

I know it's hard to see but here's my story in a nutshell. Or rather, on a poster board.

I've been revising The Boyfriend of the Month Club for some time now. Mel has given up asking me if I'm done because she knows she'll just get a snicker over the phone. Done? Not yet. Although I am getting so very close. I think I'll be done by Sunday, which means I'll be turning it in on Monday to my very patient editor at Berkley.

I'll be popping champagne corks, that's for sure. This book has almost kicked my butt! And while my butt can certainly use some serious kicking, I'm pretty much exhausted. But exhilarated at the same time. This book has 4 major subplots to the overall plot and all of them have to sync together perfectly. Back to writing for now...

Covers I'm drawn to

If a picture tells a thousand words then what does this one say?

It's no secret a good cover can do wonders for a book. The cover gods can be cruel, or they can be kind, or they can be indifferent. Every author prays for the kind cover gods- the ones who wave their magic and give you a cover that not only represents the spirit of the book you've written, but one that will sell books!

I've long been a fan of Joshilyn Jackson. If you haven't read Between, Georgia or Gods in Alabama then you're really missing something. Above is the cover for her upcoming novel. Love the title! Love the cover! Can't wait to read the book. The cover gods have been good to Joshilyn.

The road to publication

Yes, sometimes I really think it's actually the yellow brick road, going in all directions with detours and nasty witches and monkeys trying to get you. But finally getting there and making all your dreams come true makes the trip worth while.

My friend Leigh Duncan is celebrating her debut release, The Officers Girl over at Everybody Needs a little Romance. Leave a comment and you could win a copy of the book.

Leigh is also going to be right here in Tallahassee at my local Books-a-Million signing copies of her book on May 2 from 2-4 pm. She's also graciously agreed to give a workshop to my local RWA chapter Florida Panhandle Romance Writers at our monthly meeting on June 12. If you're local (or not so local) and want to write, are considering writing or just love romance, consider joining our group. We have a blast! Here's a short blurb on Leigh's workshop:

The Once and Future Author, is an inspiring look at the long road to publication and the shortcuts Leigh found helpful in achieving her goals. In her workshop, Leigh shares the ways her life has changed since “the call” and shows why it’s never too late to pursue your dreams.

Happy Easter, Happy 101

My good friend, Marilyn Brant, author of the fabulous According to Jane, and I do mean fabulous, if you haven't read this book, go do so now, gave me a Happy 101 award for my blog. Thank you, Marilyn! As I understand it, I have to list 10 things that make me happy and pass it along to 5 other bloggers.

Here goes:

10 Things that Make Happy:

1. A hot cup of coffee in the morning. Fresh, preferably Starbucks, with one Splenda and a dash of half and half (because honestly, a stale cup of black coffee would just make me sad).

2. Anything that has to do with my kids (as long as they are not whining or asking for money.)

3. Low humidity (if you lived in Florida, you'd agree)

4. Finding a new exciting author to read (Marian Keyes- not new, but new to me and Sarah MacLean- her new release Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake is fabulous! I loved it!)

5. Spending a quiet evening home alone with my husband.

6. Playing Bunco with the Bunco Broads of Tallahassee.

7. Having lunch with a friend.

8. Talking to my sister Carmen on the phone.

9. Gossiping with Mel.

10. Hitting the New York Times Best Seller list (hasn't happened yet, but I can assure you I think this will make me very happy.)

11. Going to the Beach. (I know it was only supposed to be 10)

And (drum roll, please) Happy 101 gets passed along to:

1. Melissa Francis
2. Louisa Edwards
3. Kristen Painter
4. Kate Pearce
5. Marianne LaCroix

So have a happy and Blessed Easter everyone!

Dude, you are not my target audience

I've been wanting to write this blog for a long time now. Several things have stopped me. One, the subject matter revolves around something negative. And two, I don't want to write a sour grapes post. Yet, as I approach my one year anniversary (May 5!) as a published author I feel that I've learned so much about this business, about myself and my writing, and about other people, that I have a legitimate reason to post about the subject matter. Plus, the blog is called Writing Romance in the Closet and it's my blog and I can write what I want:)

One recent cold night in January, I came home from a party, happy with the world and ready to write. I figured I could squeeze in at least 2 hours before it was time to fall asleep. As my usual habit, I opened up my computer and checked my email first and found that there was a new review for Bunco Babes Tell All on Amazon (I have a Google alert for such things). It was my first one star review. Bummer. But the shocker part was that the review was from the Sacramento Book Review and the reviewer had given Bunco Babes Tell All a really good review when the book came out so this new review made no sense. Until I figured out it was for the wrong book. The review was clearly meant for Bunco Babes Gone Wild. The reviewer compared my book to Judith Weiner's Best Friends Forever (they meant to say Jennifer Weiner) called my book trashy, etc... Something didn't add up, so I set out to investigate. I looked up the review on the Sacramento Book Review site and found out that indeed there had been an error. The review was meant for Bunco Babes Gone Wild and to my relief, the reviewer was not the same women who reviewed Bunco Babes Tell All, but someone completely different- a man.

Still... it bothered me. Should I bring this up to someone at Sacramento Book Reviews attention? I'll take the one star for Bunco Babes Gone Wild, but I hated that it was listed in the wrong place. After some deliberation and whining to writing friends (Mel and Louisa) I decided to let it go, but I'll admit, for a time, it paralyzed me. All I could think of when I sat down to write was that review. Then a few days later, the review (now with Jennifer Weiner's name spelled correctly) started popping up all over the place. The reviewer posted it on his own review site with the blog title : Shameless. Then a couple of days later, another Google alert popped up on my email. This one with the title "What's the worst book you've ever read?" Um, yeah, you guessed it. Dude jumped in with Bunco Babes Gone Wild (he's gotten the title right now too.) Of course, I have to say my Bunco Babes were in good company. Twilight and The Great Gatsby and a mirage of wildly popular books were also listed under worst books ever read.

So while this wasn't exactly the place I wanted any book of mine listed, it was the push that made me think that as a writer, I've made it! I have written something that another person on the planet truly hated. But I've also written something that other people have written to tell me they loved. I once heard Jennifer Crusie say that she despised 3 star reviews. She'd rather have a one star because it meant that someone was really moved by your work. In a negative way, yes, but you made someone feel something and that's what art is all about. Evoking emotion. Good or bad, it's so much better than indifference.

When I first met my editor last summer she casually let drop that one of the things she liked about my writing was my raunchy sense of humor. I must have looked surprised because she quickly added, "that's a good thing." I'll be honest, I like my raunchy sense of humor too. And if as a reader, you don't, then that's okay. My target audience is largely women, like me, who enjoy a fast paced, contemporary book with a little sex and a few laughs. A book that focuses on things that are important to women- like friendship and family and love.

So after some time has passed I've learned to put the whole thing in perspective. I'm grateful that a book review site like Sacramento Book Reviews took the time to read both my books and post a review, so thank you for that. Without people reading and reviewing your books, you're dead in this business. But I can't let a bad review guide me in my writing. I have to write to my target audience. Which is me.

Note to self: Avoid cliches

Still working on revisions for The Boyfriend of the Month Club, which I plan to have finished within a few days. Hopefully. Yes. I will (this is me talking to myself, pumping me up). I still have to change up a few scenes, then take one final look at the manuscript, sweep out the repetitive words, cliches, and unnecessary passages. In other words, put my manuscript on a diet and have it come out a lean, mean, fighting machine. Hmmm.. that sounds suspiciously like a cliche.

Meanwhile, I had a really nice weekend. Busy, but nice. Oh, and I read my first Marian Keyes novel a couple of weeks ago! Won't be my last, though. I absolutely have a new author to add to my list of favorites.

Casting call

Tall blond and handsome (I blogged about this once). It's one of the most popular hits on my blog. Don't know if that's good or bad, because I'd really like the hits to be all about me and my books, but beggars can't be choosers, so what the hell. I'll take it.

Speaking of which... revisions for The Boyfriend of the Month Club are coming along. Changing up a secondary character, even one that's only in the book a few times really does mess up the flow and I'm finding that the book has taken on a slightly different flavor. It's still the same story, but with an altered spice. I like it. I think my editor was really on target here.

As I tweak the story again (and again) I find myself thinking (daydreaming) who would play the major roles if it was ever made into a movie. When I first thought of the character of Joe (my sexy, but commitment phobic dentist) I thought of Curtis Stone. But when I actually started writing Joe, Curtis didn't really fill the part anymore and Joe suddenly became Chris Evans (Harvard Hottie). Chris is slightly younger than Joe's character, but only by a few years, so by the time the movie is made he'll be perfect for the role. Hollywood, are you listening?

My new blog look!

I absolutely love it! Thank you, Tara at Author Web Designs by Tara. I wanted to change up the look of my blog but keep it in sync with my website (which will undergo a few minor cosmetic changes as well over the next few months) and I think Tara did a fantastic job. I absolutely love looking at my covers on the header.

Now back to cleaning house in prep for the Termite man...

Revisions, Termites and undereye bags

So I heard from my fabulous editor WM last week. She really liked the manuscript but wanted a secondary character from the first chapter changed up. She felt he was too cartoonish, which, after some consideration, I agreed with and have made the necessary changes. I think he definitely reads more realistic now and I'm actually excited about the direction his character has gone. The thing is... now I have to go in and change him up in the rest of the manuscript, which means more minor rewrites and since I write at the pace of a snail on Benadryl that means I've got some work to do.

Plus... the Termite inspector (renewal of the termite bond is critical in Florida) is coming this week. He was supposed to come tomorrow but I rescheduled for Wednesday, because just like the when the cleaning lady comes (not that I have a CL at the moment) but I just can't have him come into a dirty/messy house, which means I'll be cleaning house all day tomorrow. Which leads me to my current under-eye-bag situation. No surprise here since lack of sleep and age are creeping up on me. Used to be I could get away with almost no sleep and still look decent. Those days are long gone. So I found this puppy at Target the other day. I love Soap and Glory products, almost as much for the packaging as anything else. So far, I'm not sure if it's any better than slathering hemorrhoid cream under your eyes. Not something I've ever done, but have been tempted to do in the past. The jury is still out...

The Kiss!

I'm a huge fan of The Good Wife. Really, great great T.V. Plus it stars the yummy Josh Charles who I fell in love with in Dead Poet's Society (one of my favorite all time movies).

I have to admit, the premise turned me off at first. Politician (played by Chris Noth- another excellent reason to watch) cheats on his wife with prostitute, does a mea culpa to the press, with wifey looking on in supportive terse moment (Julianna Marguiles- who I have a girl crush on now thanks to the show). Politician gets arrested for misusing government funds (swears he's innocent! Yes, he shagged prostitute but he used his own money to do it. Can't anyone get anything right?) and gets thrown in jail. Long story short, instead of kicking Mr. Big and Horny to the curve, wifey stands by her man. I'll admit, it's probably not what I would do, but hey, life is complicated. Now wifey is the bread winner and working at big time law firm where her ex-college sweetheart (Yummy Josh Charles) is now her boss. Add in a fabulous supporting cast- Christine Baranski and the absolutely fabulous Archie Panjabi and it's the best hour on T.V. as far as I'm concerned. Oh, and in recent episodes Alan Cummings has come on board as a deliciously cynical political advisor. I can't wait to see what they have in store for his character.

Last Tuesday, the moment I've been waiting for all season long finally arrived. The kiss between Alicia and Will (Julianna and Josh, or wifey and boss). Yes, I guess you could say it was wrong. She's still married to Mr. Big and Horny, but hey, life is complicated.

Up, Up in the Air, and Avatar

So I've caught up with 3 of the nominated Best Picture Oscar nominated movies this weekend.

Last night Mike Geraci and I went to see Avatar at the AMC theater. I had hoped I'd get a chance to see it on the big screen since this seemed like the kind of movie that had to be seen there first, complete with 3D glasses. Despite the fact the movie has been out since Christmas, the theater was packed. James Cameron must be laughing all the way to the bank.

I'll be honest and say that I wasn't looking forward to seeing this movie, so I went into it a little prejudiced. For some reason (probably because I've been living in a bubble since October) I thought the movie was about a video game. Where I got that idea from I have no clue. But it's not. It's basically Dancing with Wolves with Blue people and a lot of special effects. The first 30 minutes or so I was bored out of my mind. To the point that I took off my 3D glasses because there was no point to them. Then the movie took off and the special effects were absolutely unbelievable. Mike Geraci turned into a little kid. If I had a dollar for every time I heard him say "cool" under his breath, I'd probably have enough money to take us to the movies again (tickets for this show were $13 bucks a piece). The movie was way too long, the story was a rip off, but the special effects make the $13 ticket totally worth it.

Up in the Air. I should have liked this one more than I did. I really love Jason Reitman. Juno and Thank for you Smoking are great films and while the cast of Up in the Air was terrific, the film suffers from a horribly sagging middle. The George Clooney/Vera Farmiga romance, while believable, took second fiddle to the George Clooney/Anna Kendrick relationship, which for me, was the best part of the story. Actually, anytime Anna Kendrick was on the screen, the movie came alive. I didn't understand from the short clips they showed at the Oscars why she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but after seeing the movie, I get it. She was a terrific antagonist to George Clooney's protagonist, and while I did feel for the George Clooney character, she was the character I was actually rooting for during the film. One funny bit was a cameo by Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down). Just looking at this guy makes me laugh.

Now to my personal favorite of these 3 films. UP! All I can say is that this is not solely a kid's film. It's a movie for everyone and I loved every second of it. I cried, I laughed, I cried again, and I want the DVD so I can watch it whenever I want. If you haven't seen it, go rent it!

Bunco for Charity

Last night I played Bunco with the MOPS (that's the acronym for Mothers of Preschoolers at Killearn United Methodist Church). They had the brilliant idea of sponsoring a fundraiser for their group by playing Bunco. One of the leaders of the group (Beth) had read Bunco Babes Tell All in her book club and contacted me to see if I wanted to play. Well, of course I did!

I have to say, the whole thing was a lot of fun and so well organized! There were probably about 14-16 tables of women playing, some of whom had never played Bunco before, but the whole thing went off smoother than a baby's behind (one woman even had her 12 week old baby with her and still managed to play- best baby ever). There was a $10 cover charge per player and there was also a silent auction going on during the evening. Great way to raise money, have fun, and meet new people.

On another note, look what I got in the mail! This fabulous glass was sent to me by Liz, a friend of my sister's who read my books and was invited to her first Bunco party last week. Liz was a winner and she sent me the prize. Love it! (I'm starting a collection). In case the picture is too dark, the writing says Bunko Babe 2010. Thanks, Liz!

The Hurt Locker

In an attempt to rectify my shocking lack of Oscar 2010 knowledge I began with the simplest movie to watch. The one that was On Demand. I expected that I would probably like or at least be interested in The Hurt Locker, a film about an EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) unit based in Iraq. One of the most interesting trivia about the film is that it was directed by a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, who by the way, is the first woman ever to win for Best Director. yay! (And about time).

This isn't the sort of film you'd expect to be directed by a woman, because it's a guy's kind of movie- war, exploding bombs, lots of testosterone slamming in the air. But I have to say, I was absolutely riveted from the first second. The story takes off when a new Sargent (played by Jeremy Renner) comes to the 3 man squad. He's the sort of brash, dangerous, risk-taking protagonist who on the surface seems doomed to bring the squad down. But he's a complex character and I really grew to root for him, even when he did stupid things. There are cameos in the film by Guy Pearce, Evangeline Lilly and Ralph Fiennes. It's gritty and makes no pretense that war is anything but dirty business.

One of the "fun" things about watching this movie was of course, Mike Geraci. His sideline commentary, I have to say, in this case, actually added to the film's experience. I'm always amazed at the stuff he comes up with. Although I have to say it's a little scary to realize just how much your husband really knows about explosives.

Oscars!

I love love love love movies and I love watching the Oscars. It's like being a kid again and getting to crash your parent's grown up party for a few minutes- a sneak peek into a glitzy glamorous world.

I'm ashamed to say that this year for the first time ever I saw NONE of the nominated films. This is partly due to the fact that I've been under deadline since October and most of the films nominated all come out in one swoop drop at the end of the year, so I have some catching up to do.

I loved the duo hosting gig done by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin (It's Complicated was the one and only film I saw during the holiday season. It was cute and uncomplicated, so it was a pleasant no-brainer).

Highlights of the night? Gerard Butler. Yummy. Sandra Bullock looked beautiful. Penelope Cruz did too.

Films I most want to watch after seeing the show: Nine, The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, Precious.

Films I least want to watch after seeing the show: Avatar, The Blind Side (although I'm sure I will probably watch them both.)

I've heard Avatar is so-so from almost everyone who's seen it (including my kids). The Blind Side, on the other hand I've heard is awesome. But really, who did the trailer for that movie? Because it's the awful trailer that puts the movie further down my to-be-seen list.
unknown voice: You're changing that boy's life."
Sandra Bullock: "No, he's changing mine."
Cringe worthy dialogue to be sure. The movie has to be better than than, though. Right?

One last thing. Can someone in charge of the Oscars please start them a little earlier? I finally went to bed at 11:30 and they weren't even close to coming to the big ones. I set my DVR with the 30 minute extra time thing and it still cut off at Best Actor. Grrr....

Round One goes to Me

I finally turned the manuscript that won't stop writing itself in to my editor this week. A huge sigh of relief was let out by all. Mostly by me, of course. And probably by Mel, who's been urging me for weeks to just turn the damn thing in. Of course, she's listened to me whine incessantly about it. How it just wasn't "done" yet, how it needed just a tiny bit more tweaking, how in the eleventh hour I've discovered *one* more loose end that needs tucking back in. I joked that I'd wake up one morning and find that instead of a word doc. on my laptop, my manuscript had grown hair and nails and teeth and fists and was ready to beat me up. In the end, however, I won round one.

As I sit back on day 3 of the waiting period (this is the excruciating period in which I wait to hear from my editor to see what she thinks of the book) I'm already thinking of ways to sharpen the plot. Because the book sold on synopsis, I had to pre-plot the book, something I think is important to do, because I need direction. But pre-plotting isn't written in stone and the last half of the book turned out to be very different than the original idea I had in mind. Once you start writing characters, giving them dialogue, they take the book over and there's not much you can do about that except go along for the ride.

Meanwhile, I'm taking a much needed break from the manuscript to do things I haven't had time to do. Like clean house. Catch up on emails (I have millions) and read:) I've already read the first 2 books in Madeline Hunter's awesome new series- Ravishing in Red and Provocative in Pearls. Loved them both. And have also read Kristin Higgin's newest The Next Best Thing. LOVED IT. I'm currently reading Table Manners by Mia King which has been on my TBR pile for months now. Next is Louisa's book On the Steamy Side. (can't wait) and then I'm going to try a new author for me, Julie James. Her new release Something About You has gotten some great reviews and I've wanted to read her for awhile now.

And in some extremely exciting news, Jim and Pam are having their baby tonight! I'll be glued to my telly, that's for sure.

On the Steamy Side

Yay! There's no more waiting because On The Steamy Side hits bookstores today! This is Louisa Edward's 2nd book in her Recipe for Love series and it promises to be just as romantic and funny as Can't Stand the Heat the book that introduced us to all the wonderful characters at Market, the upscale NY restaurant at the heart of the books. I had the privilege of reading a rough draft of the first few chapters a while ago and it was absolutely fantastic.

On The Steamy Side

She’s Never Met A Man So Mouth-Watering
When Lilah Jane Tunkle fled her dull life in Virginia for the bright lights of New York City, she didn’t expect to wind up a nanny to a gorgeous celebrity chef’s ten-year-old son. Working for the delectable Devon Sparks is a sure-fire recipe for disaster, especially after Lilah gets a tantalizing taste of his perfectly seasoned kisses . . .

And He Can’t Resist Her Down-Home Spice
Devon’s not sure he can handle one more surprise ingredient in his life—he left his popular TV show, his culinary reputation is on the line, and now the son he barely knows is back for seconds. Lilah’s Southern sass is supposed to keep the boy in line, but soon enough she’s teaching Devon a thing or two about homespun food . . . and turning up the heat.