Thursday, August 23, 2007

Thursday 13...if you say so...

Ever have one of those moments when EVERYONE knows exactly what you should do...but you? I thought I'd give Google a whack at it...


Thirteen Things Jenna should do

  1. Jenna should take on sexier, more provocative roles.

  2. Jenna should dye her hair! Butt out.

  3. Jenna should have her own TV show. Yes, but let's let Gemma figure it all out first so I have someone to call with questions, k?

  4. Jenna should just walk around naked the entire movie. Even the credits?

  5. Jenna should have taken her chances with the colored rock. The way this is going, I think Google is on to something.

  6. Jenna should have gotten even more jail time for just being Jenna!! Bite me Google.

  7. Jenna should summon Mercury and Sheba should summon Jupiter. And we'll all have a nice coffee klatch. WTF?

  8. Jenna should be happy 24/7 Uh-huh.

  9. Jenna should not be here under these conditions. yep

  10. Jenna should take all the credit. OK

  11. Jenna should also have stayed at home and not made that humanitarian visit to Paraguay last month for UNICEF either. Just trying to keep up with Angelina! Geesh!

  12. Jenna should know better then anyone a few sexual favors go a long way. This is tame compared to what I've edited out. Google is a dirty bird.

  13. Jenna should decide the fate of the lettuce. I can do that.


OK...your turn...stop TT traveling for a sec and ask google what you should do.


Links to other Thursday Thirteens!


1.WendyWings
2. Karen Erickson
3. Paige Tyler
4. Jennifer Shirk
5. Gina Ardito
6. Ava Rose Johnson
7. Heather
8. Jenna Allen

(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Grandpa Bob

Have a popsicle today in memory of my grandpa. Or a milkshake. Or a big burger. Perhaps a chocolate chip cookie. As long as it makes you happy.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Synopses for those who HATE it!

My friend Monica Burns, author of Obsession, recently shared a trick she found when writing her latest synopsis. Monica warns "this MAY or MAY NOT work for you. There's something different that clicks for everyone."

She used Alicia Rasley's Article about three acts to create her synopsis. Creating a list in a Word document, she used the primary points Alicia talks about in her article.
  • Setup
  • Initiating Event
  • External Conflict Emerges
  • Antagonist Shows Up
  • Conflict Rises
  • The Reversal
  • The Point of No Return
  • Crisis
  • The Dark Moment
  • The Climax
  • The Resolution

Using these as headers, she wrote a brief summary of the action. If you get stuck, Monica advises working backward until the story flows together. She reccomends this method for those who have trouble writing a synopsis without first writing the book.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

American Medical Association researchers have made a remarkable discovery.

It seems that some patients needing blood transfusions may benefit from receiving chicken blood rather than human blood.It tends to make the men cocky and the women lay better. Just thought you'd like to know.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Taking a Break

I'm putting myself on a time out. Life is dishing up a bit more than I can take right now, so perhaps I'll hide. I want my Grandfather in California to start acting like himself again, for my aunt's doctors to be horribly mistaken, and for my Grandma to be peaceful, whatever that means for her. So...until I can wrap my head around that...I'm taking a break.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Thursday 13




13 best things that ever happened to me


1…. Getting married at 18. No joke. He's cute; I had to lock him in while he was young and I was thin...but it also makes for great party conversation.
2... That C in Organic Chemistry. Just imagine...I could be your doctor right now. Shudder at the thought!
3... Grandma & Sampa being addicted to books. I always dreamed of having full bookshelves like they had...and now I do!
4... Going to Disneyland as an adult. It's not as big as I thought...I mean it's huge, but to a kid the place is overwhelming. Now, when I go with my own kids, I'll have persepctive.
5... BigBoy. Even with the colic and becoming nearly housebound for a year, he was the best baby. He so wanted to be held, and with all we went through to get him, I just wanted to hold him. We were the perfect match.
6... BabyBoy. Easily the happiest baby ever to grace the earth. Quite the firecracker, but like me, I think he does it all in the hopes of getting a laugh.
7... Contracting Jenna Allen's first story. That did wonders for my writers self-esteem.
8... Finishing my first novel. The sense of completion was amazing.
9... Selling to Mills & Boon. I still can't believe it.
10... Teaching BigBoy to read. Reading is my FAVORITE thing, so sharing it with him is amazing.
11... Winning the BH&G recipe contest. The attention was delightful...even though BabyBoy broke the vaccuum cleaner the day before I left for RWA...
12... Taking time away...sans kiddos. Oh, this is a hard one for me. I never want to be away from those bubbelehs. Thankfully I get to be with them 99% of the time. But I've learned I need to be an adult sometimes. It is hard going - most of the time all I talk about are my babes. But, someday I won't. Besides, it is the only way to get time alone with HubbaBubba.
13... Planning for the future. I'm learning to be more optomistic, more forward thinking...it's absolutely life changing.


Now...What is the best thing that's ever happened to you?


Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. Jennifer Shirk ... Thirteen Interesting Things about... NEW JERSEY ??
2. Lanie ... Thirteen Books/Trilogys I Love
3. Shelley Munro ... Thirteen Things about KIWIS ??
4. Robin L. Rotham ... Robin Feels (according to Google)
5. Heather .. Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior
6. Emma Petersen the Missionary Diva ... Goals by 2008
7. Gina Ardito ... "Gina Loves..." (according to Google)
8. Sara Thacker ... Fun and Freaky shows to watch
9. Tempest Knight ...Thirteen Muy Machos Latinos
10. Adelle ... Thirteen Fear Quotations
11. Debbie Mumford ... Roots of Romantic Fantasy: Celtic Pantheon
12. Ember Case ..Thirteen Things Google Says Ember Loves
13. Rhonda Stapleton
14. MIchelle (MG ... LOOK AT WHAT THIS GIRL HAS EATEN!!! OH MY!
15. Paige Tyler ... Thirteen Yummy 100-Calorie Snacks!
16. Ava Rose Johnson
17. LA Day
18. Christine d'Abo
19. Amelia June
20. Eva Gale
21. Lisa Andel
22. Cat Marsters & Kate Johnson
23. Jenna Allen .. Jenna Feels... (according to Google)


(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Modern Extra redux...

As the US contingent for the Modern Extra line (now redubbed Modern Heat in the UK, FYI) I often get asked when the books will be in the US. Well...the invasion has begun. The first four books are out this month, though some of them have different titles than their UK and Oz releases.

The fast pace and uncluttered story of Kelly Hunter's Wife For a Week grabs your attention and never lets go. This book stayed with me all day, so I could catch snippets while waiting in line or sneaking a moment to myself. It passed the ultimate test of any Harlequin romance for me - I finished it in one day because I couldn't put it down.

I fell in love with the endearing heroine as she tried to fight her overprotective brothers, growing feelings for the hero, and the Asian mafia. From London to Hong Kong, shoe boutiques to high end department stores to a shopping ceneter where you can get fried noodles and contract a murder in the same trip, this book never stops. Not a word is wasted, and I smiled throughout.

I loved traveling to London and Hong Kong, seeing the sights of the Chinese New Year, smelling the perfumes, tasting the food, hearing the burst of midnight fireworks, and feeling the fear of making mistakes as the hero and heroine danced around one another. I'm sorry it's over, but not too sorry. Kelly is hard at work on a follow-up starring the heroine's brooding big brother.

DELICIOUS - Julie Cohen's Modern Extra title was redubbed, Macallister's Baby...because...no idea...

When English teacher Elisabeth Read finds celebrity chef Angus MacAllister standing in the middle of a group of students, holding a chicken of all things, she's not sure about anything - except her instant attraction. Terrified of showing her reaction to the man, she retreats, only to learn that she'll be working very closely with him to prepare two students for an upcoming cooking competition.

Angus volunteered to help the kids for the publicity, but the school and Elisabeth aren't interested in allowing the kids to be used as props. He agrees to help anyway because of a commraderie he feels with the two students, and his curiosity about Elisabeth's seeming disdain for him. Unable to settle for someone not liking him, especially someone he's attracted to, Angus does all he can for the kids, knowing it is the only way to get Elisabeth to see his as more than his playboy public personna, carefully crafted by his publicist.

With every cooking lesson she attends as the children's chaperone, Elisabeth feels Angus chip away at the wall she's built up. Though she warms to him, she still refuses to go out with him, until he makes he an offer she can't refuse - taking the kids to the best restaurant in London.Deciding to enjoy the moment, Elisabeth goes home with Angus and enjoys a magical weekend. Can she let down her guard completely and let him into her heart? Julie Cohen has told another sensual pairing of complicated characters, caught in a heart-tugging set of circumstances. A wonderfully witty, pleasure drenched story.

Anyone remember that firefighter hero cover where the eyes followed you no matter where you went in a room? That is this book - WHITE HOT morphed into The Firefighter's Chosen Bride.

Finn McNeill has terrible luck. No one else could set their house on fire...with their underwear! Without a place to live, she camps out with her brother and his best friend, Shane. Until her brother decides to move in with his girl, leaving Finn alone in a house with the man she's been crushing on for years. Now that Shane's set his sights on her, being together is inevitible, but for how long can she keep her fears of his job as a firefighter from getting in the way?

The banter in this book is hilarious. Since nothing was salvagable from the fire, Finn has to shop for EVERYTHING. Including underwear. Go ahead and read where Shane takes her shopping twice. It's too fun to pass up. Don't let it fool you, this book packs such an emotional punch I wondered how it could possibly work for this couple. But of course, it does, in the most satisfying way possible.

Mistress on Trial is the new moniker of STRICTLY LEGAL, which is what the editors renamed Kate Hardy's SECOND HAND ROSE. You can't be married to a title.

Barrister Leo Ballantyne thinks his sister’s best friend is a complete flake and a rotten influence, encouraging her to live such a bohemian lifestyle. Rose Carter thinks Leo is a pompous, pretentious, judgmental…you get the point. They never expect to agree on anything, until 4-year old Daisy shows them how much they have in common, and how wrong first impressions can be.

Rose is content to watch her goddaughter Daisy for the weekend while her mother is away, but Leo wants to make sure Daisy is well looked after, and he worries Rose isn’t up to the task. As he spends time with his niece, and with Rose, he realizes how much he’s misjudged the confident, successful, organized vintage clothes dealer.

Mistress on Trial winds its way through misunderstandings, undeniable attraction, and deep yearnings. An emotional story that doesn’t stretch to the extreme for the heart tugging moments, instead this book relies on nothing but great writing and spot-on characterization. A fast read that speeds towards the end as tensions mount and more is at stake. The stunning details and sassy tone bring the characters to life. Absolutely fantastic!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

It's Tuesday...

Have you tried the Tuesday Three?

Three things you're looking forward too.
  1. The loveley editor falling in love with my Maui book. (Just finished the draft of chapter 1!)
  2. October. Yes, the whole month. I have a library presentation, a conference...and there is Halloween!
  3. Tomatoes. Mine haven't ripened yet...but there are a MILLION OF THEM...just waiting...

so...what are your looking forward to?

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Sleep Clinics are NOT Sexy

No matter what lovely image Jule McBride painted for the Blaze readers in All Tucked In... , I'm here to tell you...I have no clue how she managed to make that remotely sexy. I felt like a sceince experiment last night, all those wires hooked up to me as I tossed and turned. I was so looking forward to it...my doctor gave me a sleeping pill a few people had touted as a wonder drug...sadly, it did nothing for me. Lots of thrashing around...alone. LOL.

Someday I will sleep again, have some energy, get my concentration back, and lose some weight. Until then...I nap and live on SlimFast! The joy, the oy

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

August Happenings

eHarlequin

"The Ultimate Secret Contest" Aug 8th-29th :: Writers are invited to submit a scene up to 1,000 words depicting the “ultimate secret”.

August 20th-24th, 12-1pm ET: Take An Author To Lunch Chats!
Spend your lunch hour with your favorite authors from various imprints! Authors Expected: Caridad Pinero, Aimee Thurlo, Rhonda Nelson, Julie Elizabeth Leto, Mia Zachary, Julie Miller & Heather MacAllister!

July 30 - Aug 3:"Women You Love To Hate!"with Julie Elizabeth Leto :: It's a common TV staple, the bad girl who steals her man, wears the skimpy outfit, does the outrageous thing for the right reasons...she's brazen and wily and enjoys her life way too much. She's the woman we love to hate and we can't get enough of her.Join Bad Girls Club author Julie Leto this week and share your favorite women that you loved to hate and why!

August 6th - 10th Pick Me Up – No more Ms. Goody Two Shoes–Author Samantha Hunter introduces her new Blaze miniseries, Forbidden Fantasies

August 13 - August 17th The Game of Love –Author Ann Roth asks us: Should you play hard to get or go for the gusto with a secret crush?

August 27th - August 31st The Fire Opal – Secret superpowers—would you use them for good or for evil? Join Catherine Asaro in a provocative online discussion.

Romance Divas

AOTM - Julie Elizabeth Leto

Sat August 4th-Chat with Sasha White-8PM EST

Pink Heart Society
  • Kate Hardy's 25th Book Celebration
  • Introducing....columnists!