Break Time

Yes, my life does have a rhythm to it: Write a book, take a break, write a book, take a break. Repeat. Ad infinitum.

Not that I'm complaining. I love my life's rhythm. And during my breaks from actually writing a book, I have plenty to do beyond cat napping. I have line edits and final proofs to go over. Proposals to write. My website to update. Contests to judge. Windows to clean.

I really do need to get to the windows...

Soon.

Mwahaha.

But what I love best about break time is its very...unstructured-ness. It's not so much about discipline and focus as it is about relaxing, enjoying, getting all those loose ends tidied up a bit.

When I'm writing a book, I tend to get lost in it. Getting lost in the book is the only way to make it really come alive for me. When I'm writing a book, the real world recedes. It's just me and all my imaginary friends, my characters. And their journey.

Break time is about coming back to the real world. It's snoozing at odd times. And more careful attention to the universe around me when I'm awake. It's a break from the demanding focus of writing, and at the same time, it's the chance to be fully engaged in real life.

So what do you do in your break time?

Finalist in the NRCA!

Yes, it's true. The Man Who Had Everything is a finalist in the Short Contemporary category of the National Readers Choice Awards. I'm pumped. This contest is judged by readers from all over the country. Where the RITA is judged by other authors, the NRCA is all about which books readers like best. And well, you know, without readers, where would we authors be?

And there's more cool news here. There are five members in my plot group and four of us are published. All four of our published members made the finals in the NRCA this year--all in different categories. Susan Mallery's up for Tempting, Maureen Child is up for More Than Fiends and Teresa Southwick has finaled with The Sheikh's Contract Bride . I find this simply beyond cool.

For a list of all finalists, go to the NRCA homepage at the Oklahoma Romance Writers of America site.

Yay!

Tagged!

My friend and fellow-author and a RITA nominee this year, Linda Goodnight, tagged me.

Sooo...

Here we go.

Tagging Rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you: Linda Goodnight (done)

b. Post the rules on your blog. (done)

c. Write six random things about yourself. (doing. In a sec)

d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (Breaking this rule. Gena Showalter did, too, so there!)

e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog. (well, I would, if I hadn't *not* done D )

f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up. (Will do as soon as I post this)

Okay, now for 6 Random Things...

Stay awake, everyone. ;)

1. I love to play games like Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Charades. And any and all card games. I'm one of the few people who goes "Oh, Goody!" when the hostess at a party says we're going to play a game.

2. I love all seasons when they start and can't wait for them to go when they leave.

3. I love books about the Tudor period in England. Novels, I mean. The Other Boleyn Girl
is an all-time fave. When I was a child, I fantasized about going back in time and warning all of Henry's wives. "Oh, you will be sorry. Don't lose your head over that guy..." Okay, I know. *Groan*

4. I love oregano. Fresh oregano in a vinegar and oil salad dressing. Oh, my! Nothing like it.

5. I love the Sierra mountains in Northern California. Love the sound of wind through the pines. Or cedars. Or both. Is that more than one thing?

6. I love strong, smart, loving men. It doesn't hurt if they're good to look at.

And that's six. Done it!

So, at least one random thing about you???

Home Stretch and New Cover

I'm in the last thirty or so pages of this book and loving it now. It's my fave time, when I'm racing to the finish, crying and sighing with my characters, feeling I have to pack way too much good stuff into a small number of pages. Perfect! This is what I love most about my job.

To the left, the cover for my July book. What do you think? It's way more sexy than most Special Edition covers. But I have to say, it does fit the title. That girl is most def...in bed with the boss. Or at least she has been and probably will be again. I'm kind of wondering about his fly, though. I think he needs to have it mended. Or something. But I always love a bare, sculpted chest. And she does appear to like him a lot. She was supposed to resemble Jennifer Garner. Hmm. Not so much. And he was to look like...okay, I have pictures of him. He's not Patrick Dempsey, but close. Just can't remember his name. Anyway, the guy on the cover looks like a hotter version of Andrew McCarthy. No, not complaining. Just saying...


Here's some more Roaul for you.

And now...back to work!

Things are Going Great Around Here!

Well, I know. The picture hardly suits a bouyant mood. I am far from feeling blindfolded on a balcony in...what's that...Miami? Venice Beach? Somewhere in the South of France?

It's only...

The guy. It's a about the guy. Yeah. That one, the gorgeous one, in the blindfold? Raoul again. Oh, my! I loved this picture so much, I just wrote a love scene involving a blindfold. Nothing like the proper inspiration, I always say.

So I read this article by the amazing Barbara Samuel in the Romance Writers Report. Taming the Internet Monster, it was called. All about the ways writers--or anyone who regularly uses the Web--can be sucked in to spending more time here than is really good for getting things done.

I mean, there's a lot to like about the Internet. Scratch "like." There's a lot to love: instant connection, answers to just about any question, fabulous eye candy (see picture above), cyber-friends galore. The benefits of life on the Web go on and on.

But the Web can be a monster, taking up precious time we should be using to, oh, say, write better books. Or even more books. Barbara had several suggestions for getting control of the monster. Among them, don't check email until noon. That one really struck me. I mean, Don't check email til noon. Simple huh? I thought, I can do that. How hard can it be?

Well, pretty dang hard if you're an email junkie like moi. So I took the suggestion and modified it a tad. I check email first thing, but only to see if there's something urgent that requires a reply right now. If not, I turn it off. And go to work. And don't check it again until noon.

Good googly moogly! Amazing. I've been writing like the wind and having lots of time to go on the Internet later. Or to do other things that suit my fancy. Shop. Cook. Read.

So as of now, I know who my characters are and I love my story and it is flowing so fast, it astonishes me daily.

Thank you, Barbara Samuel.

And how are things going in your world?

Who the #$%^&* Are These People?

Yes, well....

Those of you who know me may have guessed by the title of this post that I'm starting a new book. To the left? The eye-candy inspiration for my hero. His name is Raoul Bova--the guy in the picture, not my hero--and he's always been a fave of mine. Here, as you see, he is wet. Wet is good--and yes, I know. I've said that before.

By the way, Raoul played the Italian younger-guy hunk in Under the Tuscan Sun . He had wild sex with Diane Lane and then married someone else. But in the book I'm writing now, the hero, who does look like Raoul, is neither Italian nor a cheater. Which is good. Not that he's not Italian. I love Italians. But that he's not a cheater. I don't love cheaters...

At this point, he (meaning my hero) has no idea who he is. Seriously. Somehow, he's received a blow to the head and he's wandering the snowy Sierras in search of he knows not what.

What he'll find is the heroine, one Tessa Jones (Don't you dare call her Tessy!) who lives in North Magdalene, California and is the daughter of Patrick Jones, who, as some may recall, was the hero of one of my first Jones Gang books, Sweetbriair Summit, back in the day.

I love it when the kids of my heroes and heroines get old enough to be heroes and heroines themselves. Or I would love it--if I could only figure out who the #$%^&* these people are!

Hope this post finds you all well and happy and getting lots of good reading done!

Author Secrets Revealed...

...Or, what I did when I finished my most recent book.

As you can see from the picture of me at left, finishing a book is really workin' for me. Better, even, than plastic surgery. As of now,I'm a ringer for Charlize Theron.


I tended my lucky bamboo. The poor thing needs tending. That baby has been repeatedly chewed almost to death by my lucky-bamboo eating cats, Tom and Ed. I mean really. My cats ate my lucky bamboo? That's just pathetic.
So I got this bitter spray-on stuff at the pet store. Every other day, I spray it on my lucky bamboo. The cats taste it, throw up--and leave the bamboo alone for at least a couple of weeks. Until they forget how gross it tastes and try again. And hurl again. On my desk. Oh, yes. So the bitter yucky spray is enough to keep my luck alive--yet not really thriving, and definitely scarred. There's a life lesson in here somewhere....

I spent more time on MYSPACE than usual. There I learned that Meg Cabot is really funny. She's got three or four videos on her page. The one on neck creping is especially meaningful and deep.

And what about that Jill Monroe? Her AuthorTalk interviews--with Gena Showalter and with herself--yes. That's what I said. Herself. Are amazing and also make you want to spray your morning coffee all over your keyboard. Here's a link to the incredible Ms. Jill's blog where she put up both interviews on the same post. Now, that is talent, ladies and gents.

Oh, and I'm like, cooking. As a rule, I don't cook much. Who has time for that when they're chained to a keyboard? Not I.

But during my brief days of freedom from page goals, I've roasted a chicken, made beef stew and goulash. Okay, not exactly gourmet delights. But you know, I've always wanted to make goulash. Try to find a hambone these days, folks. We need an actual real-life butcher around here. Not just a chi-chi meat counter at the local supermarket. So I settled for hamhocks. Story of my life.

What else? Oh, I sent my website updates to my webmistress. And I'm writing a proposal. The proposal is actual writing, so it's a little bit of being responsible within these few wild days of freedom.

Okay, gotta check on the goulash....