Huh?

This is what I feel like today. It's raining (been raining since around 4 PM yesterday afternoon) and gray and just altogether one of those icky days. Lara Santiago and I are supposed to do something today, like lunch, but I think I will have to use my powers of persuasion to lure her to my home instead. Then I won't have to go out. I could make a lovely basil Parmesan orzo for lunch. It's actually a super easy dish and so comforting on a day like this.

Of course, the real reason she and I are getting together is because I insisted she read C.L. Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands and now she's completely jonesing for the sequel, Lady of Light and Shadows (which I managed to snag an ARC of). And with good reason. Lady may actually be better than the first book in this series - which is staggering, because LOTFL is an AMAZING book. Best of all, it's out now!

I got a signed copy of LOTFL when I was at the M&M conference. It's going on my keeper shelf. Where it belongs. Have you bought a copy yet? What are you waiting for? You will NOT be disappointed.

Home Again, Home Again

I'm tired, but M&M was a good conference. Larger than I expected, too. One of my notable experiences was meeting Barbara Vey, who blogs about books for Publisher's Weekly. You must go see her and please, leave a comment and let her know you were there. Also, if you have a book to promote, don't hesitate to add your website address or blog info at the end of your comment. Barbara encourages it! I love that kind of attitude.

This Is Me, Leaving

I'm headed out of town yet again, this time to the Moonlight and Magnolias conference (hosted by the Georgia Romance Writers) in Atlanta, GA.

I'm looking forward to it. Mostly. I'm looking forward to the parts where I'm not feverishly slaving away at the synopsis I need to write and to the parts where I'm not trying to figure out what happens in the last half of my book - so I can put it in the synopsis.

What I am looking forward to is the fun I'll have with my roomie, Roxanne St. Claire and the fun I'll have seeing my sistah, Deidre Knight and the fun I'll have meeting a few of the authors whose fabulous books I've read recently (Elizabeth Hoyt, for one.)

Other than that, this will be a working trip for me. Y'all try to get some work done while I'm gone, too, okay?

Blurb Me

Do you have a blurb for the story you're working on or just finished? I'd love to hear it. I need to work on a blurb for my YA and I'm looking for ideas!!

Spill it.

To Watch, Or Not To Watch

Journeyman: A romantic mystery-drama about Dan Vasser, a San Francisco newspaper reporter and family man who inexplicably begins to travel through time and change people's lives. Along the way, he also must deal with the difficulties and strife at work and home brought on by his sudden disappearances.

However, his freewheeling travels through the decades reunite him with his long-lost fiancée Livia -- which complicates his present-day life with wife Katie and their son. (Lifted from the NBC site.)

I'm really digging this show. It's got a twistiness to it that is really awesome, plus there is an undeniable romantic side (first of all, he's saving lives, then there's the current wife/long lost love trianble thing going on) - who doesn't love some romance? And I am especially grooving on this show now that my other "new" favorite, Burn Notice, is in repeats. Plus, Kevin McKidd (Dan) has this whole Daniel Craig vibe happening. Delish. Makes you rethink the blonde hero!

Have you seen this show yet? What do you think of it? Granted, I don't need to be watching anymore TV than I already am, but this is too good to pass up.

Choices, Choices

This is for plotters and pantsers alike.

When you get to a turning point in your story and a choice needs to be made (Does she get in the car with him or insist they walk? Does he tell her he's a werewolf or keep it a secret a little while longer? Should she take the red pill or the blue one?) how do you decided which way to go? What if it's an option you're not entirely comfortable with? As a writer, are you interested to see where that path leads?

Have you ever made a choice that didn't work out? Or maybe one that worked out better than you'd expected? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

My Crazy Mind

A while back I blogged about how sometimes I dream these wild dreams that feature my writer friends as the cast of characters. Last night was no exception. Unfortunately, the dream's guest of honor made it impossible for me to remember who else was in the dream. See, in my dream, we were hanging out with Nora Roberts.

Apparently, we were at some writer's con and somehow managed to get invited to Nora's suite (I think it started out as a tour since the suite, in my dream, was actually a restored country cottage - think English country, not Alabama.) After showing us through the rooms - I specifically remember a walk-in closet that had once been a bedroom - we ended up lounging around in another sitting room/bedroom area (two beds, many chairs and a chaise for Nora.) In her impeccable winter white suit, she answered questions, showed us a Better Homes and Gardens or Good Housekeeping mag that had featured her and her garden, introduced us to the three young men who served as her stylists (they showed us purses by some new designer they were mad for) and was generally a gracious and charming hostess.

Not that I expected her to be any different. Granted, this was just a dream, but how cool, right? Guess I should eat chips & salsa, dark chocolate Hershey kisses and pink lemonade for dinner more often.

What did you dream about last night?

What I Do Instead Of Writing

Here's a little something I whipped up yesterday. Enjoy!

This is my first time using the new Blogger video tool. So far, so good.

Oh and Annie was Fabulous!

Open For Business

The RITA and Golden Heart contests are officially open for business. Any planning on entering?

RITA

Things I know about the RITA: It has the potential to make you dumber. *wink* Also, the little feather pen thing in her hand will eventually fall off. Maybe even the night you win it. Still, I covet one of my very own.

Golden Heart

Things I know about the Golden Heart: Wearing the award isn't recommended for daily use. It can turn your neck green. True story. Can't reveal sources though...

So, who's entering? Not sure if I am. I'd really love to be ineligible.

Deep Thoughts

Just a few random things:

* Recently found a new artist (new to me), Eddi Reader. She's got kind of a Celtic, folksy sound. Very easy to listen to. Check out my myspace page to hear one of her songs, Bell, Book and Candle. If you go and listen to it, I'd love to hear what you think. Oh and friend me while you're there, if you haven't already.

* I've decided that great books, keeper books, shall now be referred to as a DMV. Delicious Mind Vacation. Feel free to use that. (Ex. C.L. Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands - definite DMV, the recently read Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, not so much.)

* Blog and ye shall receive. I am ECSTATIC to tell you that there is an ARC of C. L. Wilson's Lady of Light and Shadows on its way to me. Sometimes, it pays to express one's self. I'm also thrilled to tell you that C.L. Wilson will be our Author of the Month at Romance Divas this coming October! Woohoo!

* Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'm going to see Annie tomorrow! Myself, Lara Santiago, my sis-in-law and the niece are off for a girl's night of the Cheesecake Factory and Annie. Can't wait! It's a hard knock life, but somebody's got to live it.

Public Service Announcement

September 22nd through the 29th is National Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week. Pulmonary Fibrosis is a debilitating disease marked by progressive scarring of the lungs that gradually interferes with a person's ability to breathe. There is no cure, and currently there is NO FDA approved treatment. The disease is fatal, within 5 to 7 years of diagnosis. Approximately 128,000 people in the United States have IPF, and an estimated 48,000 new cases develop each year.



I personally have a friend suffering from this, so take a few moments to consider donating, will you? Every little bit helps.



You can learn more about PF at The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis' website

Do You Judge A Book By Its Cover?

Ah, the all important cover. It's the first thing we see when cruising for a new read, and often, if we aren't familiar with an author or the book in question, it can determine whether or not we pick said book up.

So, what makes you pick up a cover? Is it a hot male torso? A classic clinch? Or something more mainstream?

And here's another question: How do you feel about reading a book only to find out the cover isn't true to the story? Say the heroine has short red hair in the book, but the cover shows her with long blonde locks. Or there's an ocean scene on the front when they actually went to a lake. Would that bother you or not?

What are some of your favorite covers? Have you ever read a book with an awful cover only to find out the book was amazingly good? Or picked up a book because of its great cover only to find out the book was suckworthy?

Let's talk covers!

Perhaps The Best Book You'll Read All Year

Once he had scorched the world.
Once he had driven back overwhelming darkness.
Once he had loved with such passion, his name was legend...
TAIREN SOUL
Now a thousand years later, a new threat calls him from the Fading Lands, back into the world that had cost him so dearly. Now an ancient, familiar evil is regaining its strength, and a new voice beckons him--more compelling, more seductive, more maddening than any before.
As the power of his most bitter enemy grows and ancient alliances crumble, the wildness in his blood will not be denied. The tairen must claim his truemate and embrace the destiny woven for him in the mists of time.

I don't think this blurb, or any blurb, could really do this book justice. Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson (releases Oct. 2nd) is not a book that be contained in a blurb. It's much bigger than that, much harder to contain. What I can tell you, is that you MUST read this book. Even if you are not a fan of fantasy romance, read it. You will become a fan of fantasy romance.

This story is so rich and wonderful, there aren't enough words to truly describe it. The worldbuilding is PHENOMENAL. At once, this new world seems like an unfolding wonder and an old friend. The characters are real and full of depth - even the secondary characters make you want to read on.

This is a debut novel by C.L. Wilson. Remember that name. I think you're going to be hearing a lot more of it.

The second book in the series, Lady of Light and Shadows, comes out on Oct. 30th and right now, I am DYING to get my hands on it early.


Order these books today or hit your local bookstore and do the same. You will not be disappointed, I promise.

Share The Blog Love

What are some of your favorite blogs to visit? I'm looking to broaden my blog horizon, as it were. Does have to be a writer blog either - I visit a fair amount of food blogs, a few gossipy blogs and some fashion blogs, so anything fun is fair game.

On a seperate note, have you seen this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo1XFz0kac0

When Imaginations Go Bad...

My brain has no off switch. (This has nothing to do with the fact that my mouth has no filter. These are two unrelated things, I swear.)

It's just constantly on, running an incessant movie filled with scenes from books I've written, books I'm writing, books I have yet to write, or completely new characters. I think this is pretty commonplace for most writers.

But I also think most writers are able to turn their brains off at night. Me? Not so much. In fact, there are mornings where I wake up feeling like I've been working all night. Because at night, my brain takes everything that's been going on and assembles it in this giant dream collage. It mixes all those made-up stories in my head with all the people I know.

The result? Scene after bizarre scene starring friends and family. Like a recent one, where Mel Francis, Louisa Edwards and I were all laying out topless with my Dad. Yeah, that's right, I went there. In my Dad's defense, even in the dream he had the good manners to stare off toward the horizon. Not that his behavior did anything to stop Louisa from flaunting herself. That dream hussy.

*Ahem* I digress. I guess the warning here is, if you know me, fix your hair and makeup because your time on the brain stage is coming.

So...am I alone in this? Or do some of the rest of you have excessively active brains? Is there a cure? I'd just like one night's worth of sleep where Gena Showalter's kids don't have pink hair. Or I'm not working at a strip club populated by the chicks from Romance Divas. Or Lara Santiago isn't trying to steal my cats and sell them on the Internet. I think you get the picture.

I know I do.

I'm Not Really A Bad Blogger

I'm just away, up at my folks in Maryland. I'll be back home sometime tomorrow, and back to regular blogging on Thursday.

Try to talk amongst yourselves until then, okay?

Peace out.

Myspace: Need Input

Hello, my lovely and faithful blog readers! Did you see the bat signal go up? That's because I need your help. I'm working on an article for an upcoming issue of the RWR on using Myspace for promotion. If you have anything you'd like to tell me about your experience with Myspace, please email me with your story at kristen (at) romancedivas (dot) com.

If I use your story, you'll get quoted in the RWR and live in infamy for the rest of your life. Okay, maybe not, but it could happen.

Here are some things I'd like to know:

1. Did you design your space yourself or have help? If you had help, who helped you? If you didn't have help, what was your method?

2. Has your experience been positive or negative? Explain.

3. If you've ditched Myspace for another networking site, which one did you go to and why?

4. If you don't have a Myspace page, why not?

5. If you have a Myspace page, what motivated you to get one started?

******************************

On a side note, I somehow got a piece of tortilla chip in my eye last night. I know you're wondering how I've lived this long and if you know anyone who's more of a freak, but there you have it. Snack foods can attack. Consider yourself warned.

My Brain, The Author

I loved the comments from everyone yesterday about editing and writing. We all have our own processes, don't we? Interesting stuff.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm writing like a fiend. (Okay, I don't really know what that means - how exactly does a fiend write? But I digress...) The pages are coming pretty well and while I know it's very bare bones writing in some places, I'm okay with that. Like I said, it's the editing I live for. To quote Eva Gale, that's where I make it thick. (I love that!)

The troubling thing is, is that while I'm working furiously on this YA, my mind is busy writing a new story. A straight contemporary romance. No elements of paranormal at all. And when I say my mind is writing this, I mean scenes come to me out of this "other" book like I'm watching a movie. Big scenes. Clumps of scenes. I know their names, their backstories, their motivations, what their families are like...even the title of this new book.

*Sigh* I think I have no choice but to write it when this YA is done. How else will I get it out of my head? Does this happen to you?

And in an unrelated rant, why in the name of all that's good and pure is Christmas stuff starting to show up in the stores? Could we at least officially hit the first day of Autumn? Could we? Please? Gah.

I'm A Writin' Machine

I'm doing pretty good on the writing front, despite being occasionally sidetracked to look for images that might make good bookcovers (hey, we all have our quirks). It's really amazing what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it and decide to ignore the usual impulses that distract you.

For instance, reading. I love to read! A good book usually has the power to pull me away from everything else and then that's all I'll do, read - until I reach The End. And I have a book like that in my possession now (an ARC of C.L. Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands) however, my priority right now is getting my WIP to a certain point (100 pages).

I've committed to reach that goal in two weeks. Not just the 100 pages, mind you, but that 100 pages written and polished to high glossy shine, the kind editors won't be able to look away from. Which is just fine with me, because I love the editing. It's my favorite part. The actual writing, not so much.

Don't get me wrong, I like writing. I love the storytelling process, the creative explosion that happens that takes an idea to a full-fledged book. Love it. But the writing isn't what really gets me going. It's seeing what I've written, then tweaking it and making it better. Making it as good as it possibly can be, then putting it aside for a bit only to have another go at it later.

What's your favorite part of the process?

Happy Monday!

Most people have today off. Most people that aren't writers. We don't ever really have a day off. Even when we aren't writing, our brains are still cataloging real-life events that might work in a story someday, creating new characters, thinking of titles for books not even plotted out, eavesdropping on interesting conversations when a curious line of dialogue catches our attention.

We're writers. We're always at work.

But for the rest of you...have a great day off!

Writing Exercises

Put your writerly thinking caps on and try your hand at these little exercises!

Choose A New Word:

1. Flat as a ___________________
2. Hard as a _________________
3. Nutty as a __________________
4. Soft as a __________________
5. Lazy as a _________________

Reinvent The Phrase:

1. All that glitters is not gold
2. Thorn in your side
3. Throw the baby out with the bathwater
4. Cry like a baby
5. Barking up the wrong tree

I'll be sure to tell you which one I like best or I think is most inventive.

Girding My Loins

I'm prepping myself for a battle of sorts. Girding my loins, as the subject line says. See, I have to go to Walmart today. We need groceries (seriously, if you looked in our fridge, you'd see a whole lotta light and not much else) and while normally I'm a Publix girl (I love me some Publix), we also need large quantities of bird seed and a hair dryer. Not for use together, I assure you. We need the birdseed because we feed two families of Sandhill Cranes. We meant to feed songbirds, but the cranes have taken over. We like them, though. But when we're out of food, they squawk rather loudly in protest. It's just best to keep them feed.

And I need a hair dryer because yesterday, as I was blow drying my hair, I heard these cracking noises and little plastic bits started shooting out the end of the hair dryer. Then the housing started to split open in my hand. I immediately yanked the cord out of the wall and tossed it. I felt like electrocution was the next step and didn't want to go there. Hence, new hair dryer is on the list. I liked my old one. If they still have it, that's probably what I'll get. I hate getting a new one because there's always a learning curve.

But wait, I'm getting off track. Walmart. I have to go to Walmart. That place is like a time suck. You go in for one thing and an hour and a half later, you've got a cart full of stuff you didn't know you needed. I must be strong. I will avoid the book section (especially since Amazon let me know this morning that my order has shipped - Undercover In High Heels is on its way!) I will avoid the make-up aisle. Mostly. There might be a new lip gloss I should have. Wait! See? It's happening already. Crap. I'm doomed.

On another note, let me offer you a small warning: Don't let your cat sit on your keyboard. Not only do they rarely add legible words of wisdom to your manuscript, but they're capable of making your computer do strange things, like the cursor highlighting everything, the right click function ceasing to function and new windows popping up everytime you try to open a link. I finally had to restart and fortunately that worked to set everything right.

Young Adult

As y'all know, I'm working on my first Young Adult (YA) book. I'm excited about it, but then I get excited about pretty much every book I write (with the rare exception of the book I wrote solely to pitch to Nocturne - ugh, total slog.) Before I started writing, however, I prepped myself by reading a slew of YA titles - stuff that was considered "hot" and best-sellers. I found some I loved, some that were just sort of "meh" and some that shocked me (language, topics, explicitness I didn't expect.)

Now, I find that YA's are a regular part of my reading diet. The next two on my TBR pile are Scott Westerfeld's Peeps and Gena Showalter's Oh My Goth. I almost enjoy them more than books from the romance genre, probably because I know I'm not going to get in-your-face sex and R rated language as a rule. Beyond that, the storytelling is SO good. Innovative, fresh, imaginative. Things I think have gotten a bit lost in the romance genre. Don't get me wrong, I love the romance genre. It's just nice to have a palate cleanser once in a while and YA fits that bill perfectly.

Have you tried YA? If not, why not? If you read YA, what are some of your favorites? I'd love to hear what you think.

Tagged!

Four jobs I've had or currently have in my life:
1. Maitre D'
2. English Teacher
3. Personal Trainer
4. Runway model


Four countries I've been to:
1. Germany
2. Africa
3. Spain
4. Great Britain

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. In bed.
2. In the pool.
3. At the spa.
4. In Hawaii in bed, in the pool or at the spa.

Four foods I like to eat:
1. Pasta
2. Bread
3. Cake
4. Kitten toes

Four personal heroes, past or present:
1. My grandma
2. My parents
3. Hotrod
4. My brother

Four books you've read or are currently reading:
1. She's No Angel by Leslie Kelly
2. Lover Eternal by JR Ward
3. Lover Awakened by JR Ward
4. The lover book after that. Can't remember the name.


Four words or phrases you would like to see used more often:
1. "We'd like to offer you a contract on..."
2. "I just bought it for you because."
3. "You look hot in pajama pants, a tank top, hair up and no makeup."
4. "Why don't I make dinner?"

Four reasons for ending a friendship:
1. Betrayal
2. Lies
3. I honestly can't think of any others that don't fall under those two categories.

Four smells that make you feel good about the world:
1. Freshly-mown grass
2. Bread or cookies baking
3. The smell of a bookstore
4. Kitty fur


My question: Four cosmetics you wouldn't want to be without:
1. Concealer
2. Mascara
3. Bronzer
4. Tinted lipgloss

I tag Lara Santiago, BE Sanderson, Sara Thacker and Louisa Edwards. Get on it!

Home and Thanks!

So in the last week and a half, Hotrod and I have made the equivilent of two trips to Atlanta and back in the car. Road trips are great in theory, but they wear me out. I feel tore up from the floor up. However, I have now read the entire JR Ward series. They're pretty good. Very Kenyon-esque for me.

Still, I've got to get back in some sort of routine that includes exercise and writing. Today is a new day! And all that. What's your writing schedule like?

Thanks to all those who got their daughters to answer questions for me!!! That was awesome!

Talk Amongst Yourselves

I'm off on an extended beach weekend with some ladyfriends - try to behave while I'm gone, would you? (By the way, I'm about 300 pages into the second JR Ward book and plan to finish the rest of the series - which I bought yesterday - while I'm on my va-cay.)

If you have teenage daughters, would you mind doing a little research for me? I'd like to know what they worry about the most while at school and what secret/super power they'd most like to have. Cool? Cool. Thanks.

Okay, gotta run. Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!

Oops, I Did It Again

Um...I now have one less book on my TBR pile. Needless to say, I didn't get much writing done yesterday. See, I spent most of the day reading. Starting right after I got home from boxing class and grocery shopping.

I'm a bad, bad writer. But there is such pure pleasure to be had in losing oneself in story well-told. And Dark Lover is a story well-told. I admit it, I'm hooked. Yes, there were some bits I stumbled over (the hero is so blind he needs his meat cut up for him, but he has no problem telling that the heroine is wearing a lace bra...) I'm sure I'll find myself in a book store at some point tomorrow, buying the rest of this series.

Still, great writing - great storytelling - inspires the creative mind. Renews it. So basically, I was working...

Hush. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I Couldn't Wait

I was supposed to be saving this book for an upcoming beach getaway, but I'd heard so much good buzz about it, I took it with me on our trip to Hotrod's cousin's wedding.

On our drive up, I decided to pull it out and read the first few pages while Hotrod was talking on his crackberry. Many pages later, I had no desire to put it down. I didn't expect it to be funny! The Leopard Prince has to be one of the most entertaining books I've read this year. I finished it on the drive home. Delish!

I hope to pick up the first book, The Raven Prince, in this series next time I'm at the bookstore. (The third, The Serpent Prince, comes on out on Sept. 1st, I believe.)

Last night, after we got home and collapsed from the exhausting 8 hour drive (which included an hour of sitting in traffic backed up by a jack-knifed 18-wheeler), I started JR Ward's Dark Lover. Yes, I know I'm waaaaaaaay behind the curve on reading this series, but I'm not a big vamp fan. I'm still reserving judgement on this first book, but I'm only a few pages in.

Anyway, The Leopard Prince is a great read! If you like historicals (or even if they're not your usual go-to genre), give this one a try.

Goin' To The Chapel...

We're off to a family (Hotrod's family, not mine) wedding in Alpharetta, GA today. The last wedding I went to was the impetus for me to start this new weight loss/exercise journey I've been on. Wonder what this one will bring?

Here's to finding the right person to spend the rest of your life with! Blah, blah, blah...lol

Happy weekend, y'all!

A Third Party Candidate Emerges

Some people's children - cough*LaraSantiago*cough - have too much time on their talented hands. You may recall the previous political candidates that have shown up on my blog (such as Sam the cat and Scooter the cat)? Well, I give you Max, whose campaign has apparently been marred by controversy from the start. Poor kitten. I don't think his constituents are going to take this well... Just for reference, I thought I'd post the picture this pays homage to. Max seems to be taking it a bit more seriously, don't you think? LOL

Stranger Than Fiction

Yes, I know I'm little behind on movie watching but I finally saw Stranger Than Fiction. (Thanks to Lara Santiago and her awesome DVD collection. And her willingness to share.)

It was an interesting premise - the main character of an author's book turns out to be a real person, and her writing seems to dictate the course of his life.

Got me thinking. Of all my main characters, which one of them would I most like to come to life? Um...that's sort of scary when you boil it down. I'd have to go with my Texas-born Manhattanite chef hottie, because otherwise I'd end up with a half-elf mercenary, a 1000-year-old Viking chieftain, a nightclub-owning werewolf, a grim reaper...See what I mean? Of course, my heroines tend to be a little more normal.

Which of your characters would you most like to meet as a real person? Or most not like to meet?

Yes, I'm a white girl

I may be Sicilian, Northern Italian and a little Greek, but my English and German genes were in full swing last night. Or not in full swing, as the case may be.

See, I took a new exercise class last night. Zumba. Yeah, it sounds like fun, doesn't it? According to the website, "ZUMBA is a fusion of Latin and International music" - think the Ying Yang Twins meets Ricki Martin. Uh huh. Hip hop moves and salsa swivels. Rump shaking and cha-cha-cha. Heavy on the "yo boy" hip-hop moves. For shizzle.

I felt like I should have worn hotpants and false eyelashes for all that booty shaking. Or maybe some bling. (While I am normally fairly blinged out, when I exercise, it's just the wedding ring that never comes off and the toe ring I forget I'm wearing.)

I'm not sure I can go back to this class with a clear conscious. My mother doesn't like me throwing gang signs in public. On the up side, I'm down half a pound this morning. That's two pounds in two days. I'm going to call this plateau officially broken. (I'm now down 21 1/2 pounds for those of you playing along with the home game.)

I think I'll give Zumba one more shot.

Guilty Pleasures

Life is full of guilty pleasures, but when you're dieting (like I am) some of those guilty pleasures become, well, guiltier.

Take chocolate for example. I adore chocolate and all it's many forms: pure chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate cookies, body paint--*ahem* You get the picture - and I'm sure most of you agree with me on this one. Chocolate is a writer's friend, but lately I've been avoiding it like an ex-boyfriend. Sure, I've had a few tiny indulgences, but they've been so few and so tiny, calling them indulgences is being kind.

Since I can't/won't have chocolate, I have to get my "fix" elsewhere. And where have I turned, you ask?

To another guilty pleasure: reality TV.

The Hell's Kitchen finale was last night, but thankfully I've found a new show, Fat March, to sink my teeth into. It's a bizarre show, kind of like the Biggest Losers mets the Breast Cancer 3 Day (slight inside joke there). Overweight people are forced to diet (sort of. They're eating 2000 calories a day, which is more than I eat) and walk X number of miles each day. One day was 11.5 miles. Hah! During the Breast Cancer 3 Day, we had to walk 20 miles a day. But whatever.

Design Star is another truffle in my reality tv box of chocolates. Some wannabe designers get to compete for their own show on HGTV. Latest challenge was to design & decorate a room using only what they could buy at a Dollar Store. They had $399 to spend. Some of them did great and some of them wasted their money.

However, the show I'm most looking forward to is Kid Nation. Have you heard about this? A bunch of kids get dropped off in a ghost town and get to make their own civilization. It's like a supervized Lord of the Flies. Count me in!

Tell the truth now...what are your guilty pleasures?

Whatcha Reading? Whatcha Watching?

I just finished two fun, but very different books: The Break-Up Bible by Melissa Kantor (YA) and Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen (Popular Fiction - I don't know how else to describe this).

What are you reading or getting ready to read?

Lara Santiago and I watched a golden oldie yesterday - The Court Jester with Danny Kaye and a verra young Angela Lansbury. It's such a funny movie! I'm also in the middle of watching The Glass Bottom Boat with Doris Day. I love old movies!

Seen anything good lately? Looking forward to seeing something soon?

Reading-n-Floating

That's what I spent the day doing yesterday. Just floatin' and readin'... I didn't even work out! I did get a little pink for my efforts (or lack thereof) but I think by tomorrow it will have turned into a lovely golden tan. There's something so wonderful and soothing about floating. And reading. Combine the two and it's like chocolate and peanut butter. Really hard to beat.

After the previous day's adventure in the airport, I didn't have it in me to do much more. Hotrod felt the same way, although he somehow managed to find the strength to make it through 18 holes of golf. He's such a giver, that man.

Anyway, I'm reading Carl Hiaasen's Sick Puppy. It's not the first Hiaasen book I've read by any means. I'm a fan of his work and it's such a nice change to read outside the genres I write. Hiaasen is a native Floridian and a huge environmentalist. To say he's not a fan of Disney would be putting it mildly. Pick up one of his books and you're guaranteed to find crazy characters doing whacked-out things in bizarre situations. His books are like vacations for your mind.

I'm almost finished with this book and it's really hard to stop reading. Maybe I'll do a little more floating today...

What's on your schedule?

Airtran Sucks

It's something else all right, it's a giant pain in my backside.

After a 9-hour plus wait in the Orlando airport, Airtran canceled our flight to Baltimore due to storms and ultimately, air traffic back up. That's right, I'm still in Florida, with no clear idea as to when I'll get up to see my family.

I understand that bad weather happens. What ticks me off is that Airtran took so stinking long to make the decision to cancel the flight. If they'd done it earlier, we wouldn't have been stuck in the airport so long and we might have been able to make other arrangements. As it stands now, getting up there for the weekend would be a very expensive proposition.

Why can't businesses be run with a little common sense and human compassion? Is that so much to ask?

I'm Leavin'...On A Jet Plane...

I'm off to Maryland with Hotrod on a business trip. After his meeting, we're driving down to the beach to see the 'rents (my dad's birthday is coming up) and my bro and his wife and their remarkably adorable offspring. I'll think of you all while I'm chowing down on hot, spicy, steamed crabs! Mmmm...crabs....

Might even hit the OC boardwalk for my favorite frozen dessert of all times - KOHR'S FROZEN CUSTARD!!! If you've never had frozen custard, you are seriously missing out. It's so much better than regular soft serve ice cream. It's like eating a delicious frozen cloud. I hope they have the peanut butter/chocolate twist machine working. That's my fav!

And of course, no trip to the boardwalk would be complete without a big, salty, greasy bucket of Thrasher's french fries doused with a healthy sprinkle of vinegar. My mouth is watering as I type this. Thrasher's is a legend in OC. The lines are always long, but the wait is always worth it. Just ask the seagulls.

Hispanic and Other Foreign Languages

So my inlaws were here for a few days (and by a few I mean the mental equivalent of 3 1/2 years), along with Hotrod's brother, his wife and their little boy.

Now, what you need to know, is that Hotrod's parents have been divorced longer than they were actually married. It's a bizarre situation for someone like me, whose parents are about to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

Hotrod's dad is one of those people who knows everything. Hotrod's mother is basically Chicken Little. In her world, the sky is always falling.

One day during the visit the women took the kids (the nephew and Hotrod's sister's little girl, the niece) to the zoo. The men went golfing. We met up for lunch at Moe's Southwest Grill. If you're unfamiliar with Moe's, it's like a Southwestern Subway. Made to order, fresh, really yummy.

I'm standing in line behind Hotrod's mother when I see this look of abject terror over take her. I asked her what was wrong. Staring at the menu board behind me, she waves her hands frantically and announces, "I can't read Hispanic!"

I stare right back at her, completely dumbfounded (if you know me, you know how infrequently I'm speechless.) When I find my voice, I say, "What? That entire menu is in English. What are you talking about?"

"Burrito, fa-gee-ta, kwes-a-deella...I don't know what any of that means!"

Deep breath. Exhale. Deep breath again. I proceed to help her order a soft chicken taco while the construction worker behind me giggles.

Long story short, she loved the food, even though (in her own words), she hadn't had Mexican food in 25 years. Which was the last time she went to a Taco Bell.

Aye Carumba.

Cats & Cake

Eva requested more cats, so more cats it is. I am proud to say that I've made my first lolcat! And I've also finally figured out what my cat, Sam, is trying to say to me. I have critique partners for that, thank you very much. Brat.

Here's the four-layer chocolate banana cake I made for our recent family gathering. I so love chocolate ganache! It's dark and decadent and delicious. Mmmm... Anyway, I also love making cakes and I was pretty happy with the way this one turned out.

Bad Blogger

I've been a bad blogger thanks to visting family. That all changes tomorrow afternoon, however...then the blogging shall commence anew!

And I shall bring you cake.

Caturday!

If you haven't hear of lolcats yet, get thee to http://icanhascheezburger.com/ immediately. It's so freakin' funny!

Grrrrrr

Well, I'm not so much mad as I am disappointed. See, lately, my online shopping exploits (and how often do you get to use the word exploits, I ask you?) haven't been going so well.

First of all, I ordered a delicious pair of coarse gold Jimmy Choo flats. The minute they arrived, I slid them out of their delicate lavender-pink box and tried them on. That's when the choir of angels went oddly silent. If I didn't have toes, they would have fit like a dream. As luck would I have, I do have toes. I packaged them back up to be returned as pieces of my little fashionista heart crumbled away.

Then today, the sparkly leopard sweater arrives. You remember it, right? It was all leopardy and sequined and had rhinestone buttons. Completely over the top in a very me kind of way. Until it arrived. In pictures, so decadent and scrumptious. In person, more Long Island grandma does Vegas on a bus tour. Um...no.

I guess I'll have to wait until I go to visit my mom next week to really get my shop on. Mom and I know how to make the cash registers sing. Who's your favorite shopping companion?

Would You Buy This Book?

I was fooling around the other day (when I should have been writing) and I made this mock cover of my WIP, Bad Seed. I know, I know, procrastination, thy name is Kristen. But I figured, since I made it, I'll see what y'all thought.

Would this cover get you to take a closer look? Would it intrigue you? This is a YA now, so keep that in mind. What are your first impressions of the book based on this cover?

Do you ever make mock covers for your stuff?

Woohoo! And Some Contest Info

*First of all, as of today, I am officially down 20 pounds!!! Can I get woohoo? Thx!

*The second important bit of news you need is that the Launching A Star contest is now taking entries. This is a great contest because the finalling entries will be judged by both an editor and an agent! Seriously! Here's the 411:

***Permission to Forward Given and Encouraged***

The 2007 Launching A STAR Contest has been re-vamped and we know you'll love the changes! Entries in this year's contest will submit the First Chapter, with no synopsis. Two industry professionals (one agent and one editor) will judge each category in the final round. All first round judges (2 per entry, one trained, one published in romance) will provide constructive comments on every entry. And we've added a new category, Erotic Romance. So, sharpen up your pencils or warm up your printer and plan to enter the 2007 Launching A STAR Contest!

Launching a STAR 2007
Sponsor: SpacecoasT Authors of Romance Chapter (STAR)

Fee: $25-$30, SASE

Deadline: Post-marked by October 1st, Received by October 8th, 2007

Eligibility: Unpublished or not published by RWA-recognized publisher in book length fiction within 5 years

Enter: First Chapter (up to 25 pages).

First round judges: One trained; one published.

Categories/Final round judges:
Series Contemporary: editor Susan Litman, HQ and agent Elaine English
Single Title Contemporary: editor Erin Galloway, Dorchester and agent Michelle Grajkowski
Historical: editor Keyren Gerlach, HQN and agent Elizabeth Pomada,
Paranormal: editor Heather Osborne, TOR and agent Laurie McLean
Erotic Romance: editor Angela James, Samhaim and agent Roberta Brown
Young Adult: editor Kate Seaver, Berkley/Jove and agent Elaine Spencer

Top Prize: A star named in your honor! FMI, entry form, and rules, <www.authorsofromance.com> or contact Lee Duncan, contest coordinator at leeduncan (at) bellsouth (dot) net