THE RIVER KNOWS is out in paperback!

I'm delighted to tell you that THE RIVER KNOWS, my latest Amanda Quick novel, is now available in paperback. No, this is not an Arcane Society novel. It is a stand-alone. But it is set in the same Late Victorian world. It features Miss Louisa Bryce who makes her living as an undercover reporter covering the scandals and sensations of the Polite World. You will also meet the notorious Anthony Stalbridge, a wealthy, mysterious gentleman who just happens to be at the heart of society's most notorious scandal

Here's a little taste of the story...

"Well, I suppose we must look at the positive side of things," Louisa said. "The fact that the members of your family think that we are engaged in an intimate liaison does indicate that our little charade may be working after all, don't you think?"

He decided not to respond to that because he could feel his temper heating.

She cleared her throat. "My point is that if your own relatives are convinced that we are romantically involved, Hastings must certainly believe it also, and that is the important thing, is it not?"

He continued to watch her, saying nothing.

She glowered. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" he asked.

"As if you're about to pounce. What are you thinking, sir?"

He unfolded his arms, flattened his hands on the desk, and leaned toward her. "I am thinking," he said evenly "that my family's conclusion is no more or less than the truth. We are having an illicit affair."

"Yes, well, I suppose one could say that in the technical sense of the word--."

"In every sense of the word."

He swung her up into his arms and started toward the door.

SPECIAL NOTE: Those of you who read me as Jayne Castle have been asking about the next Ghost Hunter novel. I'm excited to tell you that the first chapter of the next book in that series, DARK LIGHT, appears at the end of THE RIVER KNOWS.

DARK LIGHT won't be out until late August but here's your chance to meet our newest heroic dust bunny: Elvis. Oh, yeah, you'll also get a chance to meet John Fontana, a sexy and very mysterious Guild Boss. But more about those two later.

I wish you all a happy spring!

Jayne

Hot and Bothered

Yeah, I bet that got your attention, huh? Well, it's not a current state of affairs. It's the title of a really wonderful book by my bestest friend. She's our guest here today, and she's going to tell us all about the book, Savannah, ghosts and more!
Please welcome, Dianne Castell!


Hi, Everyone!

Thanks to Lori, and all the Quills for having me as a guest blogger at Running with Quills. I’m honored to be here. Lori and I have been best friends since before we were published and I have no idea how I’d get along without her. One of the reasons I wrote Hot and Bothered, my April release, is that it deals with four best friends.

Another reason I wrote H&B is because I wanted to set a book in Savannah. Not only because I love Paula Deen, pralines, magnolias and am a Southern Belle at heart...yes, I do own a set of pearls and have my own deviled egg plate...but I love that Savannah is the most haunted city in the US!

You can’t swing a ruffled parasol in Savannah without hitting something that has a ghost story connected to it. Every old restored building has strange noises, lights flashing, creaks and groans and stuff gone missing for no reason.

My daughter lives in Savannah in what was once an old Northern Aggression barracks (that’s the Civil War to you Yankees). When her sketching pencil goes missing she always finds it in the bottom of her duffle bag.
Ghosts just loooove to play games.

Waiters at the Pirate House Restaurant, where pirates actually hung out and did evil pirate things, talk of desserts being flung across the room.

At the Pink House Restaurant you can be shown to your table by James Habersham. That he died a hundred years ago is a bit unsettling!


Juliette Gordon Low has been seen on the porch tapping her foot if the visiting Girl Scouts are not out of her house at five o’clock sharp and Jim Williams of Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil fame has been seem more than once at the Mercer House where he lived and died. And of course there are the Savannah doorways painted Haint blue to ward off evil spirits and the hour before midnight for doing good and the hour after for doing evil.

There is definitely something unusual going on in Savannah...or not?

Do you believe in ghosts? Have superstitions?

Do you have a lucky shirt? Hat?

How many baseball players never step on the base line when taking the field or never shave before a game?

My house in Cincy is haunted. Too many things going bump in the night...and day...and shadowy figures at the window.





So, what about you?
Do you have a ghost story for me?
A favorite superstition?
Or do you think it’s all bunk?


I’ll give away a Hot and Bothered tote and T-shirt and copy of Texas Bad Boys from the answers.
Happy Hauntings,
Dianne Castell

Hot and Bothered
Kensington BRAVA
www.DianneCastell.com

ELIZABETH REVEALS BLUE SMOKE AND MURDER

Thought I'd dart in with a look at the new hardcover, BLUE SMOKE AND MURDER, which will be out May 27th. I'll be printing an excerpt in a few weeks, but for now, here's the cover and a teaser:


Jill Breck was just doing her job as a river guide when she saved the life of Lane Faroe, son of two of St. Kilda's Consulting's premier operators. But when a string of ominous events—including a mysterious fire that kills her great aunt and a furor in the Western art world raised by a dozen Breck family paintings—culminate in a threat to her life, Jill reluctantly calls in a favor.

Zach Balfour works part-time as a consultant for St. Kilda. His expertise is gathering and analyzing information from unlikely and often dangerous sources. Though he's got the skills to be a highly effective bodyguard, being a bullet catcher isn't his preferred way to spend time. Protecting Jill will take him into familiar territory—among a strange, savagely competitive bunch of collectors who'll do anything to stay at the top. But Jill is in deeper waters than she's ever known; as she soon discovers, the perils of running wild rivers are tame compared to the hidden dangers in the high-stakes game of art collecting.

From the cozy rooms of the Breck homestead cabin to the cold multi-million dollar galleries of the Western art circuit, Zach and Jill must race against time to unmask a ruthless killer hidden in the blue smoke of money, threats, lies, and death.

Stay tuned... ;-)

A Perk Up Potion

How are you feeling? Any aches and pains--a little queasy wiggle in the tummy maybe? Got a sore throat? Strep's horrible with that 'block of wood caught somewhere' sensation.

Today I found a potential cure for the whole shebang. Ginger Lemonade. I'm serious. I was with a friend who has strep throat, and a huge glass of ginger lemonade made a new man of him. And my glass sent me running from one end of Hanalei Bay to the other--twice.

Because I can't bear to think that one of you might need some of my new pick-me-up, I have braved the kitchens of a local (Kauai) eatery and begged for the secret recipe. This follows. Only problem is that these folks have been making the stuff for thirty years and they couldn't give me real quantities so I hope everyone will improvise, keep notes, and report back with details for the perfect brew.

Boil ginger roots until they're soft. You can hack them up first to speed the process.

Throw the whole mess in a blender and mash it up.

Strain carefully to get all the stringy bits out.

Stir in fresh lemon juice--as much as you think you need and please remember to include the quantity when you get back to us.

Lime juice (as above).

Maple syrup--the real stuff--to taste.

Get the whole thing really chilled and serve over ice.

Bottoms up!

Stella

Okay, I lied. I only ran along the bay once . . . I did think about running along the bay.

Do you have a family potion, something grandma always cooked up for what ailed you? Do share:)

A new cover as stand-in for my brain

My cat Mojo is a big fan of bathtubs and sinks. When he's in my tub upstairs, he often spins in circles trying to catch a glimpse of his own shadow, which I imagine he sees out of the corners of his eyes.

That's what I've been doing this week--spinning in circles, chasing my own shadow. You ever have times like that? Mine was mostly due to work. The soulmate's out of town on a job, I've had my nose seriously to the grindstone and everything else has fallen by the wayside. I sat down early Monday morning and swear I didn't look up again until Wednesday afternoon when I realized I'd forgotten to check in here and so had missed out on Christina's blog. That bummed me out, let me tell you. But then I got sucked back into the story and just came up for air a minute ago.

Only to realize it's my turn to blog. (You don't want to know the word that came out of my mouth.)

Okay, the above timetables may be a wee bit exaggerated, but it definitely felt like days had lapsed while I wasn't paying attention. So because my brain is toast, I'm posting my new cover for Cutting Loose (Coming to a bookstore near you July 29th). This is Book One of my new Sisterhood Diaries Trilogy, which features three BFFs who inherit a notoriously ugly Seattle mansion. Tell me what you think.

And I hate to look like the absentminded professor all alone. So do a weary writer a favor, would you? Share some of your own less than brilliant moments.

I'll love ya forever for it.

~Susan

Elizabeth G. wants to share . . .

For a number of reasons I haven't been able to blog regularly here at RWQ for the past several months. (More about that next time around.) But today I'd like to share with you the fabulous print ad that web goddess Cissy and talented graphic designer Paula recently created for me.

This full-color ad, in an 8 X 8 inch format, will grace the back cover of Romance Writers Report (the official publication of Romance Writers of America) for the April 2008 issue. Since most of you aren't members of RWA, I wanted you to see what a great job they did - just click on the below image.


A very special thank you to Cissy and Paula!

Thank you to George and the art department at Berkley for the to-die-for covers (pardon the pun) for the first two books of my new vampire romance series.

And loving thanks to EL, Jayne and Stella for giving me fantastic quotes. (EL's is on the front cover of NIGHT HUNGER.)

So, Quillers, what do you think?

Here's to spring!
~EG

JAYNE WELCOMES CHRISTINA DODD

I just finished Christina Dodd's hot, fast and deliciously witty new book, THIGH HIGH, and couldn't wait to bring her back here to RWQ. Yes, I know that for a while she hung out with that Squawk Radio crowd but that's old news and, anyway, we all know that this is where she should have been all along. Welcome, Christina!

CHRISTINA DODD TALKS ABOUT HER FUNNIEST MISTAKES

I have been published for seventeen years. This month, my thirty-fifth full-length book, THIGH HIGH, is on the shelves. I’m not bragging (well, only a little), just giving you a framework for my blog.

Because in February, I wrote a scene where the hero sees the heroine for the first time in two and a half years, and startles her. The line I wrote was, “She didn’t jump, he’d give her that. But Firebird Wilder had always had balls of steel, and she showed them now as she coolly turned to face him.”

I am a professional. Don’t try this at home.

In the story I wrote in December, my heroine stumbles onto the hero sitting in the Japanese garden. He jumps to his feet and says, "Is this your private place? Should I leave?" and she says, "No, it's okay, my private place is big enough for the both of us."

Unless I’m writing erotica (and I’m not), that’s just embarrassing.

I don’t even want to discuss the famous, "He pinned his eyes to her chest."

Let me assure you, I’m not the only writer who does this stuff. At one of my first Romance Writers of America conferences, one of the award winners got up and thanked her critique group for stopping her from writing sentences like, "Angrily, he thrust his hands into his pockets and tried to get a hold of himself." Sadly, I was laughing too hard to take note of her name.

Connie Brockway, author of SKINNY DIPPING, gave me her own favorite faux pas, "He eyed her with relish." Pickle relish, with a touch of mustard, she adds.

Susan Mallery, author of ACCIDENTALLY YOURS, is the queen of great typos. Instead of, “He dropped the wrench and swore loudly,” she wrote, “He dropped the wench and sweat loudly.” (Please note, that was a double typo.) Her personal fav (and mine,) “She stood like a deer caught in the headlines.”

Lisa Kleypas, author of BLUE EYED DEVIL, composed this gem, “Held in his gaze, she felt shaken and stirred.” It seems her hero had the eyes of James Bond’s bartender.

My nightmare is that one of these lines will slip through all the editing and make it onto the printed page. That’s the kind of mistake that would haunt me forever. Mistakes have a way of doing that. In THIGH HIGH, Nessa is a banker who made one mistake seven years ago, and she’s still paying the price. She works hard, she cares for the employees, she handles the customers, but she’s never promoted — and that’s enough to convince the reclusive CEO of her bank, Mac MacNaught, that she has a grudge against his bank. Here’s an excerpt of THIGH HIGH:

Mac dressed in expensive, conservative suits. He kept his black hair severely trimmed. He wore his broken nose and the scars on his throat proudly, never considering plastic surgery to soften the impact. His office provided him with a fitting background, with a floor of polished concrete. What artwork hung on the walls was stark, modern, splashes of black and red. No flowers softened the industrial feel of the large room. He was a self-made man, a man who enjoyed the brutality of corporate takeover, a cold, unfeeling bastard.

So what was it about Ionessa Dahl that made him watch her, over and over again?

Almost without his volition, he reached for the remote and flipped on a single video screen.
An overhead camera showed him what he’d seen so many times before: a traditional bank lobby, rich with marble and polished wood, customers standing in line, tellers conversing as they accepted deposit slips and counted out money. A problem developed, the customer arguing vehemently, and into the picture stepped a young woman, tall, slender, leggy, calm. She wore the conservative blue jacket and skirt of a woman in charge. Her hair was black, and severely styled back from her face.

MacNaught caught her in the crosshairs and zoomed in.

She was pale, with a hint of pink on her lips and cheeks, and she wore large glittering sapphires in her ears.

When Mac adjusted the focus, her down-turned head filled the monitor. She looked up, and he froze the frame. Leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, he stared compulsively.

The long distance shot didn’t do her justice. She was no more than pretty, with stark cheekbones, a dramatic chin and wide, smooth, smiling lips. But the corners of her wide blue eyes slanted up, Mac believed the sooty lashes were real, and the way she gazed at that customer, as if his every word was gold, made the poor sucker stammer and falter and finally wriggle like a puppy.

She was Ionessa Dahl. Graduate of the Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, summa cum laude.

She was the woman Mac suspected had planned and executed the robberies in his banks.

She was his obsession.

I’m sure you’re like me and never make mistakes (never hardly ever once in a while regularly), but I’ll bet you’ve made at least one that’s just as funny as mine and Connie’s and Susan’s and Lisa’s. Tell us about your funniest mistake ever, and I hope you enjoy THIGH HIGH!

Did you know..?

...that a lot of super-cool stuff is happening on the net today?
Well, given that I'm a little sick, behind on my current WIP, and really sleepy, my blog today is going to inform you of other fun stuff kickin' around out there.
I hope you enter, win, and have some fun!

Right now, today, there are two contests that are super-easy to enter, with super-cool prizes.
There's also an industry blog that you just have to check out for the good of us all.

First up....

HOT AND BOTHERED
Today is the 2nd day of a two day blog party at
http://lauries-laudanum.blogspot.com/ to kick off the release of a fabulous book, by an equally fabulous woman.
Dianne Castell is one of my dearest friends, and she's the most generous person I know. Because we all love her, the romance community has pulled together to help her launch her newest release in a very fun way.
Drop by Laurie's Laudanum and give everyone the details about your inner southern belle! There are a bunch of great prizes to be had - all for the price of a comment, of course!
(MORE DETAILS and PRIZE LISTING below!)



SAINT PATRICK'S DAY CONTEST
Also happening now until midnight on Saturday, March 15th, a giant Saint Patrick's Day contest!
I'm part of a group of Ohio authors that has a joint myspace page at www.myspace.com/romanceauthors
We're having an incredible contest to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
How do you enter? It's easy!
Reply to any blog posted at www.myspace.com/romancauthors between now and midnight on Saturday, March 15th. We'll gather the names of everyone who posted and draw one random winner to get ALL the goodies!
If your name is drawn, you'll be contacted by an author from the site. You'll give her your snail-mail address, she'll share it with the rest of us, and each contributing author will mail you her donation to the gigantic prize package! Simple!
(MORE DETAILS and PRIZE LISTING below!)

And of great importance!
Today is the one year anniversary of Barbara Vey's "Beyond Her Book" blog at Publisher's Weekly online. To celebrate, Barbara is planning an online party to include lots of giveaways. Today (FRIDAY) she wants to try and hit record numbers for visitors. In a few weeks she's going to New York to meet with Publisher's Weekly again, and she wants to show how the industry shares with one another.
Pretty please, if you can, drop by and visit!
www.publishersweekly.com/blog/880000288.html


So what are the prizes for all these online visits I mentioned?

HOT AND BOTHERED
First, let me say that I read HOT & BOTHERED, and man-o-man, is it AWESOME!
When you go to Laurie's blog, you'll see 3 blogs posted - be sure to check out all 3! They all have to do with Dianne and prizes.
For a chance to win, all you have to do is post a comment at http://lauries-laudanum.blogspot.com/ - during Dianne's blog party on Friday, March 14th. One entry per person and Laurie will draw names for the contest on Friday evening. Prizes will be mailed (US/Canada addresses only, please) to winners directly from the author offering the prize.
Dianne will also be offering several prizes and she announced her contest requirements on her post.
Okay, here we go, in no particular order!
Lori Foster is giving away a hardcover copy of JUDE'S LAW, copies of SERVANT (written as L.L. Foster) and SIMON SAYS, and a t-shirt from her Cafepress store - winner's choice!HelenKay Dimon is offering a copy of her latest release RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW and she will also be chatting about our blog party on her blog!
Erin McCarthy is giving one lucky winner a copy of SUCKER BET, the latest in her Vegas Vampire series!
Sylvia Day will be mentioning our party on her blog and is offering a copy of her latest release, DON'T TEMPT ME.
LuAnn McLane will be giving one winner a TRUCK MY TRUCK goodie package including an autographed copy of TRICK MY TRUCK BUT DON'T MESS WITH MY HEART!
Toni Blake is offering a copy of SWEPT AWAY for one winner!
Donna Kauffman will be chatting up our party on her blog several times and is offering two different prizes - BAD BOYS IN KILTS and THE GREAT SCOTT as one prize and THE BLACK SHEEP AND THE PRINCESS and THE BLACK SHEEP AND THE HIDDEN BEAUTY as a second prize - woohoo!
J.C.Wilder will be chatting all over the web about our party, including http://www.eroticromancewriters.com - she is also offering one lucky reader a prize of IN THE GLOAMING!
Roberta Brown is offering one very lucky reader a $50. gift card to Barnes & Noble - wow! Her alter ego Kate Angell is offering another reader the prize of her Boys of Summer trilogy which includes SQUEEZE PLAY, CURVEBALL, and the April release, STRIKE ZONE. Pretty amazing, huh?
Alison Kent will be offering a copy of HOT AND BOTHERED on her blog and is offering a copy of BEYOND A SHADOW to one lucky winner at Laurie's blog - http://lauries-laudanum.blogspot.com/
Kay Stockham Kay will be chatting about our party on her blog and is offering two winners each a copy of her latest release, ANOTHER MAN'S BABY!
Janice Maynard is putting up a copy of THE PERFECT TEN to one lucky winner!
Karen Kelley will make one reader happy with a copy of COSMIC SEX and an alien bookmark!Sasha White will thrill a lucky winner with a copy of SEXY DEVIL! Sasha will be chatting about our party on her blog as well.
Lucy Monroe is going to make mention on her blog and is offering two prizes, a copy of SATISFACTION GUARANTEED and a copy of DEAL WITH THIS - both prizes will include chocolate, pens and bookmarks - sweet!

Remember! This is at Laurie's blog - NOT HERE - so go to http://lauries-laudanum.blogspot.com/ to enter!



AND FOR THE SAINT PATRICK'S DAY CONTEST...

BOOKS, all signed by the authors!

Lori Foster:Print copies Servant: The Awakening, Simon Says, and a hardcover of Jude's Law
Dianne Castell:Print copy of Hot & Bothered
Becky Barker:Print copy of Cade's Challenge
Marcia James:CD of At Her Command
Erin McCarthy:Print copy of My Immortal
Kay Stockham:Print copy of Another Man's Baby
Patricia Sargeant:Print copy of You Belong to Me
Donna MacMeans:Print copy of The Education of Mrs. Brimley
Jacki Bentley:CD of The Horseman's Heritage
Jamie Denton:Print copies of Remain Silent and My Guilty Pleasure
Carol Ann Erhardt:Print copy of Hit and Run

Other Gifts:
Lori Foster - Hard to Handle JOURNAL
Jacki Bentley - Beautiful Horse PAPERWEIGHT
Jules Bennet - $5 Wild Rose Press GIFT CERTIFICATE
Dianne Castell - Hot & Bothered TOTE BAG
Marcia James - Cute St. Patty's Day BEAR

Don't miss this great opportunity! Check in daily at the blog , and post away!
The more you post, the better your odds of winning!

So tell me - do you like entering contests on the net?
Do you like to be informed of these type contests?
Do entering contests inspire you to visit a blog more often, or once made aware of a blog via a contest, do you sometimes come back to visit again?
What prizes in a contest would you really, really love? Okay, other than books. LOL

Thanks all!

We interrupt this regularly scheduled reading. . .

...To let you know that Susan is now on MySpace. Stop by and add yourself as her friend at www.myspace.com/susan _andersen

Hope to see you there! ~Susan

PANICKED!

Yo, from Kauai! (Aloha is a haoli cliche:)

Last Monday I was packing to come here when our son appeared with dinner. He has always been a thoughtful guy.

Four hours later I threw up for the first of many times. I won't bore you with more details but before long I knew I wouldn't either finish packing, or get on a plane the following day. I had food poisoning.

I panicked.

Jerry didn't get sick because he microwaved his food and dodged the bullet. There he was, smiling, bags packed, boarding passes printed and practicing his hula moves when I staggered past muttering, "Sick, going to bed."

Poor man, he did everything possible to will me back to health and a vertical position but, no way. To cut this short--we left a day late and I felt like h-ll the whole way.

Panic is the word that's important here. An enclosed aircraft cabin does nothing for my peace of mind, in fact I have had panic attacks in those situations. But this was the first time I sat on a plane, uncertain exactly how my body would behave at any given second--for six hours--with poor little children screaming in front of me the entire time.

I panicked.

I froze and shivered.

I put my back out with those shivers.

Stop, Stella, stop. In the past few days I've realized that I have a pretty standard reaction to difficult situations. You've guessed it, I do the "p" thing. So I decided to actually think about what makes me panic and how I can cope with these nasty moments.

It's all so simple, it's pathetic, and the answer (at least to the trigger) came to me this afternoon when I was looking for dental floss at WalMart. Narrow aisle. Carts to the right of me and carts to the left of me. And noise, incredible undulating sounds of voices yelling about toothpaste--when they weren't "telling" their children to "be quiet."

I couldn't get out because I couldn't get anyone's attention. My "excuse me," wasn't even heard. Taps on shoulders went unnoticed. Just as when I was feeling so sick on the plane, I wasn't in control. I couldn't impact my own situation.

Of course, today I could do something about being packed in at that shop; I could push myself between shelves and carts until I popped out of the end of the aisle (bit like toothpaste out of a tube) and into the relative madness of a larger area. From there--leaving the dental floss behind, I scrambled for the doors and the air outside.

But even when I could do something to change what was happening to me, I still panicked first.

Now I am completely convinced that I fear a group of things very strongly. Being out of control, being a burden on others, drawing attention to myself, enclosed spaces and crowds. Oh, great--I should have everything fixed in a day or so, maybe less.

Whew, I've got that out and I feel sooo much better. I'll start working on that fix right away.

This is a bit like asking you to go out in your underwear, but does something scare you? What do you do about it?

Mahalo! Stella

AND THE WINNER IS . . .

A winner has been chosen at random from those who commented on Shirley Jump's blog. Deb, aka Defendr, will receive a signed copy of REALLY SOMETHING, Shirley's latest contemporary romance.

Deb, please send your name and address to shirley@shirleyjump.com.

Congratulations and have a great week everyone!
~Elizabeth G.

Elliot thinks I'm fancy

My great-nephew Elliot loves Olivia the pig books. The one he's into right now is all about opposites. And apparently my fondness for makeup is evident even to a two year old, because everytime he comes to this page, he points at fancy Olivia and says, "Susie!"

Okay, I admit it. I'm one of those women who prefers not to leave the house without lipstick. Mascara's right up there on my list, too, along with Carmex to tame my eyebrows. But hey, I don't wear pearls like Olivia. Or big red bows around my ears. (Girl, that's just tacky. Love the shoes, though) And I haven't gone topless since I was three.

Still, I'm a fool for cosmetics. I love the look, the feel, the smell...the promise. Now, I consider myself an intelligent, reasonably grounded woman. I know my limitations in the beauty department. I have zero interest in Botox and no one's putting this girl under general anesthesia to take a scalpel to my face. But for a few bucks and no blood spilled you can do amazing things with a little mineral foundation and a stick of cream blush. If makeup doesn't precisely hide a multitude of sins it at least mutes them a little.

The soulmate and BBF Mimi like to make fun of my dresser in the bathroom. And I admit, the thing's loaded with way more crap than one woman needs since I'm not always great about thinning out the rejects. But I'm an experimenter by nature and I've discovered some great stuff along the way. Jane Iredale cosmetics, especially their Sugar and Butter lip treatment. Cargo blu_ray compact of four lip glosses (seeing a trend here?) With this little beauty you can customize your lip color. I usually have oily skin but this winter it got really dry and I discovered La Roche-Posay Nutritic, which was great. It healed the dryness without leaving a greasy sheen.

So, Elliot (at the Whaletail) will probably continue seeing me in lipstick and mascara on our Friday morning walks. But how about the rest of you? If makeup bores you silly, what does shake your tambourine? What do you have a lust-on for that friends and lovers just don't get?

Tell Mother Susan. You know she's always willing to lend an ear.

Elizabeth G. welcomes Shirley Jump and "friend."

The Three-Pound Queen

On "20/20" this week, they did a whole episode about a year in the life of the royal family, with a focus on the Queen and the princes. Britain may have their royals, but I have a little queen of my own.

And she only weighs three pounds.

Don’t let her size fool you. Sophie has only been in residence at the Jump household for a few days, but she’s already ruling the roost. She’s got all of us under her furry thumb (or what passes for a thumb) and has every other mammal deferring to her.

This is her posing in what I jokingly call her Playboy pictorial, with her propped up all sexy on a blanket and pillows. And yes, I have gone a little Paris Hilton with her and bought her some outfits and more hair bows than my daughter has ;-).

This queen is a Havanese, a type of Bichon, native to Cuba. It’s the only breed native to that country, and was first owned outside that country by Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens. She’ll only get a few pounds heavier (about 7 to 9 pounds total) and a few inches taller. She’s very bright (she already knows how to give kisses, how to sit and come when called). Her potty training is going quite well, and her chewing is kept pretty much under control with a few Nylabones and a stuffed Kong.

She’s yet to realize her queenly status. Everyone who sees her oohs and ahhs and just plain out adores her, but Sophie has yet to let it go to her head. Once she does, I just know I’m going to have a spoiled princess on my hands. Of course, I’m the one doing a lot of that spoiling, so I’ll have only myself to blame ;-).

Perhaps I’ll give "20/20" a call and see if they want to do a Day in the Life episode. Sophie’s got quite the job, keeping our other two dogs and cat in line, then napping every couple of hours. It’s an exhausting life…but she’s putting all three pounds into the effort. :-)

Sophie tells me that she wants to give the readers of RWQ a little treat, too, to celebrate her arrival in our house. She says she’ll put her pawprint on one lucky commenter to receive a copy of REALLY SOMETHING, my latest romantic comedy (still available in stores!).

And if you have a chance, be sure to check out the Wedding Planners blog (which will give you a preview of the rest of the books in the Wedding Planners series) and "Hold the Date," my Online Read at eHarlequin, which introduces both the series (debuting with SWEETHEART LOST AND FOUND in April) and the characters from The Wedding Belles!

Woof!

Shirley and "friend"

JAYNE PONDERS THE NIGHT

When I do characters with traumatic pasts or those who are under stress I frequently depict them as suffering from insomnia, nightmares or eccentric sleep patterns. In my new book, SIZZLE AND BURN, both the hero and heroine possess disturbing psychic talents -- she hears voices at crime scenes and he sees unpleasant visions. They both assist in the investigation of murders but each pays a heavy price after encountering paranormal traces of violence: They both have a hard time sleeping because the visions and the voices of the killers and the victims haunt their nights for a long time afterward.

But, hey, at least in fiction the reason for the characters' insomnia is a logical part of the plot and easy to comprehend. In real life insomnia can be a genuine, often inexplicable nightmare for a lot of folks. Goggle "insomnia" and you'll get 24,600,000 hits. That's twenty-four million, six hundred thousand hits...and probably still counting. The Mayo Clinic website estimates that one in ten Americans probably suffers from chronic insomnia. Not just the occasional bad night, mind you, but chronic insomnia. No one who has not experienced this problem can even begin to understand how maddening it can be.

The only thing more infuriating and depressing than the problem of insomnia is the cheery, utterly dippy advice for dealing with it that shows up on a regular basis in the press: Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning. Don't drink coffee after lunch. Don't drink too much alcohol. Sleep in a cool room. Don't play around on the computer before you go to bed because it stimulates the brain. Blah, blah, blah. Really? Like people who suffer from insomnia don't already know this stuff? I'm certain that the vast majority of serious insomniacs have tried all of the above. Those steps just don't cut it.

Another problem with insomnia is that too often it isn't treated as a legitimate medical condition. There isn't a lot of sympathy out there, either. People who sleep well tend to think insomnia is easily cured by establishing "good sleep hygiene". They sometimes consciously or unconsciously feel superior because their sleep habits are so very excellent.

Doctors have a few medications to offer but the medical community likes to issue dark warnings about the dangers of using pills to sleep. You want to talk about adding stress to your insomnia problem? Try taking medication for it after reading and listening to all the hysterical threats of addiction and rebound insomnia associated with it.

There are, thankfully, some approaches that are successful for some types of insomnia. Sleep disorder specialists can treat sleep apnea with special devices. They can also try to "reset" your bio-rhythms -- your internal clock. Therapy and medication for anxiety and/or depression (often the underlying causes of insomnia) is an option for others.

Some people swear by daily meditation. Others claim to get help from naturopathic tonics or great- grandmother's old remedies. (Just pass me that bottle of laudanum, dear).

The bottom line is that insomniacs are pretty much on their own when it comes to figuring out what treatments are available and what works for them. People who want help must be persistent and they must be willing to spend time and money seeking answers. Sadly, for some, nothing seems to work.

Going on the theory that there are some insomniacs out there who have done the hard searching and come up with a few answers that might be useful to others, I ask you to share your secrets with the rest of us. How do you go about getting a good night's sleep?

Sincerely,

Jayne