04/9/12
Grace Has An Orgy — by Grace Burrowes
Indulging myself is easy—a good book; a quarter pound of sprouted almonds covered in double dark German chocolate consumed one at a time; a sleep-in day in the middle of the week; a bouquet of flowers; a good dessert after a meal with a friend.
Pampering myself, however, is foreign to my nature in the typical sense. I don’t want anybody fussing with my hair, skin, fingernails or toenails. I have restless leg syndrome too severely to permit me to enjoy a massage. I do not enjoy shopping for anything except books and horses (and really good chocolate covered almonds). I do not own a DVD player so an Austen marathon is out (though Colin, I do miss you).
04/6/12
Regular followers of this blog have heard my stories about our on-going battle with the beavers over the height of the pond at our place in the mountains. Go here for that story. In honor of those persistent critters, I decided to dedicate this blog to …wait for it… wait for it… International Beaver Day.
Yes, those Canadians have been at it again. It seems the Canadian government was looking around for another excuse…err… fabulous reason to have a holiday and polled the population. For those of you who’ve forgotten, the beaver holds a special place in Canadian history because it’s one of the main reasons Canada was settled in the first place: the fur trade. Read the rest of this entry »
04/3/12
Does the Golden Heart Help You Sell?
by R. R. Smythe
It’s that time again…daffodils? Yes…but I’m referring to Golden Heart and Rita Announcements. I remember the first time I heard of the contests…I was like, ‘what the heck’s the big deal?”
Well, then I went to my first National RWA and saw people decked in Oscar-worthy gowns to attend the announcement ceremony for the contests and thought..OH. WOW. It IS a big deal.
04/2/12
I was up most of the night with a sick headache. Please forgive me for this brief post!
Loafer , layabout, slacker, lazybones – all words that define my actions this morning. I’ll give you another: slugabed.
Words are what writers do. They are the tools of the trade, of our trade.
I have a friend whose husband is a contractor. She has stated that her husband spends a fortune on tools, usually to replace them because they sprout legs and walk off the jobsite. Words are like that. Many of us became writers because we had a message to tell. Many, because we had stories inside us that had to come out, and some of us because we had a love for the way words can be manipulated and used in new, exciting ways. I have always admired a well-turned phrase.
I’ll read it over and over, studying it, all the while planning to create my own. How about unexpected word choice? I believe that’s what they call “fresh writing”, no?
Some of my favorite authors have their own signature words. I’m sure you’ve noticed it, a phrase or just a word that, used several times in each book, assures the reader that she is indeed holding a book by this author. I know I have my fall back words, words I use so frequently that my crit partner’s patience is sorely tried. How about you writers? Any favorite word or catch phrase that is your signature? Care to share any phrase used by a favorite author?
03/29/12
I’ve been reading various accounts of Tiger Woods’ march back to the top of the Leader Board at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and what it means for golf, television ratings and Tiger.
In his column headlined You didn’t expect this from Tiger? Tim Dahlberg, a national sports columnist for The Associated Press, commented “He conquered personal demons and he conquered swing demons. He did it in the face of intense scrutiny, insisting all along that it was part of the process and that he would eventually prevail.”
03/28/12
The Grinch Wrote Romance by Grace Burrowes
There I was, toiling away at my computer early Monday morning, polishing a short written to go with my first Scottish Victorian. The phone rang, and what did I think?
I thought I was being hailed into an emergency child abuse hearing, which is regularly part of my job. My sentiments ran something like this: Read the rest of this entry »
03/26/12
Congratulations to Our Winning Musers!
by R. R. Smythe
#winning I have your attention now, don’t I?
Ahem. *Trumpet sound Announcing our finalists:
2012 Finalist for Best Historical Romance
Grace Burrowes-Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish
2012 Finalist for Golden Heart Best Romantic Suspense
Rogue’s Return by Sharon Wray!!!
Yea ladies! We couldn’t be prouder!!!!
03/26/12
Have you heard the movie, Hunger Games, is now out in
theatres? Yes. Really. It is.
03/20/12
My calendar says it’s the first day of Spring, but the weather outside says otherwise. It snowed yesterday. Check out the photo on the right—that was taken just the other day. I think Mother Nature forgot it’s supposed to be warming up around here. Today, it’s pseudo sunny (meaning, it’s not raining), but it’s cold, cold, cold.
Yet, I love this time of year. I have such high expectations of myself, kind of like on January first with all the resolutions. This year, I’m going to get a handle on my yard before it gets away from me. This year, I’ll keep up on the weeding before it becomes a jungle. This year, I’ll actually finish all those little projects around the yard. Read the rest of this entry »
03/16/12
Publishing Changes Examined by PASIC (and Jade Lee)
Our guest today is Jade Lee, USA Today bestselling author of more than 30 romance novels.
* * * *
Since I just came back from the PASIC RWA conference, Claranne asked me to give a quick summary of what went on. That’s like trying to summarize the current political climate in 300 words. Not so easy, but I’ll give some gross generalizations.
