On the Threshold of 2008....

....Okay, that sounds a bit ominous. I think I'll just go with:

Here's to bunches of happiness, success and love in the New Year. May all your resolutions stay firm--or, if not, may you let them go with grace and a smile. Oh, and good books! Here's to stacks and stacks of good books to read.

Today, I'm getting five nice pages done on Tanner's story. And tonight, to ring in the New Year, it's over to my friend Karyn's for bubbly and lobster. I'll raise a festive glass of champagne to each and every one of you.

Hapy 2008, everyone!

White Christmas!

We had snow!

I tried to take an impressive picture, but...not so much.

Anyway, it drifted down in the most lovely way. And then it all melted before night came.

Having lived where the snow piles up and freezes solid on the walkways overnight--trust me. I'm happy with the show and then a nice, quick melt-away.

For dinner we had garlic-and-horseradish encrusted prime rib. Totally yummy. It was a wonderful day. I know yours was, as well.

Now it's back to my crushing workload...

But I'm smiling. A temporarily white Christmas, good food--and my family.

It doesn't get much better than that!

So how about yours? Did you have turkey? Ham? Beef?

Anything But Work. Please...

Okay, I just don't feel like working. All right? I mean, I need to work. I should work. It's time for work...

But I don't wanna work.

I consulted Santa--as played by Yoda. He said, "Here, have a candy cane. And may the force be with you."

Thanks a bunch, Santa.

Last year, I had a 12/28 deadline. Now that was fun. Not. This year, I planned better. My deadline is February 1, '08. Plenty of time to write Tanner's story and enjoy the holidays.

And yet, here I am. Typing a sentence. Not liking it. Hitting the backspace button until, once again, I face a screen as blank as a field of new-fallen snow. And really, I think, I simply can't sit here one single minute longer.

So I get up to pour a fresh glass of iced tea--and find myself distracted by the burning need to hear White Christmas just one more time, to plug in the tree lights and bask in the seasonal glow. To wrap a few presents, make a holiday phone call or two.

Yes. It's true. I'm a Christmas junkie.

Should I simply resign myself? Should I accept the fact that, no matter how carefully I plan, I am destined to end up in January, sweating bullets, racing to meet a deadline that is suddenly upon me, bearing down on me, looming before me, undeniable. Terrifying. Implacable. And other words with more than three syllables.

By then, of course, I'm appalled that I didn't have the sense to spend my December more wisely.

What's a girl to do?

Work smart? Or give it up and get seriously festive and pay the price after the dawn of the New Year?

Festive is better. I mean, really. It's only once a year...

Ice Storm!

...And no, I don't mean the movie with John Cusack.

I mean the real thing--36 hours without electricity and a whole bunch of beautiful trees cracking and falling, the sound like gunshots in the darkest part of the night.

It was bad, folks. But the power's back on now and helpful electric crews have come from Texas and Kansas and Missouri to get us back on track. Thank you, everyone who came to help out.

We needed it.

At my house, the power went out at 3:30 Monday morning. It came back on at about 3 Tuesday afternoon. Yikes! Outside during this time, temperatures hovered just around the freezing mark. We have gas heat--but the blower and temp. gauge won't work without electricity, so if the power goes out, we have no heat. We do have a gas stove, however. So I brought my portable Carbon Monoxide monitor from the bedroom and put it by the stove and turned on the burners. We sat in the kitchen to keep an eye on our improvised heat source. We burned candles for light when it got dark. And we went to be early. Really early.

Luckily, we have new windows and all new exterior doors and our house is well-insulated. So we were fine.

The sad part around here is that we lost several big, beautiful trees on our street. A couple of them landed on houses and vehicles. But everyone's fine now, at least in my neighborhood, so we count our blessings and pick up the piles of fallen limbs...and go on.


Tree limbs encased in a shiny, jewel-like coating of ice are so beautiful. Hard to believe they can do such terrible damage.

Great Review from Library Journal!

Sally Hawkes, Harlequin/Silhouette author and Coordinator of Library Network Services in Arkansas sent me this review of VALENTINE'S SECRET CHILD, which will be out in February '08:

***

Library Journal(December 1, 2007; 0-373-24879-2; 978-0-373-24879-7)

Giving a slight Valentine's Day twist to the classic secret-baby plot, Rimmer (A Bravo Christmas Reunion) adds another family-centered sizzler to her popular "Bravo" series as single mom Kelly Bravo is reunited with her now-wealthy high school sweetheart, and this pair of emotionally scarred people struggle to forgive the past and, possibly, become a family in the process. Well-developed, sympathetic characters, complex emotional issues, and a delightful nine-year-old highlight this story that tugs at the heartstrings. One of Silhouette's most popular authors, Rimmer lives in Oklahoma. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

***

Wahoo, that's a nice one! Thanks much, Sally. And thanks to Library Journal, too!

To the left? That's fan-girl from the old Deadline Diaries blog. She's really happy for me.

I'm Christine and I'm a fake tree virgin...

Okay, the picture doesn't do this tree justice. Maybe I should try taking a pic at night...

But I love it! It's way real-looking, but still perfect in the way of artificial trees. When lit, though this doesn't show up in the picture, it looks like it's got snow on the boughs and there are little pinecones tucked on the ends of the branches. So cute! So easy! Just snap it together, open and fluff the branches, hang the ornaments and plug it in.

I keep feeling as if I should water it...

But there is no watering when it comes to artificial trees.Yeah, yeah. I know this all falls under the category of "Uh, duh..."

But for a fake tree virgin, it's new and fresh and gorgeous. And easy. Did I mention easy...?

The agony of real tree presentation is behind me now. No more hunting the dang thing down, hauling it home sticking out of the trunk, cutting the trunk again so it will drink water, dragging it inside, trying to get it straight in the stand--with water splashing everywhere. No more spending 3 hours-plus just getting the lights on right (Not to mention, working. What is it about Christmas lights? You put them away and they're all working, you get them out, you test them: still working. You laboriously lace them on the tree...not working. Argh) No more hanging the ornaments myself because by the time the lights are up, everyone else has become totally bored and wandered off. This year DH hung ornaments with me. Moments to treasure...oh, my, yes!

No more watering the dang thing every morning. No more worrying the water will spill and damage the floor...

No more falling pine needles to clean up.

Oh, yes. I love my new tree.

But I think I already said that.

Have your put your tree up yet?