Running With Quills: OH, DEAR, WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE?

Welcome to Running With Quills, your online newsletter designed to keep you up to date with what your favorite authors (that would be us) are doing throughout the year. Here you will find the release dates of our new books and get information about our backlists. We'll preview our cover art here long before the books hit the stores and we'll keep you informed about works-in-progress and special projects. You'll also receive advance notice of signings and appearances. From time to time we'll give you a peek at our worlds, tell you what we're reading, and introduce you to some new authors.

Friday, April 18, 2008

OH, DEAR, WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE?

Where are they? This has never happened before and I'm really worried--I've lost my buddies and haven't the faintest where I should look for them. Well, that's a bit of a fib. I have a few ideas but I'm too embarrassed to mention them.

If anyone has some REALISTIC location suggestions for me, please send them along.

The problem is that I'm buried in a new book--the one I'm writing, OUT OF BODY, and my head is almost always down. Days go by and I don't notice what's going on around me.

Seriously, I'm up to my ears in psi. Psi this and psi that. Marley Millet is restoring a red lacquer Chinoiserie dollhouse and it's getting her into all kinds of trouble. Today I got nervous that she'd gone too far and wouldn't be able to get back:) I don't mind her making things difficult as long as I'm in control at all times.

Oh (Stella is casting about for fascinating information) it's snowing here in Washington State--on the shores of Lake Washington!

A couple of hours ago I heard sleet hitting my office windows so I went outside to look. Yup, not much happens around here. But guess what, I walked into non-stop excitement. Two cop cars with lights flashing were blocking the street at the corner because a water pipe broke! Imagine that. And the flood of water had swept piles of mud, pebbles and other crud downhill.

Wow, my heart is still all aflutter.

I'd better calm down and get back to poor Marley. She's stuck somewhere very, very cold.

Good tidings, Stella

25 Comments:

DFender said...: LOL Stella!
I'm glad you stopped by and excited to read that you're working on OUT OF BODY. Red laquer, huh? Oh the possibilities!

It really is nice that you popped in to say hello, Stella. You've been missed ;-)

It was 80F and sunny here in NE Ohio yesterday, just gorgeous! Today, cloudy and 70F, which is very easy to live with.

Happy author-y stuff, Stella...and your accounting of the burst water pipe was riveting! Ha!

Deb; 5:36 AM
Jayne Ann Krentz said...: Okay, anything with psi in it sounds exciting, Stella! Can't wait to see what happens to Marley.; 11:05 AM
Anonymous said...: Well, I'm sure that you will add a question there....maybe a little more words over here....describe that dollhouse with a few fine colorful statements...

And, Behold another fine, exciting read for we readers...yes definitely.

Looking forward to some "Out of Body" experience.

Louis; 3:25 PM
Stella said...: Not one nasty comment about my banal blatherings. You are kind people!

Question: What (if anything) attracts you to psi romance? What elements turn you off?

Deb: The house is old but exact dating proves difficult. The front door is set at an angle on one corner--very unusual.

Gold leaf overlays parts of the red lacquer and this is wearing badly, as is the lacquer. Since Marley is an expert lacquer and leaf restorer, she was given the job of working on the house.

That's when life at the New Orleans antique shop, J. Clive Millet on Royal Street, became an irrisistible attraction for Marley.

Silhouettes of people show at the windows--quite creepy:) But the most interesting thing about this toy house is that it is a portal for my heroine, Marley Millet who should, but can't stay away from it. If she keeps returning via a channel the house opens through parallel time, she could well pay with her life.

This is a paranormal romantic thriller.

Jayne: Thank you, m'dear.

Louis: I shall do my best to entertain you. Although I've more than dabbled in ghosts, and flirted with a shape shifter or two, this is my first fully paranormal story.

Cheers, Stella; 4:39 PM
talpianna said...: You don't need friends.

You have LOLcats.; 6:45 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Stella,
I was out in this lovely spring weather we are having. (Did I dream about Easter? Is it still winter?) We had 6 inches of snow in Bothell, WA, and I got to drive all day in the downpour. I wish I had been cozied up to a psi-girl with red lacquer. Sounds possitively grand. I can't wait to read the story!

Lynne Thomas; 8:46 PM
Anonymous said...: What attracts me to psi? I just like reading about people like me who sometime see, feel, or experience something extraordinary. It makes me a little less lonely.
Lynne Thomas; 8:49 PM
Stella said...: Tal--You have this partly right. LOLcats give me so many smiles. I love . . . not flamboyant enough . . . I am crazy about dogs and cats.

But I also like/love some pretty wonderful people.

Stella; 12:53 AM
Stella said...: Lynne: Six inches, that's horrible in late April.

When I drove into Seattle earlier, snow pack was sliding from cars along the way. I'm grateful I haven't tackled new plantings yet.

I shall tell that red lacquer story with gusto!

Stella; 12:57 AM
Stella said...: Lynne:

Forgive me, I didn't realize there was a second post.

I think a great many people are aware of that other sense. As children, we seem able to accept "happenings" that don't fit into the acknowledged "norm." I don't question my memories, in fact I enjoy revisiting them.

Enjoy your wonderful mind.

Stella; 1:01 AM
Lori Foster said...: Morning Stella! I'm in Pittsburgh, packing up from the RT convention, drinking nasty in-room coffee instead of the good stuff because there wasn't time for room service and I'm too wiped-out from all the fun to venture from my room any earlier than necessary.

It's been BEAUTIFUL weather here. Seeing friends - new and old - is the best part of any convention.

Can't wait to see what happens in your book, but I'm positive you'll make it fab reading for all of us!

Hugs to all. I can not WAIT to get home and crash. I'm outta here in another hour, so bye!

Lori; 3:34 AM
Elizabeth Guest said...: OUT OF BODY is a great title, Stella! Can't wait to read Marley's story.

Speaking of odd weather: We had an earthquake here in the Midwest this past week. Strange and first-time experience for me: feeling our house sway like that.

Gotta run. I'm in the middle of a wonderful book by a very talented romantic suspense writer named Stella Cameron. :-)
~EG; 9:32 AM
DFender said...: Stella,
Ooooo I can't wait to meet Marley. What turns me on to paranormal stuff? The same thing that turns me on in other stories, I'd guess. Great writing, believablity (is that a word? LOL) terrific characters, humor, suspense and all the rest. You, Stella, always deliver in all areas. Lookin' forward to OUT OF BODY... lots ;-)
Deb; 1:10 PM
Stella said...: Hi Lori:

Yuck on the bad coffee. But at least you can get some. Try being tea drinker in most hotels where they like to do things like putting milk into the boiling water before adding the tea!

Hope the trip home was safe and uneventful. Getting home, from anywhere, is the best feeling.

Hugs, Stella; 7:16 PM
Stella said...: Hi EG:

You are too good to me but I hope you're enjoying CYPRESS NIGHTS.

Today--following the earthquake you had--there have been several piggyback articles on potential future quakes. I do see a pattern of sensationalizing these things. They write as if there's anything a human can do to stop the earth from moving...

Love, Stella; 7:19 PM
Stella said...: But, Deb--With all fiction we have to be able to suspend disbelief (to varying degrees), don't we. With psi, there can be a need to not just suspend belief but disavow it:)

Cheers, Stella; 7:21 PM
Ranurgis said...: I do a lot of blathering too at times, so I don't mind if someone else does, especially if it has some rhyme and reason.

We've had a knifing and another "bodily harm" incident within 1 mile of where I live in the last 3 days. Doesn't make me feel terribly safe on the street here.

Our temperatures have almost matched the Ohio ones with a record of 25.2C yesterday. The Canadian west had some snowless time while we were buried in the white stuff earlier this year; now we are getting our revenge. They showed people on both the beach and snow slopes here in Ontario today, while the West is getting record snowfalls. But are definitely not out of the woods yet either. Usually we get what the west gets. We've also had snow in July, but not very often.

As to psi romances: I don't mind those with some psychic abilities like Jayne's books, but I draw the line at the normal type of vampire, i.e., those unlike EL's, and all the rest of a similar genre. I guess what attracts me to those is that sometimes I wish I were able to have just a little bit of such powers in order to understand others better. However, it can definitely be a burden too. I certainly wouldn't like to know what lies ahead, even if it is a good future. I think on the lines of "Each day is sufficient unto itself."; 8:49 PM
Ranurgis said...: And yeah, I can pick up HARD TO HANDLE at the library on Thursday. It's finally arrived.

But Lori, I still can't bear to see the guys pound each other. They showed a little bit the bout in Montreal this weekend. After what my father went through during WWI, we were never encouraged to watch fighting. However, my grandfather, a veteran of both world wars, loved wrestling. My father was definitely more cerebral than physical in his outlook. Maybe that made the difference.; 8:55 PM
Ranurgis said...: Stella, I would think that dfender means that the psi abilities are believably presented, even if we don't, can't and/or shouldn't really believe them. I still believe that things take place that defy rational explanation.

Is OUT OF BODY part of one of your series? I'm still trying to catch up on those.; 9:01 PM
DFender said...: Stella wrote: "But, Deb--With all fiction we have to be able to suspend disbelief (to varying degrees), don't we. With psi, there can be a need to not just suspend belief but disavow it:)"

Well, yes. I didn't explain myself properly, Stella. What I meant was that a good paranormal makes the unbelievable believable. When I can suspend my "reality" and embrace a different kinda reality that makes "believable" to me. Sorry that I was such a mush-mouth...LOL.

Deb; 8:29 AM
elizabeth said...: Out of Body -- you mean everyone doesn't do this? ;-)

I love psi because what we know of science today doesn't explain what I've experienced.

And I drove to Seattle and back in the snow, sleet, rain, slush, sleet, snow.

Though the trees were quite pretty in white lace.; 11:24 AM
Stella said...: Deb--Aha, I'm not the only one who always knows what she means but doesn't always write what she means!

I wholeheartedly agree with your comments.

Stella; 2:04 PM
Stella said...: Elizabeth, dear, You did suffer on that drive (I sniffle for you) but you and Evan got to visit wonderful US:) And a lovely visit it was.

I couldn't agree more with your reason for liking psi books. There is just too much that would be unexplained without a sixth sense.

Stella; 2:07 PM
Anonymous said...: I will definitely be looking for Marley's story. And I'm loving Jayne's Psi thrillers too. (Just finished Second Sight & loved it.)

Why do I like these books? Because they give great story to the reality!
Recently my DH went on a trip (one of many). For the first time in a couple years, I'd slipped a lovey-dovey miss you card in his luggage. That morning as I was wheeling the bag to the card he was doing his usual OCD rundown of did I pack this, did I pack that & threw in "did you pack the love letter?". Blink. Blink again. At about 9pm I got a call from him - he'd just found the card & was absolutely floored - because of his question that morning. But he does these thing all the time - this was just the most recent & easiest to tell!

Yeah, I love the Psi stories. To me they are more like contemporary stories - the Psi is just that real.

Kathy Lynn
"Cruelty is a mystery, and a waste of pain." --Annie Dillard; 9:12 AM
Ranurgis said...: Oddly enough, I can't remember too much of what happened during the year I graduated. Perhaps I was too busy graduating in 3 more subjects than anyone else in my school, planning for a trip from Winnipeg, MB as far as San Francisco, CA and then doing all the paperwork for an overseas stay in France. While I was in Germany, I then proceeded to break my left funny bone and spent 3 weeks or so in the hospital.

A number of Thalidomide babies were housed in the same hospital. With the friend I made during my stay there, I'd sometimes go to see them.

While I was in France, several weeks late getting there because of the broken elbow, the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Soviet missile crisis occurred and I was afraid for a short time that I might be separated by war from my family. Fortunately the crisis passed and after I'd been in Paris for 9 months, I went to stay with my uncle and aunt in Frankfurt for a year. It was on my way by ship across the Atlantic that I first really heard about the Beatles and saw a newsreel about them. We almost froze on the ship while we heard reports of sweltering heat at the World's Fair in New York. I am still amazed that during 9 months in Paris I only lost my way in the Metro once while I lost my way on the subway several times in only 5 days in NYC.; 12:15 AM

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Friday, April 18, 2008

OH, DEAR, WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE?

25 Comments: