Books........
 Well, I'm off to the RWA conference next week, so no new blogs until I get back, then I hope to post a few pictures (as soon as I recover)......
So, since this is my last blog for awhile, I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who ran out and bought a copy of HIGH SOCIETY SECRET PREGNANCY Thanks to all of you, my July Desire was Number ONE on the Walden's Best Seller list for TWO WEEKS!!
I really appreciate the support and all of you who drop by here to say hello or just to read whatever it is I've posted..........
Have a great week and I'll see you when I get back!
Quote for the day.........
 Ah, from monkies to goddesses.......Since we're prepping for RWA's National Conference, I thought this week's quote should come from a writer. And what better writer to choose than the BEST romance writer there is. Nora Roberts. And let's not forget her alter-ego, JD Robb. Her books are an 'auto-buy' for me. I once nearly knocked somebody over in a bookstore in my quest to get the third book in a trilogy! Her quote... You don't find time to write. You make time. It's my job.......Nora Roberts And there's the difference between most writers and Nora. No excuses, no long delays, no waiting for 'the Muse', just the work. Just the act of sitting in the chair and typing. She is a master and she became a master because she put the time in. With every book, she taught herself to be better. To write more complex stories, more in depth characters, more emotionally touching situations. And that's the secret. The more you do anything, if you're really working at it, the better you'll get. We might not all become goddesses, but there's no reason we can't be the best possible writers we can be!
History Day........
 What a handsome devil he is!! Who wouldn't agree on evolution?? Apparently, a jury in Dayton, Tennessee, who on this day in 1925 convicted John T. Scopes in what came to be called the Monkey Trial, for violating state law by teaching evolution. (Conviction later overturned...)In other news....1861, the Battle of Bull Run--The first major battle of the Civil War drew thousands of people, dressed in their Sunday best, out to picnic and watch as 60,000 men fought and died for ten hours. People are really so weird.........1873, the James gang pulled off the first train robbery ever in America! They got away with 3,000.00--Quite the haul in those days.1944 American forces landed on Guam during WWII1954 France surrendered North VietNam to the communists......1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the lunar module--(and another point, yesterday in 1969 we LANDED on the moon. I was at Angel stadium with my family when it was announced and the whole place stood up and cheered for five full minutes. Very cool)1973 BAD, BAD LEROY BROWN, reached number 1 on Billboard's pop-singles chart becoming Jim Croce's first big hit. Croce died in a plane crash two months later. (but he's still got me singing that song............)1980 draft registration began in the U.S. for all men ages 19 and 202007, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS the final volume in JK Rowling's series hit the stands......(and I'm still a little disappointed in some of it!)How about you guys???
RITA time again.......
 Yep, it's that time again. The National RWA conference is almost upon us. Actually, it's rushing toward us and I'm not ready yet. I have however, begun my annual panic attacks. So hey, in a way, right on schedule!One of my books has been nominated for a RITA this year. It's actually a novella I wrote for Silhouette Nocturne. The book itself was called HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE, and my nominated story was CHRISTMAS CRAVINGS. This is actually my 6th nomination and it's just as exciting this time as it was the first. Some people might feel bad about not having won yet. But for me, that old saying "it's an honor just to be nominated" is really true. When you're a finalist, you get a small silver pin shaped like our lovely RITA statue to wear on your name badge, so my six girls look very happy and shiny. Of course, when you win, you get not only the pretty gold statue you see on the left, but you also get a gold RITA pin to put on your badge. The RITA statue is named for RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada--an amazing writer and really a fabulously nice woman. And yes, every published romance writer wants a RITA. (Think Oscars for the romance industry). But until I actually get my name on one of those beauties, I'll be happy with adding silver girls to my badge.
Quote for the day............
 You gota love Bette Midler. There's a woman who's made her career HER way. She's always stayed true to herself-and eventually won the world over to her side!Today's quote is from the fabulous Bette-- It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance.....Bette Midler It's so true, too. If you're so afraid of having your manuscript rejected that you never send it in.....guess what??? It's already BEEN rejected. By YOU. You win nothing by never playing. You risk nothing if you never step up and say, I have something to offer. And you never get anywhere if you don't take that first step. So go ahead already!! Teach your heart how to dance!
History day.........
 Lots of things going on today........... that picture on the left is supposed to be of Mariner 4--an American space probe that flew past Mars today in 1965 and sent back pictures!! Way cool........And in other news.....1789 during the French revolutions, the citizens stormed the Bastille and released seven prisoners.1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act, making it a federal crime to publish false, scandalous or malicious writing about the U.S. Government. Hmm....who needs to say anything false??1881 Billy the Kid was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, N.M.-- or was he?? There was that old guy who stumbled out of the desert forty years later claiming to be Billy the No Longer a Kid......1933 All German political parties EXCEPT the Nazi party were outlawed....That should have been the first sign........1966, Eight women were murdered by Richard Speck in a Chicago dormitory for student nurses. .....Speck later died in prison in 1991 while serving a life sentence. More time than he gave his victims.1976 Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination.And.....my mom gave me these.........thanks, Mom!!Queen Elizabeth the 1st founded the protestant Trinity college in Dublin. Until the 1960's, the Catholic church considered it a sin to attend Trinity. All's forgiven now, though!!1974, Rubik's cube hit the country like a wildfire. The record for solving the cube that continues to defeat me?? 10 seconds..........Anybody else???
Quote for the day.......
It's my Quote of the Day............
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog..... Mark Twain
Yep, and that's him there on the left. Most of us think of Mark Twain as the grizzled old guy with the flyaway white hair and the cigar chomped in his mouth. I like to think of him like this. Riding a river boat and thinking up more of his wonderful stories.
But this quote is a favorite of mine. It tells me that it doesn't matter how big your opposition is--you just have to be tougher.
So when you're fighting rejection slips or un-returned calls and emails from editors and agents, just growl to yourself and remember that the important thing here is just how much fight is in YOU.
Are you going to crawl away licking your wounds? Or are you going to keep fighting? Me?? I like the fight. And to paraphrase one of my other favorite authors, Louis L'amour...... I just don't have a lot of backup in me.
History Day..........
 Okay, I'm cheating a little here today. Sue me. =) Not much happened today in history so I skipped ahead to TOMORROW in history because of the birth of one of my favorite things!
1881, druggist Edward Berner of Two Rivers, Wisconsin created the very first amazingly wonderful ice cream sundae. Apparently way back when, you weren't allowed to have the slightly scandalous soda water treats on Sundays. So good ol' Ed came up with something else. He dished up some ice cream and poured the chocolate syrup over the top! BRILLIANT man!!
And in other news........
1693 uniforms for New York City (yes, there was one back then), were authorized.
1907, Florenz Ziegfeld staged the first Ziegfeld's Follies (also in New York!)
1946, Ava Gardner divorced Artie Shaw
1958, the first Gold Record album was awarded....to whom?? The music from the play OKLAHOMA.......(Now I'll have THAT song in my head all day!)
1987, the Iran Contra hearings made Oliver North a star........(well, sort of.)
Anything else?????
Independence Day............
 Had to post this today even though it's for tomorrow.... The Fourth of July means many things......to some of us, it's fireworks, hot dogs and baseball games and barbecues and even Jello shots. (Hey, nothing wrong with all of that.......)
But to me, it's Flag waving time. It's saying thank you to the service men and women who do everything, RISK everything to give us the chance to have those barbecues.
And I want to thank their families, too. The people who put up with moves every couple of years, who do without so the people of this country can remain free. There's just not enough said about our military and their families. They risk it all. They put it on the line every day. And for every service member out there in harm's way, there's a wife or husband or mom or dad making sure that life keeps ticking back at home while praying that their loved ones will come home safely.
So when you watch those fireworks on the Fourth of July, give a thought to why they're being set off. To remember the 'rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air'.....and remember to hit your knees and pray for those who are out there, standing tall and strong, making sure that you sleep safely tonight.....................
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, AMERICA................................
Quotes..........
 Well, you know as a writer, I tend to flip-flop around on the ol' confidence meter.
Every time I type the words Chapter One, I feel that twinge of what-if-I-can't-do-it-this-time. Happens with every book. From the first one right up to this one, number 101...Yes, a hundred books and I'm still the whimpering mess that all writers are under the heart of it.
So I'm going to be using quotes on this blog. Every week, I'm going to find a quote that bolsters the spirit. That reminds us why we keep trying.
And for my first one.........a beauty by Winston Churchill......
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill
And isn't that what we all need to remember? Just keep going. Head down. Moving forward, because really?? Retreat is sooooooooooooooo not an option!
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