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Into the Dark
 On November 1st, the Nocturne Author's website is opening up a brand new message board. All of the authors will be coming in and out, talking books, talking about paranormal movies and TV shows and pretty much everything in the world of weird and dark! So click right here, come by and talk to us. We're a lot of fun and we all love to talk books!
It's On The Shelves!
 A big day!! My first paranormal romance from the new Silhouette line, Nocturne is on the shelves!I actually saw it myself at WalMart! So get thee to a bookstore! Buy this book. If I do say so myself, it's really good!ETERNALLY is the title and it's about an immortal demon hunter -- come on, that sounds GREAT, you know it does!!And look at that fabulous cover!
Working, working, working....
 No excuse for not blogging for a few days, but I've been staring at a computer screen most of the time. Okay fine, over the weekend, I was playing.My mom was in town and we went out to my daughter's house, hit Starbucks, then every other store near Sarah's house. Then Mom and I went on a mission to find a used book store so she could find the elusive Nora Roberts books she was missing!! Sorry Nora, but mom wanted the really old ones, that you just can't find in a bookstore anymore!There is a great used and new bookstore near my house, but it's closed on MONDAYS. What's up with that?? We finally found another one though and mom walked out the proud owner of almost all she was looking for.And I'm ashamed to admit that mom wore me out. What's THAT say about me???
Kate Deserves The Crown!
 Okay, just another friendly reminder to get out there and VOTE people!!The American Title III contest is alive and well and rocketing on down the road. My good bud, Kate Carlisle is a finalist in this national contest that is sponsored by Romantic Times Magazine and Dorchester Publishing! The winner of this amazingly cool contest, gets a publishing contract with Dorchester!Needless to say, our Kate is that deserving winner!So don't just sit there! Go VOTE already! All it takes is an email! Click on the word VOTE anywhere in this blog and let your voice be heard!!
Another Blooming Veggie!
 This is just wrong. No matter how you look at it! My flowers die and my dh grows veggies that look great in a vase! This beauty is, if you can believe it...OKRA. Yes, I know what you're thinking? Who in their right minds wants to eat Okra? Well, that would be the dh. I don't think he'd ever heard of the damn veggie until he met me--and then my grandma. See, my grandmother was born and raised in Louisiana. She put Okra in everything. And, since not many of us appreciated that little quirk, when I brought the dh into the family, she celebrated! He's a man who likes to try new foods, so grandma got a kick out of plying him with jambalaya, crayfish, peppers strong enough to bring a grown man to tears, fried Okra and hush puppies. Now, Grandma's gone, but I'm sure she's still smiling down on her favorite, my dh. Because not only is he cooking Okra, he grows it just to make sure his flowers look better than mine!
First Flower Down
 Well, we all knew it was coming. Yes, the first Snap Dragon has officially bitten the dust. Quite literally, as you can see from the picture. sigh.We had a ton of rain a few nights ago, and I thought briefly that it was Mother Nature's efforts at CPR. Unfortunately, my lack of gardening skill won the day.Wonder what I'll plant next??Oh, and remember the pic of my husband's Artichoke flower??? Tomorrow, I'll show you yet another vegetable in bloom. Unbelievable.
VOTE FOR KATE!
  Over at Romantic Times Magazine, there's a huge contest going on. It's called American Title III. Hundreds of unpublished writers enter this contest that is co-sponsored by Dorchester publishing.Then ten finalists are chosen and much like American Idol, two of these lucky writers are eliminated every month until the winner is awarded a publishing contract with Dorchester! And why am I blogging about this? Because one of my best friends, Kate Carlisle, is a finalist! So, the rules are, one person, one vote. I want you all to get out there and vote for Kate!! Just click right here and start making dreams come true!!
Out For a Lovely Drive
 Went to my local RWA chapter meeting yesterday. It was a good time. Well, always is. But yesterday was the big birthday bash, with lots of food, prizes and the founding Mother of RWA, Rita Clay Estrada!The only problem was getting there. The 22 freeway is the WORST freeway in California. Used to be the 5, but they finally fixed that. The 22 is old, cramped and way outdated for the gazillion people who live here now. So they, (CalTrans) have been 'working' on it for freaking ever. With no end in sight. My meeting is about 20 miles from my house. No problem, right? Weekend traffic shouldn't be nearly as ugly as weekDAY traffic, right? HAH! It's a nightmare, people! There's so much construction you can't tell where the actual lanes are--but on the upside, they paid a billion bucks to make the WALLS look pretty. So we have something to look at while we sit in one place until the end of time. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
Halloween's Just Around The Corner
 Yes, I'm still obsessing about the Snap Dragons that are, even as I type, gasping their last little flower breaths outside...But to take my mind off the garden tragedy, I started thinking about my favorite holiday! That's right. Halloween. What's not to love? Scary stories, candy, cute kids in costumes, candy, things that go bump in the night, candy. (Are you seeing the trend?) To give me points, I haven't bought Halloween candy yet this year. Because I only buy the kind we like. That way, if there are left overs, they won't go to waste. Thoughtful, right? Anyway, LOVE this picture. A friend sent it to me last year and every time I look at it, it makes me smile. In spite of flower death.
Stop And Smell the Artichokes
 Is it fair? Didn't I just blog about this over on Deadline Diaries the other day? I have the Gardening Thumb Of Death. All plants come here to die. It's a graveyard of empty pots, straggly roots and dried up flowers. And yet... I keep trying. I heartlessly bought some Snap Dragons, even knowing the little buggers wouldn't last more than a month. Sure enough, I think we had our first flower death today. I'll check on it again tomorrow and take a pic if it's truly over. But in the meantime...my dh, the vegetable gardener, let his Artichoke go to seed and look what happens! A gorgeous flower. Prettier than any I'm trying to grow. And he didn't even put any effort into it. So I ask again. Is this fair?
All Is Right With the World
 Yes, I am that petty. I finally got my latte and immediately, my outlook on the world, life in general and hey, maybe even the universe, improved.Got my chapter finished, floor washed, rug vacuumed and while I was at it, I figured out how to arrange for world peace and an end to unsightly lycra leggings.All brought to you by the magic of a nicely timed latte.
Good Intentions Lead You Know Where
 No, this is not a picture of me. Though she does have blond hair and a sort of frenzied expression, so hey. We're at least closely related. Don't know what it is about the weekends. I know, I posted last week about how great they were in comparison to Mondays and that's still true. But somehow, this weekend is slipping past me. I started out with the best of intentions. Going to write my chapter today. Got up, turned on the laptop, checked email--hey, everybody's got their priorities--then realized I had to go back to the grocery store because I didn't spend nearly enough money there on Wednesday. Oh, and I should mail that book I promised to send a week ago. And while I was out, I could go to Walmart and get a refund from the chick who charged me TWICE for one movie this week. (Should have looked at the receipt earlier, but it took me two days to put the stuff away.) So hit WalMart first, because as everyone knows, going there on a weekend is like taking your life in your hands. The parking lot alone can kill you. So I'm prepared to do battle with customer service, because I can't PROVE I didn't buy two copies of XMen Last Stand. But the girl was really nice and refunded the money without a problem. This is of course, AFTER I stood in line for twenty minutes waiting for a man to decide if he really wanted to return his kid's remote control car or not. Men should not be allowed to shop alone. But that's another blog. So on the way out, I'm feeling pretty good and spot some Snap Dragons. I LOVE flowers, but I have the Gardening Thumb Of Death. It ain't pretty. But every year, I keep buying cannon fodder and setting them out in the garden. So I bought some pink ones and some yellow ones and headed for the Post Office. Just wanted to mail off a book, but the scale was broken, so back into line. There's ONE WOMAN working the counter. On a Saturday, people! I'm fifth in line, behind a woman who's having to push her stack of packages along with her feet because there are so many of them. Think about leaving, but I'm already there and I was supposed to mail that signed book out last week. Me. The Great Procrastinator. Finally get to the head of the line and the woman's run out of tape or whatever in the receipt machine--and I get to deduct post office expenses. So I wait. Again. Finally out of the post office and off to the grocery store. Again. Fill my cart, with way more stuff than I thought I'd come in for, say hi to everyone I know (because I'm there so often, we're like family), and grab a bottle of wine, because hey, after the post office, I'm going to need some tonight. On the way out, stop at the in store Starbuck's. Going to treat myself to a latte. Finally cooling off around here and it sounds really good to me. Wait in yet another line. Finally my turn. Sandra, my friendly neighborhood barrista, apologizes, says the espresso machine isn't working. Hello?? It's a Starbucks. Isn't it the ONLY thing that's supposed to work?? Another line, latte-less, waiting to check out behind a woman who insists on reading the labels of every can she's putting on the belt. It's okay, errands almost done. Back in the car. Still no latte. Drive home. Unload all groceries. Why did I get so much stuff? Chill the wine. That's going to be important later. Realize I forgot tomatoes. Again. Take the plants out to the front yard. Give them a drink, go inside to finally fire up the laptop again. Get three pages done, husband comes in to eat lunch and turns on the game. (I write on the couch in my living room--got used to doing it this way when I started and my kids were watching MTV. Trust me, working around a game is much easier)-- While he eats and shouts at the TV, I head out to plant the SnapDragons, despite their tiny flower pleas for mercy. All planted. Give them all a good drink of water and watch them keel over in transplant shock. Nothing I can do for you guys, around here, you sink or swim. TV's off. Go in, get another three pages done and the day's gone. Gotta start dinner. But first...WINE
Mondays...
 What is it about Mondays, anyway?? My friend Jennifer Apodaca had a great little picture on her blog today. And I identified with it so much, I started thinking about Mondays...because let's face it, no writing was getting done. So is the hideous Monday so hated because it's the beginning of the work week? Or is it because it signals the end of the weekend! I'm voting for the latter. Mainly because this weekend was so nice for me, I'm thinking Monday is the ugly stepsister to the weekend. Saturday was great, a lazy day except for reading the galleys of my next Nocturne book, due out in February 07. Now normally, I have a 'reader' who does my galleys for me. Namely, my mom! But Traveling Granny was off on a tour bus all last week, so I had to pick up my own gauntlet so to speak. Thankfully, I really liked this book. I think it's terrific--but that's for a blog in February! Sunday was perfect. My daughter came and took me to lunch on the Belmont Pier. Belmont Brewery's patio tables sit over the sand with a terrific view of the ocean. The food was fabulous, my daughter's always a good time, and we ended up at Target shopping for stuff we didn't need. It doesn't get better than that! Then I came home and my DH cooked dinner!! No wonder Monday looked so bad in comparison...........
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