This, That, and Every Other Thing

I'm so zoned these days, I don't have it in me to come up with a creative blog. Sorry.

So I'm just going to list the busy-ness of my life and hope y'all will forgive me for being boring.

I've included lots of photos to make for lack of creative content.

So first...

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Order of the day.

I'm going to go through the busy-ness of the last month or so, just for the :::cough::: fun of it, to show why I'm a wee bit zoned!


Clarification:
First, a clarification.

After my RT blog, I got a phone call from the RT conference coordinator, Jo Carol, and 2 calls from Carol Stacy, who runs the magazine. Both ladies were very gracious. They wanted me to know that, regardless of what the hotel told me, THEY did not cancel my reservation, the hotel did.

Given that the hotel was a real pit, and these ladies are both wonderful, I believe it. So I wanted to correct that part of my blog.
(BTW, they said they were told repeatedly that the construction would be done in time for the event, and when they realized it wouldn't, it really was too late to try to get 1200 attendees set up in a different spot.)

As to the rest of my blog, they were unaware of many of the less-professional happenings and were earnest in their desire to make the conference comfortable for everyone.

Spotlights:

I had a busy month of traveling here and there and everywhere. After RT, I had a smaller speaking engagement at our local college, Miami Hamilton, which was wonderful!

Next week I fly to GreenBay for a conference.

Last weekend, I got do a bookclub meeting with local radio host "Queen Janeen" at a Kroger store!
She and her husband Chris do the morning show for 103.5 WGRR.

I listen every morning.

Janeen is a hoot, and the bookclub ladies were fabulous!

Here I am with Janeen, and below is with the entire bookclub group!

Day to day:
The busiest part of my life is the day to day stuff.

You think writers write? Well we do, but there's SO much more involved.

Right now, I'm writing like a fiend to make the June 1st deadline for my current romance contemporary, featuring Michael "Mallet" Manchester in MY MAN, MICHAEL, due out in February 09.

But in the middle of long days writing, I also got galleys for SERVANT: THE ACCEPTANCE.

Galleys are the last time I'll get to see this book before it's published, so I need to read it very carefully for errors, which means I go from romantic comedy of sorts to more gruesome urban fantasy/horror.

Big brain switches!

Luckily, I have my trusty and invaluable assistant Whitney Price, who will also read the galleys to give me a fresh pair of eyes. Whitney has been a godsend, here when I need her, but not for 8 hour days.

And she read the first Servant book, which came out around her birthday, so she's boned up on the story.

The same day that the galleys arrived, my publisher asked me to write a reader letter for their newsletter, talking about the inspiration behind the THE POWER OF LOVE. This is a very special book because all 12 authors and their agents are donating all proceeds to my local Battered Women's Shelter.

The book will hit stands early June, deliberately timed to coincide with my and Dianne's annual READER & AUTHOR event.

I wanted the letter to really convey how important this project is to us. I'd like to do a benefit anthology every year, with proceeds going to different organizations.

The anthology that Stella is in, so far titled LOVE TAILS, will be out next year, with proceeds benefiting my local no-kill animal shelter.

These anthologies will be the gift that keeps on giving throughout the life of the book.

May the books have long lives!

I also got an email my editor asking if I could tell her what the next Servant book, tentatively titled SERVANT: THE KINSHIP, will be about. Well, I sort of know. I always sort of know about 8 books ahead of writing them. But to put it down in coherent words? Yeah... uh, no.

So I need to work on that as soon as I finish the galleys, and then finish the manuscript that's due.

Boy, having things-to-do on my plate always frazzles me!

While doing all this, I'm also finishing up mega big details for the 4th annual June READER & AUTHOR event. It happens June 6th-8th and I'm so excited!

(Note: Registration for the event is only $35 and is open till May 19th.)

We had MAJOR growth this year, which tells me that people are enjoying themselves. We went from around 160 people to 250! 107 of those are authors.

We also have a great representation of editors, publishers, agents and industry professionals.

One of the highlights of the event is our raffle. Tickets are sold throughout the event for donated raffle baskets. As you can see, last year we were able to make a very nice donaton to the Hamilton Co. YWCA Battered Women's shelter. (My grandson was along for the ride on that check delivery.) In the beautiful blue is my best friend, Dianne Castell.

This year, because the book proceeds will go to the Battered Women's Shelter, we'll be donating raffle money to the Conductive School of Learning for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy.

That same day, I stopped by my local, very wonderful no-kill animal shelter to drop off a check for them too. I always do a special basket to raise money for the animal shelter. I could tell you some stories, but it'd make me cry, so let's just say, they are truly incredible with the care they give to needy pets.

Animals:
And speaking of pets!

You've all heard already how my husband and I trapped 6 feral cats, got them all neutered or spayed, got their shots, and then turned them loose again.

They forgave us for disrupting them by returning to our house for cozy shelter on our porch, and a constant fresh supply of food and water.

Well, not too long ago a new "kitten" showed up who was unfamiliar to us. She's truly beautiful with long black hair and one beige foot. I tried, I really did, but she's as skittish as they come and wouldn't let me get anywhere near her. She just wanted to eat, sleep, and be left alone.

Then a few days ago my husband said, "That kitten is looking kind of fat."

Uh oh.

Sure enough, the very next morning she'd dropped a litter in an animal carrier we have on the side porch to let the feral cats get out of the weather. In the photo, you can just barely see the babies. I didn't want to get so close that I spooked her, causing her to move them.

She has two black kittens, two yellow kittens, and one white kitten. Adorable!

But now I have to figure out how to keep her around long enough to get them ALL fixed. Six more cats to deal with. Oy.

But I'd prefer to get them taken care of rather than know they're running loose, maybe breeding more.

To make matters a little more difficult, a wily raccoon decided to take up residence on the porch, too. He's curled up there in the bottom space of that cat habitat, only a few feet from the carrier to the left, where the mommy cat and kittens are.

He crawls out early evening to eat, drink, and make a mess, then wanders off, only to return the next morning.

We have a cage to catch him in, but I don't want to leave it out overnight for fear the mommy cat will end up caught in there, leaving her babies unattended.

So far, he's not crawling into the cage before our bedtime, so we'll have to keep trying.

If anyone has any suggestions, let me know! I won't kill the raccoon, but I'd just as soon he hit the road.

Movies:
So you want to know what I do to unwind after all day marathons of writing and fending off raccoons and planning an event?

I hit the movies! Yay. LOVE sitting in a theater and watching a flick while eating popcorn and slurping cola.

Usually we go to matinees, but since I've spent all my days writing, we've had to go early evening when it's busier. Not idea, but at least I can kick the plot out of my head for a bit.

Movies I've seen recently are:

THE RUINS - scary, unique and fun! I enjoyed it, and laughed at the most inappropriate times. I guess I have a twisted sense of humor.

PENELOPE - Oooooh, I LOVED this romantic comedy. Just fabulous. A real feel-good movie.

PROM NIGHT - typical slasher movie. We were the only people in the theater over 15 I think.

21 - A Vegas card playing movie. Slow in spots, but once it got going, it was pretty good.

LIONS FOR LAMBS (a rental) - Typical news media crap. The actors were great, the message not so much so.

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHAL - HILARIOUS! I loved this movie. I was laughing out loud through most of it.

KING OF THE STREETS - Keanu Reeves gets better looking with time! He did a fabulous job in this action packed, twisting and turning, movie.

BABY MOMMA - Ridiculous and funny and it had some of the best "make you roar with laugher" lines I've ever heard.

88 MINUTES - Al Pacino is too old to have college students falling in love with him, but other than that gag-factor, I thought it was a good suspense flick.

IRON MAN - Oh wow. The best of the best! Can't wait for the next one. Even my friend, Dianne Castell, enjoyed it, when she usually only sees chick-flicks. Fun stuff!

LEATHERHEADS - Interesting only in that it was based on facts that formed the current football mandates. Otherwise... it sort of fell flat a lot.

So what about you? What's been happening in your lives lately? Seen any good movies? Read any good books?

Had any confusion?

After my long dish, you can surely tell us what's up with you!

Big hugs,