All the pretty leaves

I love this time of year. The leaves are gorgeous, the sunsets spectacular and there's a clarity in the air you simply don't see during any other season.

But the soul mate and I have a running argument. We can't agree which tree is the prettiest. He loves the tall Ginko a few blocks away. And I must admit, it turns a spectacular yellow. He's up in Alaska and the tree will be past its prime by the time he gets home, so I've taken this pic to show him. Unfortunately, I think I may have delayed a few days in capturing it in its prime myself, but what are you gonna do?

Me, I'm a Maple girl and the redder, the better. I'm also drawn to rounder or umbrella shaped trees rather than the tall skinny numbers that you-know-who likes.

Isn't that pretty? Of course, there's also the maples that are all colors: green and orange and gold and red. It's kind of hard to beat those, too. And then there are the...

Well, you get my drift. They're all decked out it their own special foliage and it truly is difficult to pick just one as the prettiest.

Still. . .Which ones are you most drawn to?

Ooh! Ooh! Happy Halloween! I've been so busy this fall I've all but forgotten it, but I'd like to leave you with a pic of the Tripz from year before last. I love the little monkeys. :) Their mom makes all their costumes and this was one of my faves.

Elizabeth G: Confession is good for the soul. Or “I’ve got a little list...”

My name is Elizabeth and I’m addicted to making lists.

It all started in my childhood. I kept a list of the books and authors I read, year by year, in a loose leaf notebook. (Can you imagine the icy chill that ran down my spine when I discovered only recently that our son has been doing the same thing?)

Eventually I moved on from a No. 2 pencil and wide-lined notebook paper to a fountain pen and a fancier, more permanent record book. Over the years I’ve added a vast array of list-making tools: legal pads for outlining chapters and characters in bed at night, steno pads for my daily “to do” list, post-it notes for anything and everything from “defrost salmon” to “call Mom," to "plot points," 3 x 5 cards for errands, 5 x 6 cards for the grocery list, calendars upstairs, downstairs, and on two computers.

There are those among you — you know who you are; I don’t need to name names — who claim that my inveterate list making is an obvious and pathetic attempt to gain control over my life.

Possibly.

Probably.

Okay, yeah!

But like most writers I get so caught up in my story and characters that the ordinary, mundane tasks are easy to overlook: like paying the electric bill or buying TP. (Actually I’m sure this is true for any busy woman, whatever her job or profession.)

I like to think of my lists as the day-to-day disposable stuff— brain clutter, if you will—that I don’t have to bother to save to my mental “hard drive.” And, yes, I’m the first to confess that I get a great deal of satisfaction from checking off the items one by one.

My husband gave me the supreme compliment yesterday. He said: “Honey, you were born organized.” (I think I'll keep him.:-)

So, my friends, it's time to come clean and confess your deepest and darkest secret. Are you a compulsive list maker, too? Or does the very idea drive you nuts?

Tongue-in-cheek,
~EG

Jayne & Stella Present the Perfect Book for Dog Lovers

Jayne & Stella here: Two years ago, we invited Catherine Johns, a friend who is an archaeologist and retired British Museum curator, to tell us about her new book called Horses; History, Myth, Art. It made a terrific gift book for the holiday season. When we asked her then about her next writing project, she mentioned that a similar book on dogs would be ‘fun to do’. Well, she has done it and it is now out and available for the dog lovers on your gift list. Here she is to tell you a little about this absolutely beautiful book.


CJ: First, thank you so much for letting me take up space again on Running with Quills: it is a great privilege for me to appear here with such distinguished writers. Dogs, History, Myth, Art, is published this month (by Harvard University Press in North America, and British Museum Press elsewhere). Like Horses, it is a picture-book combining a passion for animals with the enjoyment of art, history and culture. The introductory essay describes the age-old relationship between dogs and people, which goes back at least 14,000 years, and probably much longer. It is followed by colour pictures of art and artefacts depicting dogs, nearly all from the collections of the British Museum, with captions briefly describing and explaining them. My aim has been to catch the reader’s attention with intriguing similarities and contrasts from all periods and places.

J & S: Give us an example.

CJ: This page-spread brings together an English bone-china stirrup-cup made around 1830 and a South Italian Greek rhyton made in the 4th century BC. Both are pottery drinking-cups modelled as hounds’ heads. There are many such cross-cultural parallels.



Or in the section on wolves, this opening juxtaposes two very beautiful and elaborate gold objects in which wolves are shown as mysterious, powerful creatures. One is a brooch from 3rd-century BC Spain or Portugal, made by a Greek goldsmith, the other a garnet-inlaid purse-lid from a great Anglo-Saxon burial of the 7th century AD. The styles are completely different, but the power of the wolf images, and their representation as part of a display of wealth and high status, is the same.



J&S: Do you include other wild, undomesticated canine animals, like foxes and jackals, as well as wolves?

CJ: Yes. There are many examples of all those species. They are all important in the myths and storytelling of human societies. Here is another superb wolf, on a carved smoking pipe made by the North-West coast native peoples of North America.

J&S: In what ways do dogs and other canine animals feature in human myths, folktales and religion?

CJ: In so many ways that I can barely even summarise here! Dogs and other canine animals have been connected with the Underworld or Afterlife in many pagan belief-systems. They have a natural social organisation very like our own, and they have known us so long that they can fit in with us, can be ‘almost human’, while at the same time retaining their doggy behaviour: one minute a dog can be greeting another, moving his ears and tail in canine body-language, sniffing and being sniffed in a manner that we consider most indelicate – and the next minute, he will respond to a human communication, to sounds that are words of a human language.

Dogs straddle the animal/human divide like no other species, and people have felt that they also have the ability to cross the threshold between life and death, different states of being. Thus, the ancient Egyptian jackal-god, Anubis, presided over the complex rituals of death and judgement, and was believed to guide the human soul on its journey into the Afterlife. Cerberus, a supernatural triple-headed hound, guarded the portals of the Graeco-Roman realm of the dead, Hades, while within Hades, Hecate, a goddess who was connected with witchcraft and necromancy, was often accompanied by a large black hound-bitch. Dogs have also been closely associated with healing deities, such as the early Mesopotamian goddess Gula. The great, universal Egyptian mother-goddess, Isis, was sometimes shown with the shaggy Sothic dog, the personification of the dog-star Sothis/Sirius, which played a crucial role in the Ancient Egyptian calendar. Supernatural foxes feature often in Japanese tales, and the mythical Chinese ‘Dogs of Fo’ or lion-dogs, are guardian figures in their culture. There is much, much more!

J & S: Have you been able to illustrate many very early examples of modern breeds?

CJ: Yes and no. Certain dog types have existed for millennia, so that it is easy to find ‘greyhounds’ or ‘mastiffs’, for example, in very early art. But many breeds of today developed their present appearance only in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the principles of pedigree breeding began to be established. I am myself a lover, above all, of mongrels, of ‘generic Dog’, but there are some charming modern (that is, 17th- to19th-century) drawings and paintings in the book that will delight owners of more recent descendants of the breeds they depict, from Poodles and Dachshunds to Spaniels and Pekinese.

J & S: You have a final section headed ‘friends and companions’, and this includes some quite ancient material. But isn’t the idea of dogs as real members of the family rather than as working ‘employees’ – hunters, herders, guard-dogs and so forth – rather a modern thing?

CJ: No. This is quite a common misconception. People have been treating their dogs as though they were people for a very long time indeed. The book includes two images of named Egyptian dogs depicted on the walls of their owners’ tombs, dating to the 12th Dynasty, about 1800 BC. Named animals are usually regarded as unique individuals, as persons, not as replaceable ‘objects’. The final piece illustrated in the book tells us the feelings that some Romans had for their dogs in the 1st or 2nd century AD: it is an expensive inscribed marble tombstone to a female family member named Margarita (which means pearl), with a 13-line epitaph written as though in the words of the deceased herself. Margarita was a white Gaulish (French) hunting-dog, who would ‘lie in my master’s and mistress’s soft laps, and curl up on their bed when I was tired’. Sound familiar? And that was about 1,800 years ago.








J&S: Horses and Dogs make a terrific pair of holiday gift books for all the animal lovers on anyone's list. Will there be another book in this series?

CJ: There might be. Not Cats, because my publishers already have four different cat-books in print! We shall see.

Books, shelves, and signings.

For almost as long as I've been writing, I've been friends with Linda Keller. Linda is the Community Relations Manager and Field Trainer for Barnes & Noble, training new CRMs from the east coast to the Midwest.

As the 2006 Central Ohio Fiction Writers' Bookseller of the Year and 2007 RWA Steffie Walker Bookseller of the Year, she uses her 18-year knowledge of the industry, love of the romance genre, and her regular workshops "The Other Side of the Bookshelf" and "Crucial Things to Know BEFORE You Publish" to help published and unpublished authors understand the publishing process as it relates to the retail and wholesale side of the business. Linda shares information designed to guide writers toward finding a publisher, submitting their manuscript, the consequences of publishing choices on their career, the process of publishing and more.

In addition to coaching the craft/industry side, Linda breaks down in easy to understand language the retail side of the book culture offering best practices for signings based on over 100 booksignings in 8 years, including at least three yearly multi-author signings hosting over 25 authors each time. She has hosted over 80 fiction-writing workshops presented by published authors and industry professionals and continues to encourage writers and actively assist in their education.

P.S. I'm going to liberally sprinkle the blog with photos of booksigning arranged by Linda.

From first to last, they are:

Linda and me

LuAnn McLane, Linda and me

Reader Judy, LuAnn, Linda, me, and reader Marcy

Julia Quinn and Laura Lee Gurkhe (I'm in back)

Marcia James, Patricia Sargeant, me, Donna MacMeans, LuAnn McLane
(back)Linda, Patricia Sargeant, Paige Cuccaro, Ann Christopher
(front) Elizabeth Bevarly, Toni Blake

Kay Stockham, J.C. Wilder, Shiloh Walker

Gia Dawn, me, Shelley Galloway

Jules Bennet, me

I don't mean to overwhelm you with ME but hey, I'm in most of the photos because... well, they're my photos.
And now I give you... drumroll... Linda Keller!

Hello Quillsters,
and a big "thank you" to Lori for inviting me to guestblog this weekend. As a bookseller who loves the romance genre and a lot of the authors who write it, I thought I'd cover books, shelves, and signings from a bookseller's perspective.

Books don't just 'show up'.
As much as we'd like for that to be the process, the reality is most published books have to be ordered by the stores. We can't know every new book, and while the publishers play a part in pushing some titles, when your Aunt Martha comes into the store looking for your new release, unless someone tells us about the book, it may not be on the shelf. The good news is bookstores are in the business of selling books.

This is how it often plays out from the major publishers.
Their sales' reps contact book retailers and offer up their list of new releases, attaching all the marketing and promo buzz to get the books on a fast track to the public. Business relationships with various distributors are the key to acquisitions for the brick and mortars. We love typing in an isbn and having a boatload of stock showing in various warehouses. For stores, this is where books come from. Some books are "modeled." They have consistent sales records with the store/company and they are coded so the computer knows to order books for replacement whenever one is sold. Modeled is good.

For smaller presses, the process is different.
Some retailers want to see the book before deciding to carry it in their stores, and of course, the biggest deal breaker is whether the book is returnable. If the books aren't selling, they have to be returned to allow for more shelf space for the next round of new titles. So, if your publisher isn't making your title returnable through the same process stores order books, you've eliminated a large part of your career plan. As many as 600 boxes of books can be delivered to a store in a week, and they all have to find homes out on the floor. A title that isn't selling, is returned.

Calling or sending bookmarks and promo material too far in advance runs the risk of getting lost or worse – forgotten.
Three or four weeks before the pub date will generally suffice, but the store manager may not be the one to contact. He or she is busy running the store. Asking for an Event coordinator, Assistant Store Manager or Merchandise Manager may be a better choice. A great selling point is letting the store know you're local and have a large following. Offer to stop by and sign stock. Stores generally won't order more than three or four books, as long as they're returnable, but that beats a blank shelf. Next time you're in your local bookstore, have some friendly conversation. You'll become familiar to the booksellers and they love to talk about what they do. Besides, everyone has the same goal…sell books.

So, your book will soon be released and friends are asking if you're doing any signings. Are signings worth the effort?

Is visibility important?
Of course it is. Each time your name is in front of the public, that's a good thing. Successful signings can't always be gauged by the number of copies sold. Take a glance at the bigger picture.

Signings are usually planned several weeks in advance of a signing date.
Is there a sign posted with your name and either the cover of the book or it's title? Repetition works, so if the sign has been in the store for a couple of weeks, it stands to reason customers have walked by it more than once. Hopefully, they at least glanced at it each time…and saw your name.

Having a smaller sign or a shelf talker with the book in a visible place is equally important. Your name now becomes associated with not only the book, but with the date and time of the signing. A word of caution – it is always proper etiquette to ask the store's permission to put your own shelf talkers with your books. Doing it without permission smacks of brazenness, and a better partnership is created to never cross the line of good manners.

This is where the glass is both half empty and half full.

The store is selling your books for you, and it's also your responsibility to sell your books for the store. Have a handle on the local media outlets and make them aware of your event. Ask the store if they have a media list. They will be grateful you're savvy in sharing the publicity. If you're signing in your hometown, or a location where you're known, create a mailing list and send out postcards. Pick a strong area to begin your signings, research and gather media information. You can never have too many media contacts. Remember, visibility is the key.

Think ahead. This may be your first book, but you want a good experience for the store so they'll want to host book two, three, four…

Some authors have told me their local bookstores won't do signings. Every store manager makes those decisions based on their own store and customer demographics. Some books just won't sell in some stores, no matter how much publicity and promotion is done. The market just isn't there. And unless the customer base changes, or you change the genre you write in to fit the customer base (is it still the book of your heart??), store signings will be difficult. BUT, that doesn't mean there aren't other avenues of promotion for you within your community. And always maintain a good relationship with your local store. Like editors, store managers can move from store to store.

Okay. Your signing is scheduled and now you have to get reallllllly serious. It's time to Work the Room.

We're going to assume a couple of things have taken place.
1. You have a good relationship with the bookstore.
2. You sent out postcard invitations for the signing and did promo to the media.

The bookstore said it was okay to bring some wrapped candy, so you have a nice bowl, the candy, your bookmarks, business cards (NEVER leave home without them), and maybe a small flyer about your next book…or something else book-related.

Dress appropriately. Ninety percent of the time, a suit is way too much. Business casual is your best bet. If you are familiar with the store's customer demographic, dress to fit the style of the customers. This is a judgment call and one you have to make for yourself. Just remember, the book should be on display, not you.

I suggest bringing a friend or family member along to be your "plant" off and on during the event. Buy them a coffee and let them wander the store, but the idea is for them to show up occasionally and converse with you - the author - to draw some interest.

ASK WHERE THE RESTROOMS ARE, BECAUSE SOMEONE WILL BE ASKING YOU. I guarantee it.

Please, don't sit at your table. If you are the only one signing, stand a foot or two away from the table. Let your stack of books be on the opposite side away from you. A customer will avoid picking up your book, looking at the cover and reading the back, if they think laying it back down will make them and you uncomfortable. Give them a chance to appease their curiosity in comfort.

Never, ever, ask a customer, "Would you be interested in buying (seeing, looking at, touching, etc) my book?"
Your signing is about friendliness and graciousness. It isn't about trying to sell 50 books, but getting the customers to remember YOUR name. A nod, a smile, a "Hi, how are you folks doing this evening? Would you care for a bookmark?"
If they happen to glance at the books, proudly let them know it's your first (or tenth), then let them take the lead in the conversation. Or not.

I've never lost an author yet, so take a deep breath and have fun. If you happen to make some minor mistakes, I promise they won't be on the cover of the New York Times the next morning.

Begin thinking like a professional NOW. Groom those relationships. Attend signings. Ask questions.

Now, answer these…and be honest.

Writers: Why are you writing? Is it to make money? See your name on a book? Tell your story? To get rid of the little voices in your head that the meds won't fix ?
And who will be interested in what you have to say? What will make you stand out from the rest?

Readers: Are you a regular attendee at signings? Or do you shy away from them? Has store promotion ever encouraged you to attend a signing? What author are you MOST wanting to see at a signing? What's the farthest you ever traveled for a signing?

Remember everyone, this isn't just about romance. It's about the written word. It's about holding a book or touching a person. It's about a responsibility by virtue of what you do. It's about leaving something of substance as you pass by.

Linda Keller
Literary Consultant
2006 COFW Bookseller of the Year
2007 RWA Steffie Walker Bookseller of the Year

Prioritizing Your Life

I keep my promises and deliver on all surprises! Today we have Yasmine Gaelenorn with us. Yasmine is not only a talented writer and spinner of extraordinary worlds, she is also a very wise woman. Her wisdom shows in pictures of those she counts as Most Important People--I'm sure you'll agree. Take it away, Yasmine! Stella

There are two things I’ve discovered about the writing business over the years. The first is that you have to work your butt off to succeed. All the dreaming and wishing in the world won’t cut it if you don’t sit your ass in the chair, put your hands on the keyboard, and pound out the stories. And to become a “bestselling” author, you often—not always but often—have to write several books a year for awhile to establish your name. And then you find you’re writing several books a year because the audience wants it. You love the work, but any free time is now limited.

This leads into the second lesson I’ve learned—and this one came the hard way: Sometimes you come to a screeching halt and are forced to reassess your lifestyle and choices. Success comes with built in stress factors that sometimes boggle the mind.

Or maybe you aren’t a writer, but you find yourself working two jobs to make ends meet and you hardly ever make it home. Or you volunteer for one job and find yourself leading a dozen committees and suddenly you’re resenting the work rather than rejoicing in it. Or you suddenly realize you’ve gotten hooked in as your internet acquaintances’ free therapist rather than spending time with your family and friends.

So do you let all of this continue to get worse? Do you tell the family “forget it, I can’t do family night anymore?” Do you ignore the husband and pay the pizza delivery man for a month’s worth of dinners? Do you start ditching lunch with friends?

Well, sometimes you have to—on a temporary basis when you have a deadline or when you have to pull a second shift at work. But you can’t let it become a way of life. So what do you do when life overwhelms? There’s no clear cut answer, but I’m in the process of looking for ways to carve out more time for me, for my life, for my work.

You see, I recently landed several choice projects—three more books (7-9) on my current urban fantasy series, three books on a second UF series, a novella for an anthology with a deadline of 12/1, another project I can’t discuss yet. So now my deadlines aren’t just tight, they’re daunting. And my health is demanding more attention—I can no longer ignore the aches and pains or skip breakfast and guzzle caffeine all day and then grab a bag of chocolates to make up for the energy drain.

This summer, I found out I’ve got a low thyroid. My adrenals are low, I’m Vitamin D & B12 deficient, and there’s a slight concern over blood sugar. On the plus side, my cholesterol’s great, thank heavens, and so are the ‘fatty acid’ type readings—but I’ve got to watch my health. And the truth is I don’t get enough exercise, and an old injury makes it difficult to find ones that won’t cause pain or make things worse.

On top of that, in July we lost two of our senior cats—our 18 year old Keeter, who had CRF, and our 15 year old Luna, who developed liver cysts and a month after surgery, succumbed to previously undiscovered pancreatic cancer. Our cats *are* our children. They mean the world to us, and we didn’t lose pets—we lost beloved friends and family members.

The day we lost Luna, I found out that I made the NYT extended list again with Dragon Wytch. The joy of that was so wrapped up with the pain of losing my girl that I don’t even remember smiling. When, three days later, when we lost Keeter, I knew I had to change my life. I was exhausted and I was facing deadlines and contract negotiations. And then I was offered the contract for the new series, and the lesson really hit home. And then with this newest endeavor, it smashed me flat as a pancake. So I’ve looked at my life and asked, “Where can I make changes?”

I gave up several volunteer tasks I was doing. I’m saying, “I’m simply can’t do it” to any new requests that won’t recharge me in some way. I’ve taking a break from most internet stuff except updating my website and an occasional blog post. I’ve handed over more responsibility to my assistant. I told all but my closest friends who email me on a regular basis, “Sorry, I’m not answering non-essential email anymore.”

I found someone to help me with the housework. I’ve put a moratorium on accepting any new social engagements unless I think they will recharge us—absolutely no obligatory appearances until I get out from under the next four deadlines (all four due before April 15, 2009).

I’m forcing myself to get up from my desk every hour to spend ten minutes on my stability ball. I’m cutting down on the espresso. Instead of spending an hour puttering on the net every the morning, I’m taking fifteen minutes to meditate. I’m aiming eight hours of sleep a night—something I haven’t gotten in years.

And we just made an addition to our family—Calypso has come to live with us. Our 20 year old and other 15 year old aren’t sure about it yet, but they’re not fighting.

Calypso is twelve weeks old now, and she’s incredibly sweet and loving, as well as being young-kitten rambunctious. There’s a story attached to finding her (we first saw her through Petfinder), but it would make this blog too long. Leave it to say, she was meant to come live with us, and we love her dearly, as frustrating as dealing with a baby can be at times. She’s brought new life into our family, and she radiates joy and happiness.

And that’s what I want our household and our lives to be like. I want to be happy, and since I’m happy with my work, it means I need to be happy with the rest of my life. And that means saying “No” and meaning it. It means spending more time on my husband, the cats, friends, reading or playing games or even just watching movies. And that means prioritizing my life, and sending things like non-essential email and web surfing back where they belong—as occasional hobbies, not frantic obsessions. It means putting my work back as the priority instead of all the stuff surrounding my work.

And this is the crux of my rambling blog here. A friend told me a few years back: Sometimes you have to let go of the mediocre or good in order to embrace the great. Because there isn’t time enough in the world to do everything. So we have to pick and choose that which is best for us—spiritually, career-wise, and emotionally. So there it is: it comes down to making choices in order to be the best we can be, and to take back control of our lives.

So what are your choices? Are you swamped for time? What in your life is ‘mediocre’ or ‘merely good’ that you can let go of, in order to allow more of the ‘great’ into your life? And remember: sometimes the ‘great’ simply means a chance to sit on the porch, stare at the trees, and breathe.

Bright Blessings,
Yasmine Galenorn


USA Today bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes urban fantasy for Berkley: both the bestselling Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon Series for Berkley and the upcoming Elemental Magic Series. In the past, she wrote two mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, and eight nonfiction metaphysical books. Yasmine has been in the Craft for over 28 years, is a shamanic witch, and describes her life as a blend of teacups and tattoos. She lives in Bellevue WA with her husband Samwise and their cats.

For more information, visit her site at www.galenorn.com, via MySpace: www.myspace.com/yasminegalenorn and via Live Journal: http://yasminegalenorn.livejournal.com

Will you still love me....

If I feel too tired, too oatmeal-brained, and can't think of a thing to write about?

Well, this is our chance to find out because all the mental energy I have left is getting used up finishing the book I'm writing at the moment. And deadline time is looming. And I had to go to a wedding today when I didn't want to. And I've got a sprained ankle. And I've been to the chiropractor four times in the past week because my right hip keeps slipping out because I sprained my darned ankle. And I have to sit on the tippy edge of any chair, including while working, so my knees can be angled downward to try to keep the slipping hip from slipping again.

That's it. I'm a useless toad tonight but I'll try to do better next time and I do have a lovely surprise for you this coming Wednesday (nope, not even going to give you a hint) so stay tuned.

Apologetically,

Stella

I love my husband, but oh you cats!

This is an ode to My Boys. The soul mate's been out of town a lot lately on business and will continue to be in and out for most of the fall. But that's okay, cuz I've got work to keep me busy and my cats to keep me entertained. Those of you with pets don't need me to tell you how much company they provide.

What keeps me endlessly fascinated about Boo Radley and Mojo is how much contrast is packed into each cat's personality. The Boys are litter mates and the couple who fostered them from infancy really, really wanted to keep Mojo, but they found Boo too wild. That they elected to have the kittens stay together above their own desire to keep one of them is a testament to their love of animals. I will forever bless and admire them for it.

And Boo can be wild--especially if he thinks he's in trouble. As a kitten he would literally bounce sideways off the furniture, but if you could snag him and throw him over your shoulder, then stroke and talk softly to him, he usually settled down. He never seemed quite sure of his welcome and to this day the boy's got nursing issues. He kneads and sucks on blankets, pillows and the odd fleece jacket. He's also way more methodical and cautious about acquainting himself with new surroundings than his brother. When we first introduced the Boys to the outdoors, Mojo would tear across the back yard and up the lilac tree without a thought. Boo had to sniff out every square inch around him before he could move on to the next patch.

He's a huge cat and you'd think he'd be out kicking butt and taking names. Instead, he regularly gets the crap kicked out of him by the neighborhood Toms. So, guy-like, he comes home and takes it out on his brother, because he can pounce on Mojo and know blood (his own) won't flow. But he's sweet and affectionate and has a purr like a big rig in idle. And see that tail? About the only time it isn't up in the air like that is when I take him to the vet.

Mojo has never doubted his welcome for a minute. He just assumes everyone is delirious to see him and if you're not quick enough to pet him, he'll poke his nose under your hand and toss his head back, making it slide in the motion he's going for. But, boy, if he's not in the mood to be stroked, no one can slink out from beneath your touch faster than that cat. It's like his bones dissolve and he just disappears like smoke on the wind .

He's more delicately built and a good five pounds lighter than his brother, but he's got a cocky, emphatic walk you can hear all over the house. He never gets his butt kicked--he's honed his flight reflex to a razor sharpness and is faster than a Japanese bullet train.

Smoky Joe (a nickname) loves sleeping on laps or pillows and at first wasn't as interested as Boo in spending long hours outside. He looks and often behaves like a prince, but the boy is not afraid of wet work. Once he discovered hunting, he never looked back. As a direct result of the trophies he started dragging home we had to call a moratorium on installing the cat door we bought. Those carcasses are not a pretty sight and I don't intend to find them on my rug or bed.

So these a just a few of the contradictions within each of my cats. What are some in your own pets, or what are some of the things they do that tickles you?

Elizabeth G: "Feel Good" Friday Nite Flicks

Between the struggling economy, divisive politics, and deadlines (I'm finishing up a book and immediately starting another one, which means working at least six days a week for the foreseeable future), I really look forward to taking Friday nights off to watch a movie with my husband.

Here are my Top Ten "feel good" flicks for a Friday night. Most, but not all, have a strong element of humor. They all have a wonderful romance with a happy ending OF COURSE.

1. THE HOLIDAY (2006) The cast: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, and Eli Wallach. Written and directed by the very talented and very funny Nancy Meyers. Takes place at the holidays, but we first saw it on TV this summer, so it's fun year-round. Rated PG-13 for some profanity.

Watch for: The hilarious, laugh-out-loud telephone tag scene with Kate Winslet. Also the two wonderful child actors in my favorite "tent" scene.

2. A GOOD YEAR (2006) The cast: Russell Crowe, Freddie Highmore, Albert Finney, and Marion Cotillard, who won the Academy Award last year for playing Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. A GOOD YEAR is based on Peter Mayle's book A Year in Provence. Rated PG-13 for some profanity.

Watch for: Everything. A superb cast. A funny and touching story. A wonderful love story. Beautiful French countryside. And wine. How can you go wrong with that combination?

3. AUGUST RUSH (2006) The cast: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, and Robin Williams. Rated PG.

Watch for: I've already written about this movie in a separate blog earlier this summer. Very touching. Glorious music.

4. SERENDIPITY (2001) The cast: Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, John Corbett, Jeremy Piven, and Molly Shannon. Rated PG-13. Two people meet and fall in love. Is it chance or Fate?

Watch for: Well, I pretty much see all of John Cusack's movies, so I guess you can tell I'm a fan. (Okay, I'll confess that the "elevator" scene in the first quarter of the movie drives me nuts! And I don't mean in a good way, so I fast forward through it.)

5. MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (2002) The cast: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Christina Eleusinitos, Kaylee Vieria. Also written by Nia Vardalos, of course. Rated PG.

Watch for: Is there anyone on the planet who hasn't seen this movie? LOL If not, you're in for a real treat.

6. MUSIC AND LYRICS (2007) The cast: Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Brad Garrett, Kristen Johnston, and Campbell Scott. Rated PG-13.

Watch for: Everyone does their own singing and dancing, including Hugh Grant, who's actually very good in the role of an 80's "has-been" rock star. A bit of fun and fluff.

7. THE MUMMY (1999) The cast: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and Arnold Vosloo. Rated PG-13.

Watch for: Well, of course, with my penchant and love of all things ancient Egyptian, this movie is on my "must" own list.

8. THE MUMMY RETURNS (2001) The cast: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Alun Armstrong, and Patricia Velasque. Rated PG-13.

Watch for: I actually enjoyed the second "Mummy" movie as much as the first one. A bit silly, perhaps, but just plain fun.

9. MR. & MRS. SMITH (2005) The cast: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughan, Adam Brody and Kerry Washington. Rated PG-13. Sexy and funny. Also "shoot 'em-up" violent, but no "blood and gore" graphic violence.

Watch for: Since Angelina Jolie was a kick-butt heroine in the Lara Croft movies, she can more than handle herself in a fist fight with Brad Pitt. It might not be funny with an actress who couldn't hold her own against a man.

10. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS (1950) The cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Patricia Medina, and Walter Slezak.

Watch for: Well, I wouldn't watch this movie if you paid me. LOL But I couldn't think of a tenth movie for this blog, so my husband suggested the Abbott and Costello flick.

Now it's your turn to share with the rest of us here at RWQ. What are your favorite "feel good" Friday Nite Flicks?

Cheers!
EG

JAYNE PRESENTS: THE WOMEN OF www.romancenovel.tv

Jayne, here, to introduce Maria and Marisa, the ladies who created www.romancenovel.tv, an entertaining and truly unique online destination for those of us who love romance. If you haven't checked out the site, be sure to do so. They've got video interviews and guest blogs from all of your favorite authors and lots, lots more.





Maria: Yes, we’re identical twins. We were born four minutes apart and I have been the ‘bossy’ one from the start. Over the years, however, Marisa has learned all the wonderful traits of bossiness, so in that respect we’ve become a lot a like.

We’ve been best friends forever. You have no idea how wonderful that is. We’ve never had to do anything alone. We started the first day of school together, made new friends together, and had some very daring childhood adventures together. Having each other to lean on in new situations gave us that little extra confidence I don’t otherwise think we would have had.

When our paths went in different directions during and after college, we still stayed in close touch. About a decade ago we began working together in television production. While we didn’t live together, we lived in the same town which allowed us to commute together into Manhattan. Each day I would find Marisa with the latest romance novel in her hands. She couldn’t be disturbed and if you spoke to her, she would give you a dirty look. After all, she was doing the one thing that gave her enormous pleasure, reading. One day, I ran out of something to read, and she gave me a romance book. I was hooked. From that moment on riding the bus to and from work was one long pleasurable experience; after all we had our characters with us.

The funny thing is Marisa and I don’t agree on many things. While we’re closer than two pieces of dirt wedged in a corner, we have completely opposite tastes. From clothing to hair color and from movies and TV shows to music. The one thing we mostly agree on is romance books. In fact if Marisa likes a book, I’m sure to love it. That’s one of the reasons we started Romance Novel TV – it was something we could both unequivocally agree on – it combined our passion for television production with romance books. And we now find ourselves working more closely than ever on something we both really love. We don’t always come at things from the same place – but the great thing is we are always open to discussion. We divide the work evenly and we each have our separate strengths.

There are days when we laugh so hard we can’t breathe and then there are those days when we’re both so tired we can’t speak. But we share the good and the bad and we get up each day to face the challenges knowing that we’re both jumping off the cliff together.

The thing is, we couldn’t imagine not being together, working together and basically talking to each other on a daily basis. All the while we have our own sets of friends and family to keep us busy, busy, busy. But the one thing we can count on from each other, is honesty, caring, a spirit of fun and a general sense that whatever the other endeavors to do, we’ll be right behind the other. For us there is no greater feeling than to have someone around that cares. It’s girlfriend time, different than a husband, a boyfriend or a significant other. With us it’s always BFF time.

Marisa: Maria – you said it all.

How about you – is there someone special in your life that knows everything about you? Someone you share your secrets with? Or someone you go to when you just need a friend?

Please forgive the interruption/for Lynne Thomas

Lynne Thomas I've lost your email. Would you please contact me again? Cheers, Stella

THE NAME GAME...

Good morning everyone!

I am SO tickled to present to you LuAnn McLane.
LuAnn is a good friend, a fabulous person, and a delicious writer! She comes up with some of the BEST titles ever. Whenever I see her, I ask her about the title of her newest book, and I always know she'll get me smiling.

Please give LuAnn a gigantic, warm Quillster welcome!

Hi everyone!

I write southern bent romantic comedy and erotic romance for NAL/Signet Eclipse and I’m thrilled to be guest blogging at Running with Quills. To have my name on the same page as these amazing authors is quite a rush. Thanks Lori Foster for inviting me!

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare

Okay, Shakespeare might have been right… oh, but names or in my case titles certainly do matter. The title and cover of a novel is the first impression readers have of the content and although we’ve been told not to “judge a book by its cover” I can tell you that booksellers certainly do. Titles are tough! They should not only be catchy and clever but intrigue as well. Oh… and of course connect with the plot.

My first southern comedy title, DARK ROOTS AND COWBOY BOOTS, accomplished all of those things and I’ve had lots of readers tell me they picked up the book simply because of the title. The challenge, however, has been continuing to come up with clever catchy titles since it has become part of my author brand.

Book titles have always been important to me. The title is my handle on the story and the creative spark that gets me going. I’ve been asked how I come up with the titles and I play around with key words from the synopsis and piece them together as if I’m doing some sort of quirky word jumble. I look for words that rhyme, that balance and have humor, which is how I came up with DANCING SHOES AND HONKY TONK BLUES. My editor asked me to come with titles that sound like country music songs… so when I was banging my head on my desk trying to come up with the latest one I decided to take her suggestion a step further and use a real song title A LITTLE LESS TALK AND A LOT MORE ACTION. (Oh they just love me in the legal production).

In my romantic comedies I title the chapters as well (might as well make writing as challenging as I possibly can, right?). This isn’t done so much anymore but I remembered reading The Bobbsey Twins as a kid and chapter headings kept me from putting the book down… something like FREDDIE FINDS A TRAIL or A WARNING NOTE would keep me reading! Of course my headings are a bit different… for example: Get Your Sexy On, Be Careful What You Wish For, Grillin’ and Chillin’, Timing is Everything…

My titles for my erotic romances are much more straightforward and to the point including my October release DRIVEN BY DESIRE set in the world of motocross racing. Still, the title has led to fun racing analogies from reviewers. Roundtable Reviews calls it “an adrenaline-fueled romance” and Publishers Weekly refers to it as “McLane’s latest fast and furious romance (after Wild Ride)”. The tag line on the cover is “Only one man could make her heart race…” so you get the picture.

What has caught your eye or made you laugh or just simply curious? WHY DO MEN HAVE NIPPLES sure captured my attention.
I laughed at Dixie Cash’s DON’T MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN YOU AND MY SHOES and MY HEART MAY BE BROKEN BUT MY HAIR STILL LOOKS GREAT.
And I had to buy Meg Cabot’s SIZE TWELVE IS NOT FAT. (Of course it’s not!)

So, I’d like to know what some of your favorite titles have been?

LuAnn McLane
www.luannmclane.com
www.myspace.com/romancewriterchick
Driven by Desire, NAL, Oct. 08
A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action, NAL, still available!

PS FROM LORI:

LuAnn will be signing copies of her newest book at:
Barnes and Noble
WEST CHESTER, OH
Friday, Oct 17th
7 pm

I'll be there for sure, so if you're in the Ohio area, come and meet LuAnn at the Barnes and Noble in West Chester.
We'll have a great time!

WE ARE ALL IN THIS ONE BUT NOT ALL TOGETHER!

Happy Monday, my friends.

We are going to be up, up, up, regardless of the apparent fact that we've probably got plenty of reasons to be down, down, down. Why should we worry about the economy? By my calculations we'll all be living in cardboard boxes--under bridges--fairly soon, so we'll just pick the same big bridge and rendezvouz there to share our instant noodles.

Just joking!

Now to the real topic for today:

*We all use computers.

*Some of us are real techies and know all the tricks.

*Some of us are technologically challenged, but we still have at least one nifty trick up our sleeves.

IT'S SHOW AND TELL TIME!

I'll jump in and give you the (very few) shortcuts I know.

You'll jump in next (I just know ALL of you know ALL of them) with the fabulous tips you're aching to share with the less fortunate.

STELLA'S HELPFUL HINTS:

1. Forget about http//www. when using the web. stellacameron.com will get you to the same place as http//www.stellacameron.com.

2. Don't be afraid of all those little arrows you probably see around the edges of your window, particularly in the corners. Give 'em a whirl. Nothing will blow up and you'll likely discover you can jump back or forward a page, move all the way from the left to the right (and back again) of your page and you may even find some other little goodies, like moving the distance of a paragraph only.

3. When you want to highlight a word--just double click on the word. No need to drag the cursor along the whole thing.

4. Tapping the Space bar once will scroll down one screenful on a Web page. You can use the Shift key and tap the space bar to scroll back up.

5. You need to "empty" your Trash in addition to just sending items to Trash. If you only send them there, that's where they remain and they continue to take up space on your drive. Every few weeks, or as often as makes you happy, empty your Trash.

Now it's your turn. Remember, NOTHING is too simple a move for some of us (read, me) so feel free to send along anything that comes to mind. Maybe we can figure out a way to compile all the tips into one list?

All the best,

Stella

Pretty boys, floatin' my boat

Long, long ago, in another century, I stood in line for hours with thousands of other barely teen-aged girls to see the sneak preview of Bye, Bye Birdie at the Paramount theater. Why, you ask? Because I was in love, my pretties. With Bobby Rydell.
You thought I was kidding about that other century thing, didn't you?
Aw, me. It makes me sigh just thinking about the feelings that boy inspired in my very young, woefully underdeveloped breast. Bobby was the dreamiest guy I had ever seen and I was sure we were destined to be together.

Until I actually thought about it. Let's see. Me in Seattle in the 7th grade. Him a famous singer and sometime actor, probably in LA. (I was a little sketchy on that detail, but knew wherever he was, it was a long way from where I lived) So I transferred my crush to Mike Ziegler, a boy in my junior high I considered a Bobby double. Okay, I didn't have any better luck attracting Mike's attention, but still. The possibilities kept me warm and fuzzy for a long time.

A Very Long Time.

Since then I've never been drawn to an actor/singer/hunk-of-the-moment quite like I was to Bobby. Well, okay, there was Steve McQueen. He actually French kissed on screen in an era when smooches were very dry. And George Chakiris. I mean, c'mon. Those lips, that chin, that nose, that hair!

But, ahem, I digress. Diggin' movie stars etc has a long, exalted tradition. Can you say Rudolph Valentino? And I remember my mother going to the neighborhood theater with the lady next door specifically to ogle Chuck Connor (of TV's The Rifleman fame) --hopefully sans shirt. My mother. In the evening. Without my father.

So I leave you with a question. Who spins your wheels? Here's a little inspiration in case you're coming up blank.



Now, ladies, I ask you. Can you say, "Hell, yeah!"?