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Goodreads Giveaway!
There’s still time to win the book Publisher’s Weekly is calling one of the most anticipated of 2014! Sign up to win your free copy of THE ACCIDENTAL ABDUCTION! Contest keeps going until August, 19, 2014.
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Maleficent at 47
THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS! You read that up there about the spoilers right? Right. Okay. I saw the original Disney Sleeping Beauty in the movie theater. I was 9. Disney was doing one of it’s periodic re-releases of its classic animated features, and Mom took me as a reward for having memorized my multiplication tables up to 6. I never saw the ending (at least in the theater), because Mom also had to haul me out of the theater because when Maleficent turned into the dragon I started screaming in terror. So, me and that bad fairy, we got history. I took my son to see Maleficent this weekend, just…
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That Old Time Feeling
Writing is, by necessity, a profession of emotions. This is not going to come as any kind of surprise to readers, especially Romance readers. Emotions are at the heart of character, and character is at the heart of story. And at the heart of the human brain is a quirk that by describing a feeling, you invoke it in yourself. So, there’s no part of writing a novel that is not going to put the writer on an emotional roller coaster. And people wonder why we tend to drink so much… But there are other ways that the work itself gets emotionally involving. One comes at the very beginning. There…
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My Romantic Times — Day 4, Most of it Anyway
Got up early enough on Friday that I was able to get out for a walk. Cold was entirely gone and I strolled down Canal, in part so I could find The Ruby Slipper where a bunch of fellow Berkely authors and I were due to have breakfast on Saturday. From there I walked down Rampart Street, because it was there, and it was Rampart Street. Found Lafayette Square. Found the appellate court, which is housed in the John Minor Wisdom building. And the jokes just sort of write themselves, don’t they? Saw a bit of the warehouse district as well before turning back to the hotel and the conference.…
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My Romantic Times — Day 3
Woke up Thursday feeling much, much better. Good enough, in fact, to head back to Cafe Biegnet for, you guessed it, biengets, and strawberries, and some really strong coffee. Life was very, very good. Thursday’s item on the agenda was the “Exorcising Your Writing Demons,” with Patricia Rice, Patricia Burroughs, and Mary Jo Putney. 3 of us met up at Daisey Dukes, a 24/7 diner next to the hotel. I finally had red beans and rice. And fried green tomatoes. Delicious, and plentiful. The panel went really well. We spent time talking about things that hold us back from writing — feelings of insecurity, unsupportive surroundings, fear of what relatives…
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My Romantic Times Day 2 — Antoine’s and What Followed After
So, back there in a previous post, I talked about being a wannabe foodie. I also love grand old restaurants. So, when Jessica Freely suggested lunch at Antoine’s, I said YES. Cold or no cold, I was not missing this. Antoine’s is a genuine New Orleans establishment. It moved to its current location in the 1860s. Our waiter was the 3rd generation of his family to work at the restaurant. It has 15 dining rooms, including the Japanese room which was closed on D-Day, and did not open again for 50 years. All the Mardis Gras kings and queens have their meals here before the parade. It has also hosted…
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My Romantic Times — Day 2
Day 2 started slightly rocky, and very dehydrated, due to cold. Nonetheless, I was upright and able to join Cindy and some of the lovely Ellora’s Cave folks for breakfast at the conference hotel. Yes, there were biegnets on the buffet, but what stole the show was the pecan smoked bacon. Note: Let’s be clear. I pretty much did not stop eating this entire conference, cold or no cold. It was New Orleans, I’m a wannabe foodie. I was not going to miss an opportunity. I regret nothing. Also drank lots of water and orange juice. Then went out shopping with Cindy, because there was a store (David’s) next to…
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My Romantic Times — Day 1
My Romantic Times Booklovers convention did not start on a high note. The flight down was as pleasant as a flight can be these days, even though we had to set out at OHMYGODWHOSEIDEAWASTHIS-thirty in the morning. Even though we had to change planes in Charlotte. The Charlotte airport, by the way, has a lovely atrium with trees and rocking chairs, and some fairly decent barbeque, so it is now high on my list of decent airports. Anyway, on the second leg, I began feeling the ominous prickling that meant I had not in fact dodged my husband’s cold as I had hoped. Bleh. Still, flight was uneventful, got to…
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This Week’s Video Clip
I am a huge fan of movie musicals. I am an unabashed romantic. I adore old movies, and vaudeville. This would make me a natural fan of Mickey Rooney’s work. He was a genuine trooper. He fought hard against his demons and in the end, he won. Given all that, though, my absolute favorite piece of work by Mr. Rooney, was his star turn in the Twilight Zone episode, Last Night of a Jockey. Sad, lonely, utterly creepy, and all at the same time:
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Packzi Day!
It’s Packzi Day! I recognize many of you may not be aware of this, but it is. As Mardi Gras is to New Orleans and pancakes are to the United Kingdom, and cronuts to Manhattan, so is the glory that is the packzi to those portions of the Midwest fortunate enough to have strong Polish enclaves. But what is the packzi? It is NOT a doughnut, never mind a cronut. It is a glorious, sweet, pastry made of sugar, flour, lard (sorry vegan types!) and other such things you are not supposed to have in the house during Lent. It’s filled with a variety of flavors. The two most traditional…