Welcome to Running With Quills, your online newsletter designed to keep you up to date with what your favorite authors (that would be us) are doing throughout the year. Here you will find the release dates of our new books and get information about our backlists. We'll preview our cover art here long before the books hit the stores and we'll keep you informed about works-in-progress and special projects. You'll also receive advance notice of signings and appearances. From time to time we'll give you a peek at our worlds, tell you what we're reading, and introduce you to some new authors.
Okay, my dear little flowers, so I goofed. I messed up, screwed up, lost the plot. I forgot. Yesterday I placed ten orders for Christmas gifts--twice. The first time (from a store I'll be kind enough not to name) the whole thing went upside down on me at the very end. The whole order disappeared. The second time, a different outfit, all of the addresses did the shuffle! The wrong addresses were on every order--rather as if they had all moved two places. I gave up, turned off my computer and told myself I would not think about it until today. Well, I didn't and I didn't think about the blog either. If you should have a particularly infuriating "getting ready for the Season of Peace" story, do share. At least I'll feel better. Ho, ho, ho, Stella
Hey all, Lavanda Dee and Lynne Thomas were the winners of Margaret Mallory's contest. Margaret is out of town this week but if you'll send her your mailing information at margaretmallory.author@gmail.com, she'll put an autographed book in the mail for you when she gets back home.
Thanks for commenting, gals. As you can see, it pays. *G*. ~Susan
The dishes are done, the grandchildren bathed and in their jammies. Our son-in-law and oldest grandson are all set up downstairs in the TV room with the Harry Potter DVD playing—Tony’s been reading the book to 8-year old Luca, and Luca is really excited about seeing the movie. The two youngest are upstairs watching a “kids movie” that won’t give them nightmares, and our daughter Sarah is curled up reading Outlander and keeping an eye on Gracie and Cole. Rufus, our little mutt, is sulking in his bed in our room and Gigi, the grandkids’ dog, is perfectly happy knowing her mere presence is all it takes to irritate Rufus...all is well.
Our main entertainment today--in my opinion--was the family photo shoot. Sarah wanted her dad to get a picture of their family for their Christmas card—watching Sarah and Tony try to corral three kids and a dog, get everyone to smile and all fit inside the frame was the most entertainment I’ve had in ages! Hopefully one of the many shots taken will be acceptable. All I can say is thank goodness for digital-- I think Bompa took about a hundred pictures! After dinner the guys played chess...actually, Luca and Bompa started out playing chess, but it shortly turned into a team activity. I think Bompa won, but I’m still not really sure. It didn’t seem to matter—everyone was laughing so it appears there really weren’t any losers.
Because the day has been moving along at a slower pace, I’ve spent time thinking of family members who are no longer with us, of friends who are now gone, but instead of feeling melancholy, I’ve enjoyed the memories of holidays past. Our lives are so often ruled by the clock and it can be especially hectic this time of year, so to have a day when we can be together and just relax and enjoy ourselves and have the time to think of those things that have gotten us to the place where we are today is really special.
For all of this--for family, for friends, for the joy in each day, I am thankful. For the chance to have a career I love, for the people I've met through my writing--both authors and readers--I am thankful. For times like this, when our house is filled with the voices of grandkids and laughter and even Rufus's grumpy growls, I am thankful. It's been a good day in a good year. No, not everything is perfect and there's a lot that could be improved, but when I weigh the good against the bad, the good always wins...and for that I am thankful.
My husband just announced it’s his bedtime, and headed out. I imagine I won’t be far behind, but I did want to take this chance to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.
For those of you here in the US who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you’ve had an enjoyable day with family and friends. I’d love to hear how your Thanksgiving feast went, and for you Canadians, I imagine you can remember back a month, right? I hope you’ve had as enjoyable a day as ours has been—did you feed a huge crowd, go as a guest, or enjoy a quiet dinner with just a few family or friends? I’d love to hear your stories. It’s always fun to see what everyone’s been up to!
Dont'cha miss the good old days when you could get your hands on a books about knights and kings and kirtles and stuff? Well, I have a treat for you, because today's guest blogger is Margaret Mallory, and she writes medieval romances. Knight of Pleasure, which is hitting the shelves as we speak, is the second in her series, ALL THE KING'S MEN, and--whoo-hoo!--she's giving away autographed copies to two lucky posters. Take it away, Margaret! (Oh, wait, wait! I forgot to mention the pic below the star line. That's CaenCastle--there are several scenes in the book set here. Pretty cool, huh?)
Okay, now take it away!
****************************************************************** Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Thanks so much for inviting me, Susan. I’m thrilled to be rubbing quills with such wonderful authors.
Tell me, when you are a bestseller, do your relatives still give you a hard time about your love scenes? It’s not that my family members don’t read plenty of books with sex scenes…but knowing I write them is something else altogether.
Shortly after my first book came out in July, I did a book signing at my sister’s library. She is the librarian in the town where we went to high school, so between relatives, old family friends, and library patrons, a lot of people showed up. Every time someone said they were buying my book for a daughter or niece, my mother would shriek, “She better be over 18!” My mother, who is not young, was prepared to wrestle the person to the ground if the answer was no.
With my second book coming out, I have visions of my mom standing in the romance section of her local bookstore checking ID’s to be sure no one underage picks up my book.
And then there are my in-laws. When they kept joking about how hot they were going to get reading my book, my 19-year-old son had to leave the house. (It was hard, but I refrained from going with him.) He told me later that thinking about “old people” having sex—and I suspect he meant his parents as well as his grandparents—was just too “disturbing.”
Your children, of course, don’t want to know that you ever had sex, let alone that you write love scenes for all the world to read. My son’s friends did not help matters when they threatened to read my love scenes aloud to the freshman dorm. How mature. I considered advising these young men that reading romance novels could save them years and years of missteps with women, but I bit my tongue.
Really, don’t you think romance novels should be required for college freshmen?
My son asked me to cut the love scenes from his copy of my book. Paper-clipping the pages or blacking them out was not sufficient; the offending pages had to be removed completely. He still hasn’t read it—probably because I warned him I could not possibly cut out all the places where my characters are THINKING about sex. It is a romance, after all. ☺
While I have family members who want the love scenes removed, a number of men friends want to read ONLY the love scenes. They pretend to be joking when they ask for the page numbers—ha ha—but I don’t believe them. Yes, it is a little weird.
My daughter, at least, stopped being embarrassed after she saw how enthusiastic her girlfriends were about my books. Luckily, her friends are all over eighteen, so my mother won’t have to track them down and rip the copies out of their hands.
All kidding aside, my family and friends have been amazing in their support of my new career as a romance writer. I am sure every one of them accosts strangers in the grocery store to tell them about my books, and I am grateful. In fact, I dedicated my new release, Knight of Pleasure, to my parents. All the same, I hope they don’t read past the dedication.
It’s a good thing I don’t write my books for the relatives. If I did, they wouldn’t be fun at all.
So, we're in Hawaii and the other night we watched JULIE & JULIA on the big screen tv here in the room. The film is delightful and holds a special appeal for writers as well as those who enjoy cooking. If you think it is hard to get published, wait until you see what Julia Child had to go through!
The film also made me confront the fact that, as much as I admire fine cooking and enjoy messing about in the kitchen, I am never going to cook like Julia Child. Heck, I can't even do a proper hollandaise sauce from scratch. I have to cheat and use the blender method from the JOY OF COOKING (which works every time, by the way).
Not that I'm ever going to make Boeuf Bourguignon or attempt to bone a duck. Frank and I don't eat beef or duck. You will notice that my characters rarely eat any animals except fish. This is not a coincidence. But like the heroes and heroines in my stories, Frank and I eat a lot of fish and cooking fish is hard, at least for me.
However, Frank recently stumbled on a little online cooking show the other day — COOKUS INTERRUPTUS — and I tried the NORI WRAPPED SALMON. Bingo! It was fabulous! I will be cooking it at least once a week or until Frank can't stand the sight of salmon any more. The nori (sheets of dried seaweed) is easy to find in most supermarkets. It's the stuff people use to wrap sushi. I will also be trying more recipes from the show.
I have made a few tweaks: I use more Dijon mustard and more wasabi powder, enough to coat the whole sheet of nori, and I slather the fish packets in olive oil because I discovered that the nori crisps up and gets nice and crunchy that way. I also cook the packets a little longer than the standard 10 minutes per inch because I do not like rare fish. I like mine well-done.
Now I'm on a roll and looking for other great online cooking sites and easy recipes. Got any to share?
Ack! Is it really my turn to blog again? I'm not ready! Here I was, sitting at my desk and basking in my freedom, thinking of all the things I DIDN'T need to do today. And then "bing," my outlook reminder popped up to say, "RWQ Blog today."
Oh boy. I forgot all about it. But I do have a good excuse.
Late yesterday, I FINALLY finished my current work in progress. :::dancing!:::: It'll be the 1st book of my new contract with Hqn, and it needed to be written way in advance because I have 2 more to finish so that Hqn can put out 3 related books, back to back, in 2011. Tentatively, they're scheduled for June, July, and August. (In 2010, I'll have 1 single title romance, "Back in Black," in February. But I'll also have some new novellas, and a lot of reissues.)
I've never done this planned trilogy thing before. It's very taxing. I don't have the type of brain that plans ahead 3 books. I write a book, winging it from daily inspiration, not from any set plan, and if a secondary character gets my attention enough to warrant his own book, he gets it. None of my "series" ever started out as series.
No wait, I take that back. They weren't planned in advance of the 1st book, but I knew as soon as I wrote "Sawyer," from the Buckhorn brothers, that I would also write stories for the other brothers, too. But prior to writing "Sawyer," I didn't know that.
Ditto with the Winstons. As soon as I wrote Cole Winston's novella, for the "Hot Chocolate" anthology, I had story ideas for his brothers.
But this time, Hqn wanted me to come up with 3 related books from the onset, and that's a big bend for the way my brain works. How do I know which characters will speak to me, until I've written them? So far, though, so good. I think I have a handle on things. (ha!)
The 1st book (the one I just finished) will probably be titled, "If You Dare," because the hard edged, mega capable hero is named Dare. (Long ago I figured out that readers liked it when I put the hero's name in the title, because it made it easier to recognize each book.) But then that gave me a kink, because the hero for the next book, Dare's good friend, was named Jace. And how in the world do you put Jace in a title? In the end, I changed his name to Trace, so that titles would work. LOL. Without a Trace... how does that sound? Yeah. Titles are NOT my forte, but I was trying to think ahead, knowing there'd be 3 related books.
So on top of writing the book, I had to think about other things too. Very taxing! (Quill authors, how DO you do it!?)
Always, by the end of a book, I'm mush. Those last few weeks of writing, it becomes very difficult for me to sleep because my brain won't stop going over the plot, trying to remember any little twists that I haven't tied up, all the details, or any emphasis that I meant to make but forgot about. I keep notepads and pens all over the house, but especially next to the bed and the bathtub.
My desk is a hazard zone. I have 6 candles sitting out (because the scent of candles helps get me in the zone) and I have treats for the dogs on hand, plus treats for me on hand, plus notes and notes and notes EVERYWHERE! I do a lot of munching when I write, but I think I burn up a lot of calories too, because I don't gain more weight. I just maintain.
Added to the craziness of getting to "the end," we've had some spectacular full moons, and they ALWAYS mess with my sleep.
This one was taken from my front yard, and I zoomed in for a shot that was a little way up and across the street.
Pretty, isn't it? That moon hung so low in the sky, it was incredible. It literally lit up the area like a street lamp.
And it kept me from sleeping soundly. Whenever I have a particularly tough time sleeping, I can almost always blame a full moon. I don't know why, but they mess with my head. LOL
This next photo was taken by my brother. The lake you see is the place where I spent my childhood. Every year, as soon as school ended, we packed up and went to the lake. If you read about a lake in any of my books (and I write that in often) this is the lake I'm picturing in my mind. Many, many wonderful memories there!
We'd spend our days water skiing, swimming, boating, and sunning. We pretty much lived in our swimsuits. Even dinner was usually spent in a suit because you ate at the picnic table in the side yard, or on the deck out front that overlooked the lake.
Dad, who just turned 86, sold the cabin on the lake a few years ago. I miss it horribly, but of course I supported his decision.
And speaking of my dad's birthday - his was the 17th of November. Mine was the 14th of November, and my husband's is the 22nd of November. How did I spend my birthday? WRITING! See, my book was due last Monday, and I was determined NOT to be any later than I had to be.
Now with the book done, I hope to catch up on sleep, maybe shop, and let my husband treat me to a few dinners out with a movie thrown in.
What about you? Are you a person affected by the full moon? Is there a weather condition that helps you sleep or keeps you from sleeping? (I sleep better when it's raining, but not if it's thundering with lightning, because that'll wake me up.) Do you sleep more or less when you're stressed? (The endings of books always stress me.)
Seems the older I get, the more of an issue sleep is for me. Every little thing keeps me from sleeping soundly. I wonder if I get to Dad's age, if I'll stop sleeping at all. LOL
Forgive me for the rushed, not all that interesting blog - but cheer me for getting this book done! I'm going to take a week off to read, shop, and relax, and then I have to get writing again. I have a novella due February 1st!
Brrr. It's a frosty morning here in Vermont. I'm ready for snow! COLD RIVER, which arrives in stores next week, is set in the fictional town of Black Falls, Vermont. The story takes place in late December and early January, when it's cold, snowy and very beautiful here.
I wrote COLD RIVER and COLD PURSUIT, the first book in the series, during two of our snowiest winters on record. I just had to look out my office window for inspiration! (The photo of the old sugar maple at sunrise is the view from my office.)
Of course, not all of the scenes take place outside...
To celebrate the publication of COLD RIVER, MIRA Books and I are sponsoring a contest that will award the winner $1000 to pursue his/her own adventure. To enter, all you have to do is answer, in 100 words or less, the following question: “If you could do anything in the world, what would your perfect personal adventure be?”
On November 24th, you can go to www.coldrivercontest.com to find rules and information on how to enter. That's COLD RIVER's official "on sale" date.
I love to strap on my snowshoes and head out into the woods in winter, but I also love to sit by the woodstove with a good book. I'm looking forward to getting into stores over the holidays, but I admit I seldom leave the house on "black" Friday itself. My sister-in-law, however, is one of the intrepid crack-of-dawn shoppers. She gets together with her friends, and they make a day of it and have a blast. She always comes home with the most amazing deals!
What about you? Do you shop on black Friday? Do you go with family and friends or go off on your own? Or do you stay home? We start a Christmas puzzle the day after Thanksgiving.
I'd love to hear about any traditions you have for the "day after."
And for those of you who work on black Friday...I hope it's a fun, stimulating and rewarding day for you. I know one thing: I always give books at Christmas. A paperback makes a perfect stocking stuffer!
This is infuriating but I just deleted the blog I had written... Grrrrr. I shall attempt to recreate but I'm ticked.
Yay, I just finished OUT OF SIGHT, the third book in my Court of Angels trilogy. The books are due out in March, April and May of next year. I recall when "next year" sounded so far away. Now, with Thanksgiving and Christmas drawing near, I would love to slow things down a bit.
I want to show you the logo for THE COURT OF ANGELS. The artist did a great job. Sang absolutely caught the atmosphere of these paranormal books as I feel it.
Very soon I'll show you the covers for OUT OF BODY, OUT OF MIND and OUT OF SIGHT.
Now on a completely different topic I'd like to ask you to answer a question that has been rattling around in my head lately:
Q. If you could have three wishes, what would they be?
Today was just weird. I’ve started a novella that’s not due until January, but since I have a novel due in February and the synopsis and first chapter of the third in my Demonslayers series also due in January, I decided to get the novella written early, especially with the holidays coming.
Anyway, I started work on it Tuesday and the writing just flew. I finished my first chapter, and then I wrote the second one yesterday and it was still just cooking along perfectly and then today...well, today I got sidetracked.
First there was the beautiful buck in the backyard. He hung around all morning, drinking out of the barrel, nibbling on the bushes and just doing his damnedest to look absolutely glorious.
They’re such beautiful creatures—except when they’re nibbling on all my plants, but since there’s really nothing left in our yard to nibble, I could finally appreciate how pretty this guy really was.
Then I went back to writing and yet my mind was drifting, and I started thinking about Jayne’s rerelease that was announced in her newsletter and for the life of me I couldn’t recall the title. (Help me here, Jayne! I’m sure it was one of your Amanda Quick historicals—Scandalous? I CAN’T REMEMBER!!! Sheesh!)
Anyway, I went to the bookshelf, but since I have so many of Jayne’s books they’re stacked two deep, so I started digging through and my day just...sort...of...floated......... awaaaaaaaaaaaaaay......
Am I the ONLY ONE who can’t look through her own bookshelves filled with books read numerous times without getting caught? It’s like a hypnotist waved something shiny in front of my eyes, and the next thing I knew I was perusing some of Jayne’s really old titles, and then I saw my stack of LaVryle Spencer books (Damn but I miss her stories!) and started flipping through Hummingbird which is one of my all time favorites. And there were all those books by Anne Stuart, and of course Lori Foster’s shelf that led me straight—well, straight in a convoluted manner—to Christine Feehan’s shelf and Angela Knight’s and then I looked up and it was dark outside, and I have no idea where the day went!
I should feel guilty...actually, I do feel a little guilty, and to atone I stayed up and wrote the third chapter of my novella, but inside I was smiling like crazy. I felt like I spent the day with a bunch of old friends and it was refreshing and entertaining and so restful. Do books do that for you? Not only entertain, but take you away to the point where the real world totally disappears? I think that’s the magic of a good story, and it’s a magic that never goes away. I can’t imagine getting rid of my books—ever. They’re my friends, my refuge, my place of renewal. If you read this blog, I know you understand because you’re probably the same way.
In a lot of ways, I think that makes us the luckiest people around.
Sister Susan Says: It's never too early to give thanks
Friday night we had a storm in Seattle. I was sacked out on the couch, finishing up Linda Howard's Burn, when around midnight lightening lit up the window next to me. Right on its heels came a horrendous clap of thunder. Electrical storms in this area are mostly seen over the Cascades, not downtown, so it was a rare event. But that was just the opening act, for the skies then opened up in a torrential downpour.
I knew Mojo was in but thought Boo must still be out as I hadn't seen him for awhile and he's a fool for the outdoors. I figured he'd want in out of this, however, and, boy, it was blowing when I opened the front door! Rain poured down in silvery sheets.
But Boo wasn't in his usual spot on the balustrade on the covered front porch. He wasn't perched atop the big blue flowerpot (which I've given up planting flowers in as he seems to think its his personal lookout post). So I headed for the door between our kitchen and the basement, since The Boys' backup stay-dry spot is under the back porch right outside of it.
The minute I opened that door, however, I got soaked in a deluge that blew literally sideways from the west--something else we don't often see. I heard the next day that winds got up to 60 miles an hour.
I abandoned Boo Radley to his fate and wrestled the door shut--and not a second too soon as the rain turned to hail. It sounded as if each individual pellet was the size of a golf ball, but I didn't reopen the door to check. Popular opinion to the contrary, I am not as dumb as I look.
As it turned out, Boo must have gone up to bed with the soul mate that evening, because by the time I got back to the kitchen, leaving little puddles of water everywhere I stepped, there he was, perfectly dry and looking sleep-rumpled. The hail probably woke him up.
I snuggled back on the couch and found it incredibly cozy being inside while the elements raged all around us. It reminded me of how lucky I am to have a nice dry house when so many people have no home at all. And that got me counting my blessings. Ordinarily, I'd save this post for the day before Thanksgiving, but I've got a guest author in that time slot. And I'm thankful for the same things today that I will be in two weeks, anyhow, since they're pretty much what I try hard every day not to take for granted: a home and the people who fill it, steady work, good friends, brothers and a sister- in-law who help in the ongoing effort to take care of my mother and keep her in her home for as long as it's safe to do so. I'm so fortunate in the people around me, truly blessed. How about you? What are you thankful for in your day to day life? You know me. Nosy--er, that is inquiring-- minds always want to know.
Okay, it's only a temporary tattoo, the Arcane logo, as a matter of fact. I've been assured it will wear off in a few days. It was something of an experiment, you see. There will be a few Arcane tats in each of the Collector's Packets that folks who pre-order FIRED UP at participating bookstores will get when they pick up the book. I was curious to see how the temp tats worked. Sort of nifty if I do say so, myself.
But ordering up the tats got me to thinking about the whole subject in general. For some reason, people seem to be sharply divided in their opinions when it comes to tats. Few folks are neutral. Personally, I have toyed with the idea of getting a real tat but two things have always stopped me cold in my tracks. The first is the fact that the process involves actual needles and pain. I don't do unnecessary needles and pain, although I did have my ears pierced, come to think of it. Anyhow, the second thing that gives me considerable pause is the thought of what the tat is going to look like when I'm 95. I don't believe that tats age well.
I do realize that tats have sinister connotations in some quarters -- jail house and gang-related tats come to mind. But art of any kind is a form of power and, like power, art can be twisted in evil ways. Some ghastly films have been made and some horrifying pictures have been created. Those issues aside, I have no problem with the basic concept of tattoos.
I find tattooing an intriguing art form because it is so personal. A lot of the young stylists at my hair salon have tats. I see professionals of all kinds on the street displaying tats. I think tattoos can be very cool on both men and women alike.
But, as I noted, people seem to have strong opinions on the subject. I've heard that having a tat can ruin your chances of getting a job.
So this is your chance to let me know how you react if you see someone with a tattoo. Think I should get a real one? Do you have one? Don't worry, I won't ask where.
The holidays are fast approaching, and my brain boggles at the idea of figuring out good gifts for everyone. My dad and stepmother are easy because,they enjoy going to the boats to gamble. But as thrifty as they are, they don't do so very often. Hubby and I will take a day to go eat at the fabulous Hollywood Casino buffet, and while there, I buy chips for gifts. You know, those poker chip thingies? (Obviously, I'm not a gambler.) That way, Dad and Ellie can gamble "free."
But what about everyone else? The youngest kids are easy because any toy excites them. I do love buying toys.
I found a super neat thing for my grandson's room. It's done as a space theme, with glow-in-the-dark removable star and planet stickers. Then at Walmart, I found a very inexpensive night light that projects a constellation on the ceiling. Very, very cool! He loves it. (I couldn't find an image of the thing anywhere - but you can pick up one at Walmart for under $10)
For the in-between people - well, I have some suggestions based on things I love, and I'm hoping you'll share some suggestions, too.
First, if we go expensive, I have to mention my desk chair. This one isn't exactly like mine, but it's close, and I forget where I got mine. Anyway, the arms are what make it special. For anyone who spends a lot of time at a desk, you'd love it! The "Wild arms" can be adjusted in six directions (up, down, forward, backwards, pivot left, pivot right.) Neat, huh? http://www.ivgstores.com/IVG2/N/ProductID-52955.htm
And while we're on comfort for desk people - the cold weather makes this next item super awesome! My son bought me the HoMEDICS FOOT MASSAGER one year, and I've used it ever since. It massages your feet while you're sitting there - cool for in the summer, but toasty warm heat for in the winter! One of my favorite gifts ever!
Cold weather plays havoc with me in so many ways. I detest being cold, but other than the occasional hot flash, at this time of year I'm always freezing. And that means static in my hair, and dry skin. My oh-so-lovely sister in law gifted me with some wonderful new products that now I can imagine living without! My favorite is the Arbonne Aromassentials Awaken Sea Salt Scrub.
The exfoliating action of this sea salt scrub — enhanced with the delicious smelling Awaken Essential Oil Blend — rids you of dead surface cells so your skin looks and feels oh-so-soft. Let me tell you - it really works! Talk about smooth skin. Any woman on your shopping list (but especially the more mature gals) will love this!http://jimmyreilly.myarbonne.com/arbonne/jimmyreilly.nsf/p1/1?OpenDocument
Also from the same company, Arbonne, I got the Shea Butter hand care duo. It's pretty enough that you can leave it sit out anywhere, and it smells heavenly.
For all those industry folk, it's so hard to know what to get. I'm sure every editor out there already has a million scarves, business card holders, and tote bags. Every year I end up asking other authors what they give, and we're all stumped. Sending flowers (which I always love!) wouldn't be practical because many of them take the subway home, and they're usually already loaded down with manuscripts to read at home.
I've decided that just about every woman everywhere likes chocolates, and if she doesn't, she can surely find someone who'll take them off her hands, right? So See's Candies is now my go-to for gifts.
The only time I like things to be cool is when I sleep. And a cool bed pillow is fantastic. Last year I discovered Iso cool bed pillws and they really do stay cooler. There's some type of technology involved where they don't absorb your bodyheat. You can buy them in lots of places, but I get mine fromhttp://www.jcpenny.com/when they have their buy 1, get 1 for a penny sale!
So now it's your turn. What suggestions do you have either for gifts that you received and loved, or gifts you gave that were well loved? Any and every price range is good! It can be practical or indulgent.
Because I'm an early shopper, I really look forward to your ideas!
Good morning, everyone! I'm typing this very early on my still-dark hilltop in Vermont. We get lovely sunrises here, but not yet...soon, I hope. I'm a morning person. It's easier for me to get up at 5 a.m. than to go to bed at 5 a.m. I'm in the midst of a writing marathon while Joe's off helping our daughter and son-in-law move furniture. Not coincidentally, he gets to hang out with their five-month-old son, Leo, the new love of our lives. I can't look at that little face and not smile. Baby Leo is named for my father, the only one of his great-grandparents who is no longer with us (except in spirit).
As a writer, I love naming characters. The process itself often helps them come to life for me. I'll jot down a name and go...no, that's just not him. Sometimes a popular name works. Sometimes an unusual name is the one that's just perfect. For instance, Scoop Wisdom is a Boston detective who appears as a minor character in THE WIDOW, THE ANGEL and THE MIST. In THE MIST, we learn that his real name is Cyrus. Cyrus "Scoop" Wisdom. He's built like a bull, and he adopted two stray cats and has a vegetable garden. In THE MIST, he saves the life of another detective's daughter. I like Scoop. Turns out he's the hero of THE WHISPER, the next book in the series.
There are many sites on the Internet that can help with brainstorming names. Baby name sites are great, and I've played around with sites of surnames listed by country of origin. Just seeing names gets my creative juices flowing. I stumbled on the Social Security Administration's site for popular baby names. What fun! You can look up popular names all the way back to 1880. The most popular boy and girl name for 1880? John and Mary. In 1935, the year my mother was born, Mary again is the most popular name, but names like Minnie, Ida and Cora that were in the Top 20 in 1880 are gone. Instead we see names like Shirley, Doris and Joyce. Mildred and Florine, my mother's names, aren't on the list. My names aren't on the list the year I was born, either.
You can do a search for the popularity of a particular name. I checked Hannah, the name of my heroine in COLD RIVER (due out November 24!). It was #17 in 2008 and has been in the Top 20 since 2000. Cyrus isn't as popular. You can look up changes in popularity: e.g., Jude was #297 in 2008 and #224 in 2007. There links for most popular names by state and by city. In 2008, Noah and Emma were the most popular boy and girl names in Vermont. In Washington, it was Ethan and Olivia.
As you can see, I really do love names, whether or not they're popular. Leo's gone from #390 to #227 in popularity since 2000, but it doesn't matter. Some of the most popular over the years aren't a surprise. Others are. For instance, want to guess what the most popular girl's name was every year from 1970 to 1984? And if you'd like to share any favorite names in your family, please do. By the way, I'm named for my Dutch cousin (Carla, #584 in 2008) and for my Dutch grandmother (Amalia/Amelia; Amalia isn't in the top 1000 but Amelia was #68 in 2008).
We'd spend our days water skiing, swimming, boating, and sunning. We pretty much lived in our swimsuits. Even dinner was usually spent in a suit because you ate at the picnic table in the side yard, or on the deck out front that overlooked the lake.
Good morning, my flowers:)
I want to show you the logo for THE COURT OF ANGELS. The artist did a great job. Sang absolutely caught the atmosphere of these paranormal books as I feel it.
Okay, it's only a temporary tattoo, the Arcane logo, as a matter of fact. I've been assured it will wear off in a few days. It was something of an experiment, you see. There will be a few Arcane tats in each of the Collector's Packets that folks who pre-order FIRED UP at participating bookstores will get when they pick up the book. I was curious to see how the temp tats worked. Sort of nifty if I do say so, myself.
But ordering up the tats got me to thinking about the whole subject in general. For some reason, people seem to be sharply divided in their opinions when it comes to tats. Few folks are neutral. Personally, I have toyed with the idea of getting a real tat but two things have always stopped me cold in my tracks. The first is the fact that the process involves actual needles and pain. I don't do unnecessary needles and pain, although I did have my ears pierced, come to think of it. Anyhow, the second thing that gives me considerable pause is the thought of what the tat is going to look like when I'm 95. I don't believe that tats age well.
I do realize that tats have sinister connotations in some quarters -- jail house and gang-related tats come to mind. But art of any kind is a form of power and, like power, art can be twisted in evil ways. Some ghastly films have been made and some horrifying pictures have been created. Those issues aside, I have no problem with the basic concept of tattoos. 
