Far-flung friends

I hesitate to use the phrase “It’s a Small World,” because every time I do, that theme from the Disneyland Small World attraction gets stuck in my head and won’t go away. La-la-la-la…oh, just shoot me.

No, wait! I mean, shoot me over to Europe for a visit.

Once upon a time, I spent six months in Italy and another six months traveling on a playwriting fellowship. These days, I stick close to home in Southern California with my husband of 33 years, my garden and my wonderful writing friends from Romance Writers of America’s Orange County Chapter (check out www.OCCRWA.org. If you’re in the area, come to a meeting).

But it is, as they say, a diminutive globe.

I teach writing through Long Ridge Writers Group, and some of my students email their lessons from far-away places. South Africa, for instance. The UK. All over the U.S. and Canada.

The characters in my books, who often seem almost as real to me as the people I know, also come from a variety of places—almost always somewhere I’ve lived or visited. In my October release, The Surgeon’s Surprise Twins, the hero, Dr. Owen Tartikoff, is from Boston. He just moved to Southern California to head the fertility program at my fictional Safe Harbor Medical Center. As for me, I went to college near Boston (Brandeis University).

Then there’s Croatia. Never been there. But I have a friend in Zagreb.

It all came about because of a photograph. If I post it right, you can see the beautiful cover of my Regency romance, Song for a Lady, which I’ve reissued in a digital edition.

I found this photo on a website that allows people to download and use images for free. So far, so good. I credited the Croatian photographer, Darko Skender, in my publicity.

Then I heard from him. He never lets people use his photos commercially and was unhappy to discover his photo on my cover. Of course, I offered to take it down. Then this kind man—a retired police officer—decided to be generous and let me use it anyway. We emailed a bit, and ended up as friends. We even Tweet.

As it happens, my mother also has a friend in Zagreb, Hanibal Salvaro, a distinguished ceramic artist. No, he and my new friend aren’t acquainted, but I have a feeling they’ll meet one of these days.

After all, it’s a minuscule sphere.

Fall Quick Five

Quick, give me your five favorite things about fall. To give you some ideas, here are my five.

1. Perfect temperatures. When the temps are between 65 and 75 with clear, sunny skies, it's perfect weather for outside activities, whether that's going for a hike in the woods or doing yard work.

2. Harvest festivals. When I worked for newspapers and magazines, I covered a lot of harvest type festivals. I loved the walk through yesteryear filled with blacksmiths, women cooking on wood-burning stoves, harvesting crops, the making of beeswax candles and cornshuck dolls.

3. The smell of the woods with the leaves falling and even the smell of fires if the smoke isn't too strong.

4. The color of the fall leaves. My favorites are the orange and yellow ones.

5. Pumpkin-flavored treats, particularly pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread.

Okay, your turn!

Happy Holidays!

It’s only October and we haven’t even had Hallowe’en yet, but it’s already starting to feel a lot like Christmas. My next Harlequin American Romance, The Christmas Secret will be out next Tuesday and I’m having a lot of fun getting ready for the release. Great cover, don’t you think? I’ve loved all my covers but this one’s my definitely my favorite.

To help readers celebrate this new release with me I’m sending out holiday recipe cards. If you would like one, please send your mailing address via my website.

I’m also inviting readers to join me next Monday, October 31 at the Pink Heart Society. For their Male on Monday segment I’ll be blogging about one of my favorite kinds of heroes—the nerd. I do love a man who can talk nerdy.

Happy reading!

Until next time,
Lee
http://www.leemckenzie.com/

Seasons Changing and So Do We

While the temps have just begun to reflect the change from summer to fall, the last few days are hinting that winter isn't far off. I don't mind the cooler weather and am happy to have turned off the AC.  After surviving far too many recording breaking days of 100+, anything under 80 feels like heaven.  But the newest addition to our family isn't very happy.

Toby, a 2 1/2 year old gray cat, came into our lives a month ago.  Several times throughout the year, when the cat population becomes too high, our local Humane Society gives away free kittens and cats.  I hadn't intended to take a new pet home, but out of curiosity we decided to see what was available at the latest give-away.  After getting a number and walking through the crowd of people hoping to adopt a new pet, my youngest daughter and I weren't able to tear ourselves away, even though we were told that it was entirely possible there wouldn't be any kitties left by the time our number was called.  As it turned out, Toby, who was being fostered by one of the employees and wasn't in the facility at the time, was the last cat available at the end of our four hour visit.  We took him in a heartbeat.

Toby's description mentioned that he was a great personal assistant, and he's already proved that to be true.  His favorite spot to snooze quickly became the window that overlooks over my desk.  This was fine with me, until the temps started to dip into the low 50s at night, and the daytime temps stopped reaching 75.  To Toby's utter disgust, the window had to be closed.  All the windows had to be closed.  So now when he discovers that his favorite sleeping spot will no longer accommodate his bigness, he gives up and settles for the top of my desk.  At 34 inches stretched out from head to tip of tail, that's more than half of my desk, and I've spent quite a lot of time moving him so I can see the bottom of my computer screen.  He still doesn't understand that assisting doesn't mean keeping me from working.

We're happy that, instead of a tiny kitten that would have needed training, we found Toby.  Or he found us.  It appears that he and I will be enjoying the changes of the seasons together.  I'm already curious to see what he thinks of the view out the window when the snow begins to fall.

What's your favorite costume?

It's almost the end of October, and Halloween will soon be upon us.

I love Halloween. And yes, it's partly because I'm a candy kind of girl. Don’t even get me started about chocolate! LOL

But for the blog today, how about we stick to something less fattening?

Let's talk about getting dressed up for the Big Night of trick-or-treating. Of course, like me, I'm sure you've worn many, many costumes over the years, from the most simple to the extravagantly elaborate.

As a teenager, my favorite costume was dressing up as a hobo. It was easy. It was cheap.

Heck, it was do-it-yourself:

Torn jeans, one of my dad's old flannel shirts, a pair of filthy, stinky sneakers my mom thought I'd tossed out long ago, and a worn-out bandana from the rag bag—and I was good to go.

Oh, along with the liberal application of black marker and eyebrow pencils to add that special down-on-my-luck touch. (smile)

My all-time favorite costume, though, was comprised of an old billowy ball gown with a "diamond" inset at the waist and a long gauzy train, strappy sandals, a pair of elbow-length gloves, and a "diamond" tiara. I felt regal and royal and really, really grown-up. That was probably the year I turned seven. LOL

And it does show that I've always been a romantic at heart, doesn't it?

How about you? Please share your favorite costume ever—one worn by you or one of your kids or grandkids!

All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

Halloween...Scary Story

October…

The month when leaves change color and begin to fall.


When farmers finish harvesting their crops and prepare the fields for winter. When days are cold, then warm, then rainy, then sunny all in the same week. The month when birds fly south, and apples and pumpkins are picked. The month when football hockey and the World Series compete for TV viewers.

However….it's Halloween that steels the show in October.


A night when wherewolves, Vampires and Witches walk together. When Princesses, Fairies, Batmans and Supermans share the sidewalk with Harry Potters, Hermonie's , Buzz Lightyears, Green Army Men and Aliens.

In honor of Halloween I thought it would be fun to share a scary tale. I came across Campfire Tales - The Scariest Urban Legends Ever at
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/horrors/ss/Campfire-Tales.htm
and recognized a story from my youth—a slightly different version but the same general premise.

Scary Story #6 "The Boyfriend's Death"



A Girl and her boyfriend are making out in his car. They had parked in the woods so no one would see them. When they were done, the boy got out to pee and the girl waited for him in the safety of the car. After waiting five minutes, the girl got out of the car to look for her boyfriend. Suddenly, she sees a man in the shadows. Scared, she gets back in the car to drive away, when she hears a very faint squeak... squeak... squeak... This continued a few seconds until the girl decided she had no choice but to drive off. She hit the gas as hard as possible but couldn't go anywhere, because someone had tied a rope from the bumper of the car to a nearby tree. Well, the girl slams on the gas again and then hears a loud scream. She gets out of the car and realizes that her boyfriend is hanging from the tree. The squeaky noises were his shoes slightly scraping across the top of the car!!!


I bet you remember a scary story from your childhood...want to share?

Marin
www.marinthomas.com
Check out my new Blog "All My Heroes are Cowboys" at
www.marinthomas.blogspot.com
A Rodeo Man's Promise (Dec 2011)
Arizona Cowboy (Feb 2011)

Witches, Goblins, and Falling Leaves

I never thought I’d be so ready for fall. I’ve always enjoyed all the seasons, but I’m a summertime gal at heart. I love warm weather and trips to the coast and all the things that come with summer.

But after a terribly hot, dry summer, I’m really enjoying the cooler nights. I’ve been on vacation this week and have taken time to sit outside on the patio in the evenings with my coffee and watch the gorgeous moon rise. And it’s been downright chilly. The house is decorated for fall, with Halloween spooks and lots of rich fall colors. We’re looking forward to fireplace weather, and Thanksgiving. I’m pushing my hubby to help clean out the greenhouse to make ready for the potted plants.

It's fun to watch the high school kids all dressed for Friday night football. And to think about some of the planned activities we have with friends. I'm even ready for the time to change so it gets dark earlier. Okay, that's not entirely accurate. I'm looking forward to an extra hour of sleep each morning. My grankidos are planning out their Halloween costumes and the stores are full of candy. I have this unhealthy addiction to corn candy.



How about you? What is your favorite season?

A Harley and a Girl Named Gypsy . . .

Sweet Pea, who at the ripe old age of 98 dog years is the senior citizen of our family!!

Happy Friday!!

So excited for a mini-road trip to Arkansas I'm taking today with my kiddos and Daisy to meet a new family member--Gypsy!  But before I tell you who Gypsy is, you have to suffer through the back story of how this 9lb baby entered our lives . . .

The last book in my Buckhorn Ranch series, A Baby in His Stocking, is released next month.  UPS brought my author copies yesterday and I got all misty over the dedication.  (I turn in books a good six months or more before they're published, so a lot of times what the dedication is has nothing to do with my current life, but was meaningful to me when the book was turned in.)  We're a dog family, so I dedicated this story to Noodle, my parents' dachshund who lived to the grand, old age of eighteen. 

When you think about how much happens in our lives over eighteen years it's mind-boggling.  Our kids grew from infants to college, I think we've had three presidents, MTV stopped playing videos, cell phones are now postage stamps instead of bricks and TVs are flat as stamps!!  Raise your hand if you remember how exciting seeing your first big screen TV was!! 

Noodle the Wonder Wiener was there through it all, most importantly the passing of both of my grandparents and my favorite great-aunt and uncle. . . . Here I go again, making myself all weepy.

Losing Noodle was crazy hard on my mom.  I think if she'd had her way, she'd have gotten a puppy right away, but my parents do a lot of traveling and Dad put the kabash on getting another dog. 

Fast forward more than a few months and Dad is out riding his Harley--yes, you read right!!  Mom loathes it, as the helmet musses her hair, but she does have all the latest Harley fashions that she sported for Fayetteville's Bikes, Barbecue & Blues.  (I cannot keep that name straight, so sorry if I got it wrong.)  Anyway, Dad's on his bike and sees this little dog weaving out of the weeds on the side of a country road.

He was in a fairly desolate area, and since it looked like a dachshund, he got off his bike to investigate.  Sure enough, he'd found a starving, dirt-covered wiener!!  Mom reports her being skin and bones, but still wriggling and kissing in true dachshund style.  They asked all over Farmington if anyone had reported losing a dog, then took her to a vet for a check-up and to see if she had an ID chip (those weren't around when Noodle was born, either!).  With no chip and my mother already in love, the vet urged them to give the dog a new home.

Mom called to discuss names and decided the usual Heidi and Pretzel wouldn't do.  Dad refused to stand in the front yard in his robe yelling for Cupcake or Cutie so I suggested they name her something that told the story of how they found her.  A few hours later, Mom called back and made the formal announcement that our new family member shall be christened Gypsy!!

Welcome anyone to your family lately? 




   

Deadline Writing - Finding the Love

My son once told me that a Chick-fil-A Biscuit would “change my life.” So, I traveled twenty miles to the nearest Chick-fil-A in time for breakfast and ordered up a chicken biscuit. It was good. Yummy, even. But it wasn’t life-changing.

Not like Candace Havens’ Fast Draft Method.

If you read my post here last month, you know I’ve hit a new stage in my writing—writing to tight deadlines. I have to admit, at first, I wasn’t all that thrilled with this new challenge. Oh, I was beyond happy with a two-book contract. I was super excited that my editor had so much faith in me. I’d already fallen in love with the characters. I knew their stories and really, really wanted to bring them to life on the page. But writing a book in two months? Ooooh, scary stuff for an author who labors over each manuscript for a minimum of half a year.

That was before I met Harlequin Blaze author Candace Havens who introduced me to her concept of Fast Draft writing.

Believe me when I say that, for an author, this method will “change your life.” And I’m not the only one who feels that way. My good friend, Roxanne St. Claire, experienced true epiphany when Candace spoke to our local RWA chapter last month. The author of thirty books, Roxanne put the Fast Draft method to work for her. Much better than I ever could, she talked about the experience yesterday on Murder She Writes.

If you write and are looking for a way to do it better, faster, check Roxanne's column at: http://www.murdershewrites.com/2011/10/11/standing-on-my-skyscraper-sampling-some-crow out

Password Pandemonium

Password Pandemonium
The digital age is truly a wonderful thing, I love the way I can communicate with people around the world by email and skype (although I haven’t yet ventured into tweeting). I love being able to Google just about anything and find the answer. We’re presently contemplating a move to the UK from Australia. Being able to look at properties online and then take Mr.Google (I’m not sure if this is his real name) for a walk down the street the property is on and see if we like the neighborhood as much as the house is an incredible facility. I can keep up with friends on Facebook, view their latest albums and whatever wonderful things are happening in their lives and share ours with them.As one of our children lives overseas, we can keep in touch by email, skype and Facebook. We can share in her life, exchange ideas, take a walk around her new London flat with skype and feel almost as if she’s in the same room as us.Said daughter is marrying in England later this month. A few years ago, organizing a wedding from 12,000 miles away would’ve been impossible, but through the wonders of internet I’ve been able to search venues, then pop an email off to them and have an answer waiting in my inbox the next morning. We’ve been able view the galleries of venues, florists, photographers, cake makers, caterers, bridal boutiques and accommodation. Within a month of the engagement, everything was booked and invitations issued. Three months later, we’re about to board our flights from Australia to England, all courtesy of the Net. We’ve viewed and chosen our plane seats, chosen the meals we’d like to eat during the flights, booked transport to and from the airports, rented a car, a holiday flat in London and B&B’s throughout England. It’s truly marvelous!


BUTAnd yes, there has to be a BUT…While I love the internet and spend way too many hours trawling websites for any number of things, I absolutely HATE the whole password thing. Yes, I know it’s supposed to protect me, but if I can’t remember my password, or indeed which of the three email addresses I registered with, then it becomes all rather vexed. And useless. And sometimes downright nasty!One site I use a lot asks me for a number. If I don’t put that number in correctly and the password (the one I can’t remember) it gets very snippy at me. And then if I mess things up three times, it completely shuts down on me saying dire things about “failure” and “banning” access!And I know you’re going to say I should write down all my passwords somewhere, and I did, the only problem is, instead of calling the file something sensible like, oh… Passwords! I decided that would be a bit silly if I lost my laptop, so I’ve called it something else altogether. AND I’ve made it password protected…I’m on semi-friendly terms with sites that ask me politely, “forgotten your password?” and provide a link to security questions. Except on one of these sites, I’d accidentally mis-spelled my mother’s name in the security question. Took me months to work out where I’d gone wrong (and I have to confess I only discovered it when I retyped my mother’s name incorrectly) Of course I have no idea how to change the spelling in the original question. Other sites’ security questions are completely useless. One demanded I provide the name of my favorite sports team. I don’t have a favorite sports team, so I made it up. Now I can’t remember the name of that fictional sports team.It’s all very stressful when you really need to access one of these sites and are denied simply because you’re too silly to remember your password, or too lazy to write it down somewhere you’ll remember.However, I do remember my first ever telephone number (it’s only three digits, so not so hard, but it’s something I’m proud of and never get wrong!)So if I manage to post this blog, then you know I’ve successfully remembered my password and/or login name.What do you love and hate about the digital age? Do you have trouble with passwords, or do you have some helpful tips about them?

Till next month – and if I can manage to navigate my pictures album and upload a few photos of my daughter’s wedding in next month’s blog – did I tell you she’s getting married in a castle? (because she’s a princess of course) - I will. And if I can’t remember the password, then I won’t.CC!

LET IT RAIN!!

I’ve blogged a lot about the drought here in Texas. Not today. It’s raining. A slow steady rain is tap-tapping against my window screen as I type. Wonderful. I went outside to smell it. There's not a more pleasing scent than fresh much-needed rain. I hope it keeps drizzling on into the night. It’s going to take many, many more days of this to repair all the damage that has happened in the last few months with wildfires and lakes and ponds drying up. But it’s fall and a new season is here. No more 110 degree days. Our mornings have been in the low 50s. That’s a blessing because that hot sun was scorching everything. Our green lawn has taken a big hit. We water and water, but it’s not the same as God’s water. So let it rain. Let it rain!

I love to write in this type of weather. I love to read in this weather too. What type of weather gets your creative juices flowing?

Let it rain.

Linda
The Texan’s Bride – Oct ‘11

Sisters by Megan

I've had some hectic days lately. After attending the Georgia Romance Writers' conference, Moonlight and Magnolias, I spent three days with my sister, who lives in the Atlanta area. At the M&Ms, I presented two workshops. At my sister's house, I ate and slept and watched my Cardinals baseball team on TV (Y'all knew I was going to mention them, right?) and talked with my niece and nephew and my sister. I played with her grandchildren, and I walked with the new baby until he fell asleep in my arms. Is there anything more precious than a sleeping baby? (Except of course for my two kids, although they've long ago left the newborn stage behind.) Even after my niece rounded up her children and went home and I changed into my pajamas, I could still smell that newborn baby scent on my skin. What a lovely way to fall asleep.
NOTE--I did not have to stay up with him all night, or change his diaper, or soothe his tummy ache, or any of the myriad chores a new parent has to do. Trust me, I have not forgotten how tiring that is, and in no way am I wishing I was going through that again! But I love being an aunt, who hands the baby back when he cries. lol

When my sister and I were younger, we shared a bedroom for many years. I wore her hand-me-downs. We had sort of matching dresses (she had blue velvet and I had red velvet for Christmas, but they were the same style. The next year, I wore the blue velvet.) We bickered, we played together, we endured the same upbringing, we went to the same schools. There's so much about me I don't have to explain to her because she experienced it also. Our father passed away when we were young, and our lives changed. As the youngest, I had some of her teachers, and I had the "legacy" of all my siblings to live up to -- or to live down, lol. [waving to a certain sibling!]

This past week, I started out wearing my writer hat, presenting workshops, meeting other writers who I hope become new friends, and promoting my work. Then I was simply myself, enjoying my far-away family. I thoroughly enjoyed both ends of my vacation, and now I'm more than ready to be home.

I hope this post makes y'all think of the happy moments of childhood.
Megan

SEPTEMBER WINNER!!

CONGRATULATIONS Cynthia D’Alba! You’re the September winner. To receive your free autographed books please contact Megan Kelly, Roxann Delaney and Linda Warren through their Web sites.

To enter the contest simply leave a blog comment and your name will go into the drawing. Simple and painless. And FREE BOOKS.