Dishing With the Divas

10 THINGS CAROL LOVES ABOUT HARLEQUIN MILLS&BOON

Next week at the RWA conference in San Francisco I'm on a panel to discuss 10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT WRITING THE YA NOVEL.  In the interest of fairness, I feel I have to tell the 10 Things I Love About Writing Category Romance for Harlequin as well.  The first 9 reasons are the foreign translations like the Japanese version of PREGNANT BY THE BOSS on the left.  I love the secretary arriving with the boss's coffee to confront him with the announcement - "I'm pregnant!" which didn't exactly happen like that in the book which came out in the US a few years ago. 

Harlequin Mills & Boon, my British publisher is a world-wide company publishing my books and many others in Italy, Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Argentina, and many more.  The covers may change and the titles always do.  THEIR GREEK ISLAND REUNION appears in France as THE SUMMER OF ALL THE PROMISES.  In Italian it's APPOINTMENT ON AN ISLAND.  In Danish BEAUTY AND THE BIG BAD WOLF is SKONHEDEN OG DEN SLEMME ULV. 

Every few days I get a package of my books translated into a language I may or may not understand.  But I do understand the krone and yen that appear on my royalty statements and I'm very grateful.  Which brings me to Number 10 Why I Love Writing for Harlequin Mills&Boon - the wonderful, kind, helpful, smart and dedicated editors across the pond in London.  They're the best! 

How do you choose the books you buy?  By the covers?  The back copy?  Did you look like the lady on the cover when you were pregnant?  (Maybe it's the shoulder pads that conceal her condition.)

The Divas Welcome Romantic Suspense Author Michelle Gagnon

The Divas and I are thrilled to have romantic suspense novelist Michelle Gagnon here with us only one week before the Romance Writers of America conference in our home base of San Francisco. ESPECIALLY since Michelle is one of us :)

Michelle is a former modern dancer, bartender, dog walker, model, personal trainer, and Russian supper club performer. (Look at that fabulous picture! She certainly LOOKS like a dancer . . . model . . . personal trainer . . . frankly, she looks like she can do anything she sets her mind to!)

Her debut thriller The Tunnels (great book, BTW, according to my mom--and we all know my mom has great taste, right?) was an IMBA bestseller. Her next book, Boneyard, depicts a cat and mouse game between dueling serial killers. In her spare time she loves to eat out. (Who doesn't? I mean, if I don't have to cook, I'm in Heaven!)

Please welcome Michelle as she adds some great advice for RWA to our own . . . without further ado, Michelle Gagnon!!!! (Cheers, applause, bows . . . )

I wasn't born in San Francisco, but have made it my home for the past decade and thought I might add some information to the Diva Tip Sheet and Candice's Survival Guide.

Getting out and about: What makes San Francisco so unique is its proximity to breathtaking natural settings. If you get a chance, slot in an excursion to Muir Woods, the redwoods really are astonishing. Or head just across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands for a quick, easy hike and tour of WWII bunkers. Alcatraz is also definitely worth the trip (take the audio tour, it's great), and offers unparalleled views of the Golden Gate Bridge. But be forewarned, you usually need to book a spot on the ferry a few days in advance.

Closer at hand, one of my favorite spots in the city is Crissy Field. Great views of the bridge from here, too, and there's an easy walk along the shore where you can watch kite-surfers jetting across the Bay. (Also, there's a hot dog vendor in front of the warming hut that sells organic all-beef hot dogs: delicious, and a far cry from your average sausage). If you keep following the road around the warming hut, it ends at Fort Point, where in Vertigo Kim Novak jumped into the frigid waters. Sticking to the Hitchcock theme, take a cable car up Mason Street from Union Square. At the top of the hill you can visit Grace Cathedral, our miniature version of Notre Dame. And at the intersection of Mason and California is The Brocklebank, a historic building featured in both Vertigo and Bullitt (any other Steve McQueen fans out there?)

San Francisco Landmarks you won't find in any travel guide: Keep your eyes peeled for "The Twins," elderly twin sisters who dress in matching hats, dresses, and wigs, frequently spotted strolling arm-in-arm around Huntington Park (across the street from Grace Cathedral-also a great place to see Chinatown locals practicing Tai Chi in the morning).

If you're in the mood for a more serious walk, head to Coit Tower. Interesting art exhibits inside, and great views of the city. Afterwards, walk down the east stairway (on the Bay Bridge side). Halfway down, keep your eyes peeled for the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill, a flock of birds that have escaped their owners (there's wonderful documentary and book about the birds available).

My Favorite Restaurants: I love all the restaurants in the Ferry Building, which range from cheap eats to more highbrow fare (there's a fantastic independent bookstore here too, Book Passage). Try Mijita for the best fish taco you've ever had in your life, or the Slanted Door for upscale Vietnamese. Lulu Petite sells delicious sandwiches, and Taylor's Refreshers has milkshakes and burgers. Or grab fixings from the Farmer's Market and stroll along the Embarcadero to picnic at the base of the Cupid's Span (Embarcadero and Folsom Street-tough to miss, it's a sixty-foot tall bow and arrow. What could be more perfect for romance fans?) Houston's along the Embarcadero has fantastic ribs and a cute outdoor patio in back. And granted it's touristy, but no stay here is complete without eating chowder from a sourdough bread bowl at Fisherman's Wharf.

North Beach is the place to go for Italian. My personal favorite is Da Flora, a bit pricey but very romantic with its muted lighting and fabulous food. A cheaper option is Steps of Rome, the food is decent but the real treat tends to be the handsome Italian men packing the place. If you're in the neighborhood, grab a drink at Vesuvio, an old beatnik hangout, and check out Jack Kerouac Alley which runs along the side of the bar and features an amazing mural.

For French food, try local favorite Café Bastille. This restaurant is located on a cobblestoned alley with a slew of other wonderful restaurants, and they close off the street on Bastille Day for a major fete every year.

Best fish restaurant (and one of the oldest eateries in the city to boot) is Tadich Grill. They don't accept reservations, so there might be a bit of a wait, but the food and atmosphere is worth it.

Best breakfast: line up at Sears Fine Foods (Powell Street and Post) for a terrific and reasonably priced breakfast. Order the Swedish pancakes, you won't be disappointed.

I'm more of a foodie than a shopper (in case that wasn't already apparent) but the best department stores are all located around Union Square. If you're looking for something out of the ordinary, right behind City Hall is Hayes Valley, where there are a number of boutiques stocking local designers (most of them are located on Hayes Street itself). Union Street (oddly enough, not located anywhere near Union Square) also has high-end boutiques, but you'll need to cab there (this would partner well with a Crissy Field excursion!)

Safety: Not the most fun topic to close with, but it bears some discussion. As Candice said, the streets of San Francisco are filled with characters, homeless and otherwise. And there's generally safety in numbers. That being said, 6th Street is to be avoided at night at all costs. Just a few blocks from the hotel, it's one of the most dangerous spots in the city (as is Market Street for a block before and after it). Then, when 6th Street crosses Market, you're entering The Tenderloin, so named because in the past cops who worked that beat received a higher salary, enabling them to bring home a better cut of meat in exchange for putting their lives at risk. And not much has changed. The safest bet at night is to stay fairly close to the area around Union Square, or stick to the streets between the hotel and the Ferry Building. And I recommend taking cabs after dark if you're going more than a few blocks.

I think that's everything, but if you have any other questions fire away! I'll draw from the pool of comments, and the winner will receive a signed edition of my first thriller THE TUNNELS. If you don't win, console yourself by signing up for my newsletter at www.michellegagnon.com and I'll toss your name in the hat for an Amazon Kindle, iPod Shuffle, Starbucks gift certificates, and other fabulous prizes.

Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Ask Michelle anything you want! She's on the hot seat, LOL.

Candice's Survival Guide to San Francisco

Next week approximately 2000 romance writers and other publishing professionals will descend upon Fog City for the RWA conference. Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I think it will prove to be one of the best sites ever for the conference, despite the expense. There's so much more to do here than in some of the other conference cities *cough* Dallas *cough* that I figure many people will come early or stay late.  Or at least get out of the hotel more than usual.  So, as a long-time resident of the City, I hereby offer a few bits of advice for out-of-towners.

The Weather: It used to be as predictable as the sunrise.  Every February all the chery, plum, quince, and other flowering trees came into bloom; my lilac tree burst into bloom the first week of May, like clockwork; my roses began their first big bloom in late May and finished that bloom cycle in late June; and July was fog-bound and chilly, meaning we never saw fireworks on July 4. Now, things have changed and I can't count on anything.  I blame global warming.  This year the flowering trees began to bloom in January, my lilac tree burst into bloom the first week of April, and my roses' first bloom ended by early June and are already into the second bloom cycle.  Mother nature must be scratching her head.  At first I thought we'd lost our cold July as well when we had a heat wave a few weeks ago.  We did have pea-soup fog on July 4, so no fireworks, but darned if July 5 wasn't warm and sunny and clear.  The last week has been back to our typical July pattern of cold and foggy, but next week is supposed to be warmer.  So I can't confidently tell people how to dress for the weather.  The best I can suggest is to dress in layers.  The evenings will definitely be cool, even if the afternoons are warm and sunny. And it can get windy downtown.

Getting Around:  There is plenty to do within walking distance of the hotel (look for a Diva Tip Sheet at the conference for walking-distance suggestions).  This is a city built for walking.  In fact, driving can be a big pain and take twice as long.  Wear confortable shoes.  But if you do want to stray farther afield, don't believe all the stories you may hear about no cabs in San Francisco.  I take cabs a lot and never have trouble finding one.  And the Marriott entrance is always full of cabs, so not to worry.  If you're in more of a green frame of mind, there are a lot of public transportation options. Check with the concierge for BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and bus schedules.  Something interesting to note:  You will see lots of old clunky-looking street cars running down Market Street -- not cable cars, which are distinctive and primarily for tourists, but street cars that actual commuters use to get around.  Each of those old street cars is a re-vamped historic car from various cities around the world.  Look closely and you will see the city of origin -- St. Louis, Milan, Chicago, Zurich, etc. The one shown at left is from Boston.

Homeless People, Panhandlers, and Characters: One disadvantage to having weather that is never deadly cold or deadly hot is that people can comfortably live on our streets year-round.  And they do.  It's a constant battle for city government to move out the homeless and find them alternate shelter.  So you will see homeless people curled up in doorways and panhandlers here and there.  But they are harmless for the most part.  Just walk on past and ignore them, if it makes you uncomfortable.  There are also lots of, for want of a better term, characters on the streets of San Francisco.  My favorite is the old man who has been standing on Market Street in front of the cablecar turnaround for the entire 30 years I've lived here, preaching about virgin men and virgin women and how everyone else will go to hell.  Again, these weirdos are harmeless. And sometimes entertaining.

Safety: It's never a good idea in any big city for women to walk alone at night, though I do frequently walk alone at night downtown and have never been bothered by anyone. Two or more women walking at night should not be concerned.  Unless you look like hookers. :-)

Cell Phones: If you rent a car or are otherwise driving to the City, be aware that we have a new California law requiring hands-off cellular devices while driving. And from what I hear, they are really cracking down on this one.  So bring that Blue Tooth with you.

Smoking:  There is no smoking.  Period.  I think there is a city ordinance that allows us to shoot smokers on sight.  Actually, you'll have to go outside to smoke, but be prepared for some evil looks from passersby.

Hearts: Back in the summer of 2004 there was this great program in which hundreds of artists painted giant hearts that were placed all over the city.  (Sort of like the plaster cows that were all over Chicago one year.) Some of the big hearts are still around.  They make great photo ops for romance writers.  Look for 3 on Union Square.

Shopping: This is a GREAT city for shopping.  Bring lots of money. (Note: We have an 8.5% sales tax.)  If  you must have a mall, there is a huge one mere steps from the hotel.  It's actually two malls cobbled together, one anchored by Nordstrom and one by Bloomingdale's.  But for my money, the best shopping is on and around Union Square.  You can find Macy's and other big stores anywhere, so wander along the side streets off the square to find the really upscale stores (Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Goyard, Bottega Veneta, Dior, etc) or really different stores.  Look for London Sole on Maiden Lane, a store that specializes in ballet flats.  Or Shooz on Post Street for comfortable walking shoes.  Or Lush on Powell Steet for fabulous hand-made soaps. Or Gump's, our historic one-of-a-kind store that carries unique (and expensive) decorative items, stationery, jewelry, etc.

Food: Where to begin.  We are a city of foodies and good food is everywhere.  Every variety of ethnic food, every price range.  Even the food court in the mall is pretty special, with foods you won't find at most typical malls.  I read somewhere that if you ate at a different restaurant in San Francisco every night, it would take 9 years to get through them all, and by then there would be so many new ones it would take another 5 years, and on and on.  San Franciscans eat out a lot.  Before he left for Minneapolis, Greg and I would typically eat out twice a week.  So find yourself a local and ask for favorite places.  Or look for the Diva Tip Sheet mentioned above, which suggests a dozen or so restaurants near the hotel.  We will be handing them out at the booksigning on Wednesday. Or ask me for specific recommendations in the comments to this blog.

Our Mayor:  Gavin Newsom.  He's young, handsome, and straight!  I hope RWA has invited him to the conferenece.  Check him out.

For those attending the conference who have questions about san Francisco, please ask and I will pop in throughout the day and try to provide answers. I look forward to seeing you all in Fog City.

Barbara Goes Shopping ...

I'm not a big shopper, but this past weekend I had two good reasons to venture to the mall: 1) The RWA conference is right around the corner and I have to look fairly decent for five days in a row - quite a challenge.  2) Nordstroms is having its Anniversary Sale.  The Nordstrom sale is mostly the fall clothes, so lots of sweaters and coats going for half price. But I also found some summery tops on the clearance rack. 

For those of you in most parts of the country the idea of buying winter clothes probably seems ridiculous but here in Fog City it has been cool and chilly this past week, so picking up a light sweater was at the top of my list.  For those of you heading out here to RWA next week, I just heard on the news that the weather is going to start warming up the end of this week so hopefully it will be less foggy during the conference, but you never know, the weather changes every other day in the city depending on whether the Bay Area's natural air conditioning - fog - comes rolling in. 

So, a few things I have discovered from my recent shopping trip -- trends -- some of them just do not work for me.  For instance, the style in dresses now is basically that high empire waist, baby-doll style, many of the nicer dresses in a clingy jersey material.  Now in my head I still look really cute in those baby doll dresses, but in the mirror -- not so much.  And then there's the dress with basically no waist line.  You can hide a lot of pounds, but sometimes the dresses also make one look bigger.  I have decided that I may have to wait out this year in dresses.  I cannot make this style work for me even though I think the dresses are really cute.  Of course, I always have the problem that I find one that I like and then they don't have it in my size ... what's up with that?

Another trend that baffles me a little and I have to ask my teenage daughter for advice is how to layer all those camisole tops.  The uneven look is in, short tops over long tops, lots of straps showing. But since I'm a novice at the layering I am always puzzled by which tops should go over other tops, and I really don't want to look like I don't know what I'm doing.  So if anyone has any tips, I'm all ears!   

There are some trends in clothing I do like ... the mid-low rise pants, much, more comfortable in my opinion than the ones we used to wear at the waist. I can't pull off the super low rise -- designed, I'm sure, to show the thong strap, but I do like the mid to low waist pants that sit more at the hips.

I also love a lot of purses I see these days ... I'm always jealous of the beautiful purses that Diva  Monica  and Diva Candice seem to have ...I have to restrain myself from buying a few for myself.  Although I'm heading past a Coach Outlet tomorrow, and I may have to make a stop. I've also seen some cute shoes,but I really don't need any shoes ...

So what about you?  What trends are you loving in fashion today?  What trends would you rather see disappear?  What kind of clothes would you like to see come back?  And if you're heading out to the RWA conference next week, have you found any great new clothes? 

Gearing up for National Conference...with Friends

Hi everyone!

Anna here, Brenda's assistant stepping in once again for Brenda (I'm sure she'll be stopping by later today)...talking about one of my favorite topics for the year:  RWA's National Conference (and this year it's where I grew up: San Francisco!).

I LOVE conference...I love the people I meet, the opportunities I have and most of all, the opportunity for networking, which if anyone is an expert at, it's Brenda. You never know who you're going to meet around the corner or in the elevator, or standing outside a conference room.  The excitement doesn't stop for the entire week.

Every year when I gear up for conference I ask myself what I want to accomplish.  Do I want to meet a particular editor or agent?  Do I want to focus on a particular style of writing?  Or do I need a kick in the pants that will get me focusing on my writing instead of procrastinating, at which I excel. 

It takes a little bit of thought to figure out what exactly I want conference to do for me and this year has been no different.  This is, however, the first year where I have actual appointments and events to attend, which is a little nerve-wracking, but I'm taking the time to map out all my hours, see what I have to do, but equally important is what I want to do.

For me, the fun part of National is rooming with my friends...this year we're four in a room (and I believe we're already working out a bathroom schedule <G>).  Friends and those you surround yourself at national can make or break conference, at least in my opinion.  Four sleep-deprived, hyper, amped up writers in one room will be interesting, but it's part of the whole experience.  Spending time with other writers as obsessed with getting published and on that road to success is vital to my success as a writer...and hopefully they feel the same way.

So how about your friends?  Are they coming to national with you?  Or are your friends completely removed from the writing world?  How about your best friend? What makes her so special?  Or him?

If you'd like to tell Brenda about what makes your best friend so amazing, and what makes him or her worthy of winning a cruise, you can drop by Brenda's web site (www.BrendaNovak.com) and let her know~a  short paragraph telling her why your friendship means so much could be a ticket to a fabulous vacation!

So take your friends by the hand and head of to fabulous SF~the city can't be beat, especially this time of year.  Meet with those editors and agents, schmooze with all the writers you love to read and make connections that will bolster your writing career to the fullest!

Happy (and safe) travel everyone and see you in SF!

Cheers!

Anna

Bella Has a Hot New Release!

Today I am thrilled to tell you all about Diva Bella’s latest release from Pocket, GAME FOR ANYTHING, which will be hitting the stores soon and is already shipping from Amazon (my copy is set to arrive today!)  If it sounds familiar, you might have already read an excerpt in this month’s issue of COSMO magazine—the one with Scarlett Johansson on the cover.  With most football teams scheduled to report next week for training camp (!), the timing is perfect for Bella’s sexy bad boys of football (think super sexy Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s Chicago Stars).  I was lucky enough to read an early draft and you guys are going to love it!  Can I just say that Ty Calhoun is HOT!

Thanks! I really love Ty too. I guess I have something for the cocky hero who desperately needs his comeuppance from the heroine. ;-) (That’s why I loved writing TAKE ME so much too. Travis was just too much fun because you could lust for him and still want to see him grovel.)

Can you tell us a little bit about GAME FOR ANYTHING?

In a nutshell, it’s about a very sexy quarterback and the image consultant hired to tame him….and the twist is that ten years ago they went to high school together and he took her virginity on grad night, then broke her heart. Ten years later, when serendipity brings them back together, Ty Calhoun realizes that Julie Spencer was the best thing that ever happened to him…and he’s not going to blow it with her again. Using his charm (and his immense skills between the sheets…pun definitely intended!) he plans to get back in her good graces – and convince her to give him a second chance on forever.

How did the feature in COSMO come about?  (The Divas practically own the “hot” read feature—Bella is the fourth Diva to be featured in the magazine.)

Right after I turned in the manuscript for Game For Anything I contacted my editor at Pocket and said,  “I really think this book would be perfect for Cosmo”. She agreed and a few months later she sent me a very excited email saying Cosmo had indeed chosen my book after she’d flagged a hot love scene for them! I was sitting at my desk reading email that morning and when I saw the subject line my heart started beating really fast and I began whooping and yelling. My 2 year old came running around the corner to see why Mommy was screaming. ;-) It was one of my favorite emails to date!

And yes, the Divas have made an incredible showing in Cosmo! Whoo-hoo Divas! And considering they only do a handful of excerpts a year, it’s a huge honor to be chosen. Every time I walk past the magazine in the grocery store I can’t help but smile. Somehow I manage not to shove one in every person’s hand…..trust me, it’s taken great restraint thus far. ;-)

GAME FOR ANYTHING is almost a back-to-back release with the second book in the series GAME FOR SEDUCTION coming out in early September.  I know readers will be dying for Dominic’s story, can you tell us a little bit about what’s in store for him?

Sure! The daughter of a powerful sports agent, Melissa McKnight has harbored lust-filled fantasies for Dominic DiMarco ever since she was an awkward teenager, when the San Francisco Outlaws' gorgeous wide receiver became her father's superstar client. Now Melissa's a beautiful, tenacious associate in her father's firm, and being around to-die-for hardbodies is all in a day's work...until tangling with Dominic at a photo shoot blindsides her with passion.

Dominic has built a flawless career by being in control-on and off the field. And despite his intense desire for Melissa, he's not about to seduce his agent's daughter. Until Melissa stages a power play to break free from her domineering father-and winds up at an edgy bar on the wrong side of town. Dominic thinks he's rescuing the innocent Melissa he met years ago . . . but one night of sizzling passion reveals a woman with no limits-including a penchant for hot sex in public places. If anyone's breaking all the rules of seduction, it's sexy, irresistible Melissa.

But Dominic has a secret from years ago-one that could ruin his sterling reputation and take Melissa along with him. Will his bad boy past bind them closer together? Or will they crash and burn?

I had a lot of fun writing this book. Dominic is very different from Ty – he is the strong, silent type, the kind of guy you know will take care of you always. And personally, I think the cover artist at Pocket captured him perfectly. Because in my mind as I was writing the book, he was exactly that big and yummy!

If writing about hot football players isn’t enough, you also have a new HOTSHOT series coming out with Bantam.  Can you tell us a little bit about the series?

I’m really excited about my new series, which will debut next summer. I wanted to write about firefighters and when I found out about Hotshots, I knew I’d found my men! Hotshots are elite wildland firefighters who are addicted to risk. They’re bound by the brotherhood and are a fraternity of daredevils. As far as I’m concerned, they’re the SEALS of the firefighting world.

As Veronica Wolff put it after reading a draft of the first book in the trilogy for me, “Hotshots are HOT! I want one!”

The first book is currently titled WILD HEAT. Here’s what it’s about: Fueled by intense grief over losing her firefighting brother to an apartment fire, arson investigator Maya Jackson impulsively sleeps with a stranger in a bar. Five years later, while investigating a Lake Tahoe wildfire, she comes face to face with her biggest mistake. Not only is Logan Cain the most explosive lover she’s ever had, he’s also the head of the Tahoe Pines Hotshot crew – and her leading suspect.  Dangerously attracted to a woman who doesn’t trust him, Logan must find the real killer before the wildfire turns deadly.

Thanks for the interview, Monica! And I’ll be giving away a copy of one of my backlist (Take Me, Tempt Me, Taste Me, Touch Me, or Red Hot Reunion) to one of the people who comments.

Bella will be popping in from vacation to answer your questions so fire away!

Kate sends news from the front, the writing front

Summer is my time for the writing part of my writing/teaching career to take over, and today is the mid-point of summer. I’ve been working on a new story, an historical for Berkley Sensation, for a month, and I have about a month left to finish the draft before school takes over my life again. (We start very early at our school—meetings by August 20, classes by August 29.)

The other Divas, too, are mostly hunkered down over new works in progress or new proposals. Oh, there are some ocean cruises, some moments by lakes, or at dude ranches and conferences, a few mojitos swirling in a few glasses or a beer at a Rodeo, but mostly it’s time for serious women to write, write, write!

So here are my thoughts on the writing process from the trenches.

1. Get your Morning thoughts down. The first twenty minutes of every day are invaluable, not to be wasted. I open my eyes, push myself upright, take a couple hits of the coffee provided by my husband, and write down everything that floats to the surface. Often the dialogue, images, and incidents that come to me then can fuel ten pages of work.

2. Write about the emotional processes of life. That’s what we’re really doing as Romance writers, particularly. We’re trying to stay alert to those processes in ourselves and others. It makes us a bit like Ray Bradbury’s Martians, who take on the feelings of those around them and become someone else. We’re trying to hone our “emotional intelligence.” The events of the story create experiences for our characters, but as Annie Dillard says in one of her essays, a writer conveys emotions through things. First start with a collection of things, the more precise and real the things, the stronger the emotion.

3. Use the Star Wars Rule. The first Star Wars Trilogy can teach you just about everything you need to know about writing a romance. First, assemble an unlikely partnership from your fictional galaxy of folks who must work together on a common cause; let each join for his/her own reason. Give them a bit of success, like knocking off a death star. Let “The Empire Strike Back,” testing their commitment and showing them the unlikelihood of winning the common battle, making them see the ways they don’t really fit together, and making them rely on their old individual goals and views. Then take away any chance of achieving those private goals unless they come back together and face the common enemy as one.

4. Know the secret difference between Category Romance and Single Title. You thought you knew. Carol Grace revealed it last week in her blog. No one eats in single title (unless the writer turns eating into a major plot point—Scarlet with her turnip in the blackened fields of Tara, Tom Jones and Molly with those pears). Why does no one eat in single title? Because single title is about heightened moments of experience, big moments, moments of realization of identity, of purpose, of the meaning of life. Single title is not about the flow of experience, not about the chatter, it’s about stopping, getting slammed by experience. So the writer has to make each moment BIG, RICH, STRETCHED TO ITS MAXIMUM TENSION. Characters in single title have BIG SEX--slow, intense, and life changing, because every nuance of the experience has been heightened by the writer. Note: Only trained romance protagonists can endure this sort of thing. Don’t try it at home. Remember the warning that comes at the end of every Viagra commercial.

5. Use the Mystic River Rule. Okay, maybe there are two Mystic River rules. First, Mystic River is not my kind of movie. I’m not interested in the grim side of life. Boys playing stickball in a tough neighborhood, suffering traumatizing abuse, and growing up hardened and living tough lives, not where I want fiction to take me. But the story telling in that movie is amazing. The timing of who knows what when, the orchestration of information is brilliant. One event happens. It happens one way, about which the filmmaker is perfectly clear, but it happens to three different men intensely, and the way each reconstructs what happens and how it changes them becomes the emotional journey. The second Mystic River rule is another way to get heightened moments. The way to deal with the past is not with flash backs; it is to make the past bear on the present at every moment. A present dialogue that evokes the past at every turn is a heightened moment. The other great example of BIG MOMENTS, perfect orchestration of information, and past-weighted dialogue is Gabriel Marquez’ Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

6. POV doubles the potential of every scene. Write it in one POV, then write it in the other, then figure out how to put all that stuff in the scene from the best POV. Ask Candice. See Alicia Rasley’s book The Power of Point of View for ideas. But if you don’t want to describe the setting, pick the POV character who's been where your characters are going.

So that's the analysis from the writing front. Feel free to add points 7, 8, 9, and 10. Or ask a question. Or share a part of your process. Or just lurk and stay focused on your work. Maybe you want to share how many hours you spent in the chair today, or how many pages you wrote, or whether that new scene is giving you fits or coming together well.

Jami's Favorites From her Trip Last Week

Sorry the blog is going up late. I got back last evening from a trip to Wyoming to visit my brother and his wife.  My mom's family started a dude ranch in 1879, and my brother is now the general manager.  Now the season is in full swing, and the ranch is full of families from all over who want a little taste of western life.   I usually go for at least 2 weeks, but this year, with looming deadlines and my husband's always busy work schedule, I decided to stay only a week.

Big Mistake. It always goes fast, but this year it was like lightning speed, and suddenly the week was gone and I was waking up at 5:30 am to take my two boys (one older and calm, one younger and pretty damn whiny) on a plane back to California. 

But I still had some time to enjoy myself and soak in the things that are so special about the ranch and Wyoming life.  So here, in no particular order, are my favorite things/moments about my trip:

The scenery

As you can see from the picture on the left, this one speaks for itself That's from a hike we took my first afternoon there. Basically you head across the creek and up the hill from my brother's house, and that's what you see. Pretty sweet.

Watching my son ride a pony
I love horses, and have been riding since I was two. Now my oldest is old enough to ride a pony while we lead him around, and it's so fun to watch him. He holds on tight, takes himself very seriously, and chats the whole time about how much he loves his horse "Yoga." Okay, the pony he rode is named Yoda, but I'm not one to nitpick. 

The Rodeo
Every July the Sheridan Wyoming Rodeo comes to town, complete with Rodeo Queens, Indian Relay races, bull riding, and the rodeo carnival.  In addition to all of the rodeo events, which are always fun to watch, the people watching is beyond compare (I swear, some of these girls spent more time on their hair and makeup for going to the rodeo than I did for my wedding. And some people... well let's just say it's been awhile since they got near a hairbrush).  And at what other sporting event can you buy a bag of beer?? Seriously, my brother shows up in the stands with an insulated bag full of ice and a six pack each of Coors and Bud Light.  Really, if there's any other event that has this, let me know because I'll become a fan.

Watching my son and my husband at the rodeo
This was their first rodeo, and it was so fun to watch it through their eyes. My son sat on my husband's lap, eyes wide as he watched the steer roping, bronc riding, steer wrestling, and bull riding, all the while giving a running commentary. He would turn to his grinning daddy and say, "Did you see dat!  The guy jumped on the cow and knocked him over!" 

The food
Ohhhh, the food.  When I go to Wyoming I eat like I never eat at home.  I'm usually one for moderation, but not when I'm there. Here are just a few highlights:
The bacon: The ranch cook makes bacon like I've never had anywhere else. Perfectly crisp, never soggy, never greasy. I ate a double order every morning. The heart attack will be so worth it.
The Wings: Okay, this isn't something the ranch serves in the dining room, but there's a bar/restaurant in Sheridan that serves the best hot wings I've ever had.  Every time I go I have to make a special trip to the Pony so I can get my wings and a pint of Hefeweizen.  Ah, I'm drooling...
Meat, baby!:  Wyoming is of course cow country, and the ranch is no different. Anyone who knows me knows I love me some red meat! So while in the week I was there, I indulged my love on an almost daily basis.  In fact, I think the only night I didn't have some form of red meat for dinner was the night I went to the Pony and ate my weight in wings.  Good times!

Unprompted Fan Moment
This was so cool - My sister in law had arranged for her book club to read Private Party, and I was going to join in the discussion. Due to a series of mixups, book club didn't happen (so we went for wings instead, yay!).  Saturday night before the rodeo, we were at a friend's barbecue, and two friends of my SIL's I hadn't met were chatting about book club. Jennie, my SIL, said to one, "Oh, did you read it?" One of the women, a totally adorable, sweet faced strawberry blonde started fanning herself. "Did I? Oh my God, it was great!" Jennie grabbed my arm and said, "Well she's the author!"  What an ego boost!  It's not often you get to hear people gush about your books when they don't know you're listening. 

The Company
I did save the best for last. The best part about going to the ranch is hanging out with my family, especially my brother, my sis in law, and my 17 month old nephew. I love hanging with Jennie, and watching our little boys tumble around the grass and get in baby slap fights while my older son tries to play bouncer is awesome. I also got to see my 14 year old nephew who I hadn't seen in over 3 years, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who I wish I could see more often! I miss you all!

What's been the highlight of your summer so far?

Karin learns a lesson or two from Baby

About a month or so ago I wrote a blog here about why I hated men.  It all boiled down to the men in my house punking me about our new kitten, Baby, being hurt.  I kind of lost control and they laughed their asses off at me.  They still think it’s funny.  I still don’t.  That they are all alive and intact is a testament to my self control.

But that really is neither here nor there, because this blog isn’t about them, it’s about Baby.  She is, quite simply, amazing. Not only is she a love bug, who wants to snuggle constantly and loves the be petted and scratched and rubbed, and doesn’t bite you to tell you she’s had enough, but instead falls dead like a rock on you asleep.  But she is beautiful and intelligent.  She loves to play with big Kitty and the girls,

Coco

and Zoe.  But her incredible good nature aside, here’s what amazes me more about her:  Her tenacity.  She spent several days last week repeatedly jumping from the kitchen table to the island until she made it.  Now mind you, the counter top is granite and it was not pretty watching her little face smash into the corner. But damn if every single time that kitten landed with a thunk on the floor she didn’t stand there, shake it off, climb back up on the table and try again.  For a few days she just wore out, but she always came back, until now, I am sorry to say, she gets not only to the island but to the counter.  Her tenacity and refusal to quit paid off.

She will try any food you put in front of her.  To date she likes red onion, lettuce, grapes, tomatoes, broccoli, olives, apricots, peaches, apples and bananas to mention a few. Meat is a given, including dry dog food.  She also devours anything thing carb related.  She is open to try anything and everything and because of it, she discovers she loves it all:  except, we discovered, dill pickles.  That she left on the floor. And even the girls turned their noses up to it.

She loves to play, and is ferocious. To watch her in action is like watching a tiger. Her entire body extends in a leap, her paws open wide, her tail swishes, and when she lands her prey, she holds on for dear life. Her approach to everything is open throttle, 100%, full steam ahead, balls to the walls, she does not hold back.  The world (in her case 3200 square feet of wonderland) is her oyster, and damn if she is going to allow a minute to go by and not live like she was dying.

She makes a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.  Everything to Baby is a toy.  She stalks the door to the bathroom, the rug in the entry way, the rhododendron on the baker’s rack.  She also loves the fringe on the downstairs bathroom towels and the lighted topiary which now looks as if has just survived a frigid winter.  I don’t even want to think of Baby and the Christmas tree.  Baby comes to bed with hubby and I every night, her motor running. She curls up between us after she bathes herself, and promptly goes to sleep. But inevitably she awakes for her nightly

midnight

prowl.  I hear things crash downstairs, her chasing Kitty in the bedroom, up the stairs, and down the stairs. But the last few nights when she has worn herself out, she has come back to bed, wet.  It appears she likes to play in the toilets.  She also likes to shred toilette paper.

Baby, is the happiest kitten I have ever met.  And I can honestly say, I have never enjoyed a pet as much as I do her.  Her loving, tenacious, brave, accepting personality has reminded me, that if we just live our lives sitting around and watching, we don’t live at all.  When we go all out like Baby, we discover the joy, the wonder and experience of what it is like to truly live.

How about you?  What have you learned from a pet, and if you have a funny or poignant story pleas share!

Bella writes from the Lake

The current issue of COSMOPOLITAN Magazine (the one with Scarlett Johansen on the cover in a red dress) has an excerpt of my book GAME FOR ANYTHING! They've called it the "Red Hot issue" and if you look in the table of contents page, my excerpt has a "Red Hot" button next to it! How cool is that?!

Ten months out of the year I'm a true blue Fog City Divas...but for July and August I'm an Adirondack Lake Girl. My husband's grandparents built a cabin on this lake in upstate New York in the 40s after the war. He's been here every summer his entire life and this is, amazingly, my 13th year here as well. Now, his mother spends summers in her parent's cabin and his aunt and oldest brother also own cabins on the lake. Two years ago, we did something crazy and bought a 100 year old log cabin.

Here's the view from our beach.

Everything's different out here. For one, there are lots of biting bugs, which we generally don't have in California. But after more than a decade, I've learned to adapt with lightweight long sleeves and pants when I'm not in the water, lots of organic/natural bug dope, and lots of bites around my ankles! It's a small price to pay for all this beauty.

The pace of life is different, too. In some ways it's slower. The kids wake up a little later, we spend a lot of time on the beach, in the water, and visiting with friends and family. But that's what also makes the days move so fast. Somehow we have to squeeze in motor boat rides and kayak rides and rowboat rides and swims and walks and cheese & cracker hour and cocktail hour and bonfires and just hanging out talking until way into the night with people we only see during the summer.

And then of course there are the glorious sunsets!

Because my deadlines are so close together (not that I'm complaining, the more books the better!), I am working this summer with the help of a babysitter every afternoon who plays with my kids on the beach while I sit under a tree and type. Back in CA, we have bi-weekly brainstorming lunches. Here, I rely on email and...harrassing my family and friends!

Take last night, for instance. My mil had my family and two of oldest nieces and nephews (18 and 19) over for dinner. Mid-cocktail hour, I pulled out my pad of paper. "Hey, can I run my new plot by you guys?" Of course they had to say yes ;-) and boy did the kids come up with some great suspense twists. Love them!

Do you have a special summer place that you go every year for a weekend or entire summer? How about when you were a kid? Tell us all about it!

Speaking of jobs, what's a good one for a Sleuth?

On Monday Barbara asked what your best or worst job was.  My first and one of my best jobs was receptionist at the public TV station in San Francisco where I did promo spots for my idol, Julia Child.  I thought that might make a good job for a sleuth since the receptionist/switchboard operator hears and sees everything that goes on including murder, mayhem and inter-office affairs. 

But now I'm now so sure.  What if my amateur sleuth works at the Food Network where she is not only the receptionist but the go-fer for the big-name chefs, one of whom is murdered.  Since my heroine wants to be a TV chef and not a receptionist, she's suspected of offing her rival and has to deal with a very sexy detective who thinks she did it.  Or are there too many foodies in mystery books like Joanne Pence's chef and Diane Mott Davidson's caterer? 

One of my favorite literary sleuths is  M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin who's a cranky middle-aged private detective who mostly solves boring cases of missing pets but somehow always stumbles over a murder in her charming Cotswold village.  Then there's Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum who works for a bail bondsman where there's no dearth of scummy crime-ridden characters plus her police detective boyfriend Joe Morelli.  Stephanie works and lives in a section of New Jersey that becomes important as a setting. 

Naturally I want to write a series. And I want to set it in San Francisco.  Will it be a problem if I give my heroine a regular job outside of law enforcement?  If so, what should it be?

Who's your favorite sleuth and what does she do for a living?

Allison's Goes to Thrillerfest

Okay, I'm laying it all out for you. I'm a bit punchy, but surprisingly not in a bad mood. Today has been enlightening in many ways as I see what travel roadblocks do to different people. I'm also a generally easy going person. If my husband were traveling with me, I don't think I would have been so at peace, because he would have been very stressed.

First, I'm in New York City for Thrillerfest. This is the annual conference for the International Thriller Writers, a terrific organization that I'm very much enjoying. This year, I chaired the Scholarship Committee (albeit I ran it quite late because, well, I forgot even though my good friend Evil-E reminded me several times . . . between the house ups and downs and movings and a couple of tight deadlines, things that didn't involve writing or keeping the kids fed and housed sort of took a back seat!) I also chaired the Best First Novel category for the Thriller Awards. MUCH happier with that category ... last year I was on the Best Novel committee and we had over 170 books. There's not that many first novels that qualify (in hardcover) so it wasn't too difficult to keep up with the reading.

Oh, if you're in or around Fairfield, Connecticut, I'm signing on Saturday at Borders with fabulous debut romantic thriller authors, CJ Lyons and Jordan Dane.

Borders Bookstore
1499 Post Road
Fairfield, Connecticut 06824
Saturday, July 12, 2008
2-4 pm

So . . . now for my adventures.

I missed TF last year because it conflicted with RWA. This year, I'm doing both--a bit of an expense, but they're both fabulous conferences and I have my week for each packed with activities--including writing (yes, I even have writing built into my schedule!) This year, I'm presenting an award, and I have a panel about villains (my favorite thing to talk about!) and the debut author breakfast that I'm really looking forward to. (No, I'm not a debut author, but I helped out a bit, so they're letting me crash.)

I left my house at 8:15 a.m. My flight was supposed to leave at 9:56, but it was postponed to 10:15. Not too bad, since I was running a bit late. I did easy check in, and it did go easy. And better yet, they opened a Starbucks in Terminal B where United flies out, so I was even able to get my fave coffee for the plane ride.

Full disclosure: I'm on a tight deadline, so I bought a first class ticket. As those of you who have read my travel posts before know, I ALWAYS get stuck behind the person who puts their seat back and I can't write because my elbows are pushed into my stomach and my screen is half folded over. I don't care about the free drinks or food, it's all about the writing time, and I knew I'd be in a plane for more than 5 hours.

We didn't push back until 11:30 am. We sat on the tarmac--sans air conditioning most of the wait--while the ground crews jumpstarted the plane (I kid you not.)

Once we got in the air, it was fine. I was sitting next to a great lady who was also going to NY and was traveling with business people and they kept talking about this presentation (I think I figured it out, but I don't want to invade their privacy. It was health care related.) They all seemed very happy, which always makes me happy. They served fresh fruit for breakfast, and it was delicious and would tide me over.

I wrote like a fiend. Cut, write, cut, write, write, write, cut cut, and I ended up with a net gain of 12 pages. Not a GREAT writing day for three hours, but GOOD--especially since I probably wrote 25-30 new pages and I figured out the major flaw that I'd unknowingly built into the beginning. (Fortunately, I didn't have to delete TOO much and was able to save most of it and put it later in the story. Something I'm rarely able to do, but since my flaw was primarily timeline related, it worked.)

Anyway, I left the plane happy, even though we were late--I thought I'd have to run to the connection, but they were 30 minutes late. That was okay . . . I even had time to charge my laptop battery some. We boarded and pushed away and . . .

Sat. We made it to the end of the runway but couldn't get cleared because LaGuardia couldn't let any planes leave because of THEIR weather. So we sat for about an hour and fifteen minutes. They let us take out our electronics, so I pulled out my laptop. I had a bit over 2.5 hours of charge. I wrote some, but my heart wasn't in it. It was stuffy, and people we a little crabby, and the captain kept giving us bad news every 15 minutes . . . and then told us that both he and the co-captain were nearing the end of their duty time, which is a federal law (I think) that only allows them to fly XX hours a day (I think I figured it out to be 14 or 15 hours.) So if they didn't get clearance to take off RIGHT THEN, they would have to go back to the gate because by the time they got to LGA it would be the maximum time. Then the air traffic control said . . . 45 minutes. Maybe.

So we went back to the gate. It's now about 7:00 Chicago time (5:15 California.) We'd boarded the plane at 5:25. Yep, nearly 2 hours of sitting on the plane. You have a whole plane of people wanted to get places. The customer service line is waaaaaayyyyy long. I'm not too far back, then I see a sign with the united phone number. I call it. Talk to a customer service rep -- and she gets me on a plane leaving in 30 minutes. Yeah! I have to go to another terminal . . . and then that flight is delayed 30 more minutes. 8:15.

So it's a tough choice. Charge my laptop, or eat something--because I didn't have a first class ticket (with dinner) for the new flight. Writing . . . or food. I opted for food.

Good thing. We board and push away from the gate right on time at 8:15 . . . and sat. For 45 more minutes.

FINALLY we take off and I just don't have the mental strength to write--and I only had 40 minutes left on my battery. So I watched two hours of television on my iPod and read a book about the history of Special Operation Forces (LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND--great book, though a little dry.) I'm hitting myself for not bringing the latest JD Robb, or one of the four books I have on my desk to blurb. No, five. I could have read an entire book, but I had planned to WRITE so I didn't want to give myself a reason to procrastinate.

Oh, a tangent: I was watching SUPERNATURAL, two of the last three episodes of Season Three. It can be scary in parts. Something totally surprised me and I jumped in my seat and gasped--you know, like when you're scared. The guy next to me laughed. And really, after that, I was in a fine mood. After all, I was almost in NY.

I also hired a car, and YEAH! He was there waiting for me when I landed at 11:30. AND my luggage made it through the cancelled flight and flight change, so it could have been much much worse. In fact, at one point we were the 40th plane in line for take off . . . but the captain did something (or called in a favor, I don't know!) and we moved to a different runway and became first in line (and had to wait 10 minutes.) When we landed, he said that had we still been on the original runway, we'd still be there . . . they hadn't gone through all 40 of those planes. It really could have been miserable.

So, we get to the hotel and while we're driving, I talk to all the kids. It's midnight (we made great time!) and I check in and go to my room . . . and it's a smoking room. I have asthma. I can't be in a smoking room. I would be in full asthma attack by tomorrow morning. I didn't bring my inhaler because my asthma has been under control (it's usually cigarette smoke and moisture, i.e. wet winters, that bring on an attack.) It's 111 degrees in Sacramento, and no one in my house smokes. So . . . I call. I'm supposed to have a non-smoking room with a king bed (Because hubby is going to join me on Friday.) Yes, the front desk says, I see that, but we have no more. Well, I say, I can't stay in this room because I have asthma. And he checks and the only room he has is the living room part of a suite. No bed, but a pull out couch and he'll bring up a rollaway.

I take it. I have to try to change rooms tomorrow between 12 and 3. The rollaway is ok--not bad--but the pull-out is awful. He gives me half off the room tonight. Well, yeah. Thanks. The bell hop was great. And this IS New York City. 24 hour room service. Woo hoo! A small appetizer at Chili's wasn't enough. So I ordered an omelet (cheese and tomatoes and mushrooms, yum!) and a huge bottled water ($12. More expensive than the beer!) Oh, yes, and two Coronas. And they brought limes, which were fresh and gorgeous and the omelet was delicious (I ate it while typing this blog) and I have this HUGE room with no real bed.

But that's ok. I'm in New York City and I'm getting a pedicure tomorrow morning. And then spending the afternoon writing . . . before the festivities begin!

Tuesday's winner is ...

Fedora!  You've won a copy of Carol's YA novel, THE GUY NEXT DOOR. Congratulations!!!!

Carol will be in touch with you to get your snail mail address.  Thanks for visiting the blog.  Come back soon!

Carol has a new YA novel in stores now!

Diva Carol has been writing category romances for years under the name Carol Grace.  Late last year her first YA (young adult) romance was published under her real name, Carol Culver.  Though Carol is not the youngest of the Divas (I think that honor goes to Bella), she often has the most youthful attitude, both as a writer and in the way she approaches life.  Carol is most definitely Forever Young.  So it is fitting, I think, that she has begun writing for teen readers.  The latest book in her YA trilogy has just hit the stores, and I asked Carol to tell us about it.

Candice: THE GUY NEXT DOOR is the third book in your BFF (Best Friends Forever) series of young adult novels.  Tell us a bit about the story, and about the series.

Carol: The setting for the series is based on the prep school where my kids went in a nearby suburb.  I drew from their experiences as scholarship kids facing the super-rich and the super-smart and super-snarky.  There's the jazz band, the spring music competition in Hawaii, the prom, career day and so on.  Honestly the series almost wrote itself, especially with the help of my talented son who wrote two chapters for me from the POV of a slacker student (which he was NOT!!) THE GUY NEXT DOOR is about a girl whose parents get divorced so she's forced to get an after-school job at an ice cream store in the mall.  How humiliating.  How degrading.  How downright embarrassing.  It's like wearing sign around your neck saying  "I'm poor!"

Candice: What is the target age group for your BFF novels?

Carol: Teens like to read about kids older than themselves and the characters in the books are in their junior year, so I'd say 12 - 17. 

Candice: The first two BFF novels open with a sentence that likely rings a bell for the reader's mother or grandmother.  MANDERELY PREP opens with: "Last night Cindy dreamed she went to Manderley again."  (I love that opening!!!)  RICH GIRL opens with: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."  What's the opening sentence for THE GUY NEXT DOOR?

Carol: "It was a dark and stormy night when Maggie and her mother left their McMansion in Monte Vista and moved to a small rental house."  I hope somebody recognizes the "dark and stormy night"  quote from Bulwer-Lytton that was often used by Charles Schultz in his Peanuts cartoon. 

Candice: You've written over 30 category romances plus a few single title contemporary romances.  What changes did you have to make to your writing style for a young adult book?  Did you have to create a completely difference voice?  What about language and vocabulary?

Carol: I think it's a mistake to try to be too trendy and slangy for teens.  For one thing the latest expressions soon become SO yesterday SO fast.  YA books tend to have less description and more dialogue which is fine with me.

Candice: The second of your BFF novels, RICH GIRL, featured an Asian heroine, a rarity in adult romances.  Was that a difficult premise to get by your editor?  Or do you think teens are more accepting of multi-cultural characters and that it's just not a big deal?

Carol: Absolutely right.  I don't think today's teens and young adults see color or race.  One reason why we have an African American candidate for president.   No editor or agent ever suggested that having an ethnic heroine was a problem.

Candice: I've heard that some YA romances are getting pretty sexy.  Did you have any editorial or self imposed guidelines about the level of sensuality appropriate to young readers?

Carol: It's true, some YA books are very sexy.  They are also all over the map, some steamy, some dark and angsty, some inspirational, some vampires (lots of vampires), some light and frothy.  I've discovered a whole new list of fabulous YA authors who write books that are fun to read whether you're sixteen or sixty.

Candice: Are there any more YA books in your future?

Carol: I hope so.  I loved writing these.  I have a proposal for a teen mermaid series.  I always like to write about the outsider, and who could be more of an outsider than a mermaid who's been washed ashore to attend high school during the day but has to return to the sea at sun-down.  It's hard enough being seventeen, but what if you suddenly needed a pedicure, and were trying out for cheerleading and it was almost sunset and your feet were turning into...

By the way, this summer at the RWA conference in San Francisco I'm on a panel with my agent and two other authors talking about why we love writing the YA novel. 

Candice: What's up next for your adult readers?

Carol: I have a contract with Harlequin/Mills&Boon which is celebrating their 100th birthday this year.  The book I'm working on takes place in Sicily (one of my favorite places) where an American comes to claim a vineyard left to her by a long-lost uncle.  Only there's a sexy Sicilian who's determined to get the land for himself.  Fortunately readers seem to enjoy reading about macho foreign heroes in exotic locations which means I get to travel a lot to make sure I get it right.  I know, it's a hard job, but...

Yes, we all envy Carol's research trips!  I wonder where she'll go to research those mermaids?  I hope those of you with teen-aged daughters, granddaughters, nieces, neighbors, or friends will dash out and buy the BFF novels for them.  They are such terrific books that young girls are sure to love them.  To get you started, Carol has agreed to give away a copy of THE GUY NEXT DOOR to one lucky commenter on today's blog, chosen at random.  So start commenting!  Tell us if your daughters read YA romances, and did you read them when you were a teenager? 

Barbara Asks: What Job Would You Do ...

if you could do anything?  I have to admit that writing is the best job I've ever had.  I can work at home, in whatever clothes I choose to wear. There's no commute and with the price of gas in California, that's a definite bonus.  I also love the fact that I get paid to make up stories.  I've been making up stories since I was a kid growing up in a neighborhood with all boys.  I was either reading or making up my own tales. 

But I also have to say that writing isn't all that easy.  Whenever I'm stuck, my husband always says, "well, you control the pen or the computer keyboard, so what's the problem?  Just write something."  That's usually when I throw something at his head :-)  But for the non-writer, I'm sure it must seem fairly easy to sit down and type up a story.  It's not.  It actually takes a lot of stamina to get to the end of a 100,000 word manuscript.  Along the way the writer is plagued by doubts, story problems, plot holes, characters that suddenly seem asinine, and dialogue that comes out far less scintillating than the voices in our head.  But still at the end of the day or especially at the end of the book, I think writing is still the best job I've ever had.

My worst job was working at an insurance company as an assistant for a couple of execs, who frankly did little more than go to three hour lunches and flirt with the young, just out of college assistants LOL.  The job was boring and I've never passed a slower eight hours in my life.  But even that job can't compare to my husband's worst job which was sorting tomatoes at a tomato plant.  He worked the line where the tomatoes come flying down the conveyor belt and you have to pick out the bad ones.  I always  have that "I Love Lucy" Episode in my head when he talks about that job.  Do you remember   that episode where she's in a candy factory and she starts stuffing the candies everywhere because they keep flying down the belt and she can't keep up.  My husband said at his plant, people would get motion sickness from watching the tomatoes fly by.  He was nineteen at the time and went on to far better jobs, but I think that expeience made him realize how important an education could be.

I've often thought of what other jobs I'd like to have, or who I'd like to be.  A dancer comes to mind.  I love the show, "So You Can Dance" which is basically American Idol on dance, but these dancers are incredible.  They have to dance every kind of dance known to man and somehow they pull it off. But what I love is their passion.  Most of them make very little money, really.  They just love to dance.  It's who they are.  Of course, I have no talent for dance or for singing, so that rules out my becoming a grammy award winner.

Last night I was watching a show featuring the most incredible 9-1-1 calls.  One of the operators in Illinois got a call from a woman in South Korea. She was on her cell phone which had an Illinois number so it connected her to the Illinois police.  The woman was being beaten by her husband at an army base across the world.  The 9-1-1 operator had to call in the military and the South Korean police but eventually this woman a world away was saved.  I was thinking that this is actually a job I would not want to have.  I'd get too emotionally involved with the cases.  I would be frantic to get them help and probably get just as hysterical as the callers.  But still, what a fascinating job if you have the stomach for it.

So what's your worst job experience?  And if you could do anything, given the talent, what would you do?  What's your secret fantasy job?  Air traffic controller?  Olympic athlete?  Top Gun Naval Aviator? Oscar winning actress? Astronaut?  The sky's the limit....  Or would you like to write books like the Divas?   

That's What Friends are For...

That's the name of my latest contest. In my new trilogy--TRUST ME, STOP ME and WATCH ME, the first two of which are already out--the friendship between the three heroines plays a key role in linking the stories, so I wanted to do something to celebrate friendship, and I wanted to give away a fabulous prize that would reward a very special friend for being all that a friend should be. I decided the prize would be a 7-day Eastern or Western Caribbean Cruise for two. But the prize isn't the best thing about this contest. The best thing about it is the entries. They are all so heartfelt and uplifting. Every single one (well, except the lady that is entering five days a week with the same line--LOL) is inspiring and puts a smile on my face.

Because I pick a semi-finalist every week (and sometimes two), I read these almost every day and set aside some of my favorites. This week, there were too many good ones to choose from, so I'm asking YOU to help me decide. Here are the four I'm trying to choose between:

Option #1 is from Francesca Price of Las Vegas, Nevada:

My best friend Lillian is the kind of person who always tends to the needs of others. She would give the shirt off her back. Being married with one daughter, working a day job, active in her church--it all adds up with various duties and roles landing on her shoulders. Since she is the one making sure everything is in order on a daily basis, it would be an honor to have her be tended to and be pampered. That way, she could remind herself to slow down and enjoy life rather than run, run, run. We have known each other for close to 20 years. We know all of each other's secrets and gone through happy and sad times. She has always been there for me.

Option #2 is from Pauline Bailey of Franklinville, New Jersey:

My best friend deserves this trip because not only is he my best friend, he is my husband. Every morning he wakes up with a smile and always makes me smile. Whenever I feel down he is always there to lift me up. He never has a negative outlook, never lets anything get him down. Even at his owrkplace, he manages to put a smile on the faces of his co-workers. From the first time we met, it was love at first sight. He has never had the opportunity to enjoy a cruise, so I thought this would be the perfect chance to win one. He is a joy to be around because he makes me laugh. I can truly say that since we've been together, I have never felt better.

Option #3 is from Wanda Wolf of Barstow, California:

My best friend loves me unconditionally. He is always there for me and is my sounding board when I need one. He helps me take care of my 84-year-old mother and also my children when they need help. Everyone should be as lucky as I have been to find such a person. A Carribean Cruise would be a wonderful way to thank him for being in my life. Franklin Ray Wolf is not only my best friend, but my  husband as well.

Option #4 is from Kimberly Bennett of Kunkletown, Pennsylvania:

My best friend works very hard to support his family and to make sure that his wife can be a stay-at-home mom, which is very tough these days with the economy. He squeezes in as much overtime as he can and works a different shift each week so his family can have the necessities. His children hardly see him, but he say it's worth it to have his wife stay home with the children. My best friend is my husband. He really deserves this treat after working so hard.

Aren't they great? You can see why I'm loving this latest contest. It's more than just dropping your name in a