Fabulous fall treats: powdered doughnuts and apple cider. Candy or caramel apples. Candy corn and those little mellowcreme pumpkins. I'm getting the shivers - not thinking about scary cosutmes - just thinking about all that sugar.
Trick or Treats has changed. My parents put time and effort into the treats they gave away. A paper napkin was unfolded. In this you put a couple of MaryJanes, a couple of circus peanuts (the orange marshmallow kind) and some candy corn and other small candies. A lollypop was put in the center and the four corners of the napkin were pulled up and twisted around the stick. Considering we had in the neighborhood of 100-150 kids come to the door, it was a fair amount of work. And the littlest kids started coming just as it got dark - which in the old days before daylight savings time extended into November was about 4:30.
We'll carve a pumpkin this afternoon and tonight we'll toast the seeds in the oven, sprinkled with salt. I love the crunch of the shell and the salty-sweet taste of the kernel.
The garden is winding down. One of the basil plants has turned completely brown; the other may give us one more batch of pesto. The raspberries are nearly done; there were only about a dozen ripe ones today; I ate them as I picked them.
Now the writing should be picking up. It's time to immerse myself in the new story, play the "what if" game and see where it leads. Rather than my usual "seat of the pants" method, I think this story will require some actual advanced planning. We'll see how far I can go - hopefully all the way to Happily Ever After. I've also got two sets of names for the hero and heroine. I'm not really sure how that happened.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Romance Genre Survey
Bronwyn Clarke, winner of the RWA 2007 Golden Heart for Best Romantic Suspense Manuscript, "Falling into Darkness" is conducting a survey on the "Online communities of romance readers and writers and their perspectives on the genre." The survey is part of her research for her PhD.
Please take a few moments of your time to complete the survey, which closes at midnight, Oct 31st.
http://bronwynclarke.com/survey.html
Please take a few moments of your time to complete the survey, which closes at midnight, Oct 31st.
http://bronwynclarke.com/survey.html
Saturday, October 27, 2007
First Frost
It's hard to believe that it's already the 27th of October, and we still have not had a frost. Fall is about 2 weeks late, here in the plains. We're not taking any chances; we'll pick all the tomatoes and peppers today.
As for the writing, I've picked up a story that I began just before I first saw the photo of the pendant. It's been percolating for a while; there are about three chapters or so in very rough draft. We'll see what the characters have been doing while I was busy telling Luke and Callie's story.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Enter A Contest!
It's easy, it's fun, and you can win a great prize!
Here's how to enter:
Answer the two questions taken from exerpts of *The Pendant: Callie*, available from Moonlit Romance. www.moonlitromance.com
The answer to the first question can be found in the exerpt that was posted here on my blog on Release Day. For the answer to the second question, visit The Pendant ~ Journeys Through Time website and read the exerpt there.
Email your answers to: susan atwood writes @ g mail dot com
Close up all the spaces and change dot to a period. Because spam should clog your arteries, not your inbox.
Make sure to put "Contest Entry" in the subject line!
Everyone with the correct answers will be entered in a drawing for a download of
*The Pendant: Callie* and a Try-Me kit from Devita Natural Skin Care.
http://www.devita.net/
The contest ends on Wednesday 10/31/07. Winners will be announced on Friday, 11/2/07.
From my blog:
Question #1: Luke calls Callie by the name of a character in a childrens' book and recent movie. What name does he call her?
From The Pendant ~ Journeys Through Time website:
http://www.freewebs.com/thependant/
Question #2: Dacien looks at Callie with eyes that burn with the same fire as this stone. What is it?
Good Luck All!
Here's how to enter:
Answer the two questions taken from exerpts of *The Pendant: Callie*, available from Moonlit Romance. www.moonlitromance.com
The answer to the first question can be found in the exerpt that was posted here on my blog on Release Day. For the answer to the second question, visit The Pendant ~ Journeys Through Time website and read the exerpt there.
Email your answers to: susan atwood writes @ g mail dot com
Close up all the spaces and change dot to a period. Because spam should clog your arteries, not your inbox.
Make sure to put "Contest Entry" in the subject line!
Everyone with the correct answers will be entered in a drawing for a download of
*The Pendant: Callie* and a Try-Me kit from Devita Natural Skin Care.
http://www.devita.net/
The contest ends on Wednesday 10/31/07. Winners will be announced on Friday, 11/2/07.
From my blog:
Question #1: Luke calls Callie by the name of a character in a childrens' book and recent movie. What name does he call her?
From The Pendant ~ Journeys Through Time website:
http://www.freewebs.com/thependant/
Question #2: Dacien looks at Callie with eyes that burn with the same fire as this stone. What is it?
Good Luck All!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
More Garden
The plan was to post some pictures of the Book Garden yesterday. As usual, things didn't work out quite as planned. My daughter took the camera to the state Student Council convention. So, here is what I'm calling my Book Garden- minus furniture as the weather had been rainy and we didn't put it back outside. The area has several names, mostly depending on my husband's beverage of the moment. :) We like to sit here to read or to relax after working in the yard. The empty space under the window used to have a beautiful calla lily, but it was getting too much water, so we moved it.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Garden
According to my husband, yesterday was the last nice day that we will have this year. I'm not sure what he means by *nice* - but yesterday's high temperature was near 80 degrees. I'm still looking for those sunny, crisp fall days when the sky is dark blue, the clouds are impossibly white, and the trees and shrubs are a whirl of gold, red, orange, and brown. I hope we'll have lots of those before winter sets in.
Those are my favorite days of the whole year. Working in the garden is invigorating, and there is something wonderfully cinnamony-apple baking in the kitchen.
For now, we're letting the tomatoes and peppers stay. We've had so much rain this month that all of the tomatoes are split before they ripen. But with colder weather just around the corner, it is time to rescue some of the more tender plants. Today, we're bringing in a calla lily, rosemary, and some Australian violets that won't survive the harsh Midwestern winter. And with some TLC and a lot of luck, we'll be returning them to the garden next May.
Those are my favorite days of the whole year. Working in the garden is invigorating, and there is something wonderfully cinnamony-apple baking in the kitchen.
For now, we're letting the tomatoes and peppers stay. We've had so much rain this month that all of the tomatoes are split before they ripen. But with colder weather just around the corner, it is time to rescue some of the more tender plants. Today, we're bringing in a calla lily, rosemary, and some Australian violets that won't survive the harsh Midwestern winter. And with some TLC and a lot of luck, we'll be returning them to the garden next May.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Release Day!
*The Pendant: Callie* will be available today from Moonlit Romance! And here, just to whet your appetite, is a bit for your enjoyment:
Callie knelt before him and watched his face as she pried the shoe off, but he showed no evidence of pain. Anger? Oh, yeah, there was still plenty of that. His eyes were blue lasers that bored a hole right through her. A small muscle worked in a jaw clamped so tight Callie was afraid he’d break his teeth.
She removed his sock, took his foot in her hand and bent her head to examine it. The base of his big toe was red and swollen, and the nail was chipped.
“We need to get some ice on that. Stay put.”
Callie rummaged through a drawer and came up with a plastic bag with a zip closure. She grabbed the ice tray from the fridge and dumped half-frozen cubes and cold water into the bag.
“Of all the hare-brained stunts, this one takes the cake,” Luke growled.
“Hare-brained?” Callie wheeled on him, hands on her hips. “You call that hare-brained? I’ve studied hares, and I’ll have you know that they are not stupid, if that is what you’re implying. In fact, they’re quite intelligent. And if you’d let go of the hammer in first place—”
“Okay, Doctor Dolittle, whatever. It was still dangerous to be hanging out the window like that.”
Doctor Dolittle?
“Here’s your ice.”
She knew she shouldn’t push him any more. After all, the man was holding on to his temper by a thread. But still…
The bag of ice cubes fell from Callie’s hand.
“Ouch!”
“Oops.” Callie spun on her heel. Before she could stalk away, Luke’s hand shot out; his fingers closed around her wrist like a vise and yanked her back. The room darkened to pinpoints of light, just like the end of an old cartoon. That low hum grew louder, resonating in her head.
She needed to sit down. Quick.
(c) 2007 by Susan Atwood
Callie knelt before him and watched his face as she pried the shoe off, but he showed no evidence of pain. Anger? Oh, yeah, there was still plenty of that. His eyes were blue lasers that bored a hole right through her. A small muscle worked in a jaw clamped so tight Callie was afraid he’d break his teeth.
She removed his sock, took his foot in her hand and bent her head to examine it. The base of his big toe was red and swollen, and the nail was chipped.
“We need to get some ice on that. Stay put.”
Callie rummaged through a drawer and came up with a plastic bag with a zip closure. She grabbed the ice tray from the fridge and dumped half-frozen cubes and cold water into the bag.
“Of all the hare-brained stunts, this one takes the cake,” Luke growled.
“Hare-brained?” Callie wheeled on him, hands on her hips. “You call that hare-brained? I’ve studied hares, and I’ll have you know that they are not stupid, if that is what you’re implying. In fact, they’re quite intelligent. And if you’d let go of the hammer in first place—”
“Okay, Doctor Dolittle, whatever. It was still dangerous to be hanging out the window like that.”
Doctor Dolittle?
“Here’s your ice.”
She knew she shouldn’t push him any more. After all, the man was holding on to his temper by a thread. But still…
The bag of ice cubes fell from Callie’s hand.
“Ouch!”
“Oops.” Callie spun on her heel. Before she could stalk away, Luke’s hand shot out; his fingers closed around her wrist like a vise and yanked her back. The room darkened to pinpoints of light, just like the end of an old cartoon. That low hum grew louder, resonating in her head.
She needed to sit down. Quick.
(c) 2007 by Susan Atwood
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Inspiration
Friends and relatives have asked: How did you come up with the idea for this book? Well, it all started about a year and a half ago. A friend in an online writing group was selling some old costume jewelry. She posted pictures of the pieces. I was browsing through the pictures when one struck me - a pendant with an opal in the center and eight emerald-green stones surrounding it. Wow, I thought. What an interesting piece. Just look at the picture - I think it's beautiful.
I kept thinking about the pendant - and then I started to wonder - what if it had magical powers? What if it could tell who your soul mate was?
I contacted Laura Hamby and said - hey, here's an idea for a continuity series. You can write one, and find some other people who are interested in the concept. She said - you write one. I said, Oh, No! I'm just giving you the idea.
And then she said those three little words - I'll help you.
So together, we wrote the prologue and came up with the elements of the series that will carry from book to book: Dacien, the guardian of the pendant, his wife, Lena, and the antique shop, Tesoro del Cuore (which means Treasure of the Heart in Italian.)
And that's how it started - and the result is The Pendant: Callie - book one in the series, and The Pendant: Maeve, Laura's story, which will be out in November.
Susan
I kept thinking about the pendant - and then I started to wonder - what if it had magical powers? What if it could tell who your soul mate was?
I contacted Laura Hamby and said - hey, here's an idea for a continuity series. You can write one, and find some other people who are interested in the concept. She said - you write one. I said, Oh, No! I'm just giving you the idea.
And then she said those three little words - I'll help you.
So together, we wrote the prologue and came up with the elements of the series that will carry from book to book: Dacien, the guardian of the pendant, his wife, Lena, and the antique shop, Tesoro del Cuore (which means Treasure of the Heart in Italian.)
And that's how it started - and the result is The Pendant: Callie - book one in the series, and The Pendant: Maeve, Laura's story, which will be out in November.
Susan
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Hero
Luke Wolverton Graham needs to fix things. The business he started with two college buddies provides computer security. Fixing things is his business, and it spills over into his private life. His sister, Jennie, can attest to that. Ever since Jennie fell out of a tree at the age of eight, Luke has watched over her - like a hawk.
When he meets the new Zoology professor, he knows she's trouble. The woman drives like a maniac and hangs out fourth-floor windows. How can he keep an eye on this Do-It-Yourself-disaster-in-waiting and still run a business?
When he meets the new Zoology professor, he knows she's trouble. The woman drives like a maniac and hangs out fourth-floor windows. How can he keep an eye on this Do-It-Yourself-disaster-in-waiting and still run a business?
Monday, October 15, 2007
The Heroine
Meet Calantha Hass, the heroine in my upcoming release *The Pendant: Callie.* Callie hails from Red Prairie, Kansas, population 433. The youngest of five children, with four brothers, Callie has been protected and coddled all her life. Now she is more than ready for a change. With the ink barely dry on her diploma, Callie accepts a position as assistant professor of Zoology at Cherwell Springs College in Elm Springs, Pennsylvania.
To go along with her new position, Callie also has a new attitude. No more relying on her brothers to help her. This is the new Callie. The independent Callie. The Callie who is going to do whatever it takes to be independent.
All this determined independence is good - to a point. But what happens when Callie meets a man who fixes things for a living?
Susan
To go along with her new position, Callie also has a new attitude. No more relying on her brothers to help her. This is the new Callie. The independent Callie. The Callie who is going to do whatever it takes to be independent.
All this determined independence is good - to a point. But what happens when Callie meets a man who fixes things for a living?
Susan
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Catching up
It all comes from using every available minute to work on my upcoming release, *The Pendant: Callie.* Once the edits and revisions were done, I thought, okay, downtime. Ha! There was the galley waiting for my attention. I finished the galley corrections yesterday, and today I received the review copy.
Today I spent the whole day catching up - laundry, a bit of housecleaning, paying more than cursory attention to the dog and cat. Now it's time for some fun!
Join my fellow writer, Laura Hamby, on the Spooky Express. She is posting clues to her next stop on her blog - see if you can guess the spot!
http://laurahamby.blogspot.com/
~Susan
Today I spent the whole day catching up - laundry, a bit of housecleaning, paying more than cursory attention to the dog and cat. Now it's time for some fun!
Join my fellow writer, Laura Hamby, on the Spooky Express. She is posting clues to her next stop on her blog - see if you can guess the spot!
http://laurahamby.blogspot.com/
~Susan
Monday, October 8, 2007
Late nights and early mornings
Staying up late to wait for my daughter to come home from a marching band competition on Saturday, then waking up often last night as a series of thunderstorms rolled through our area brought to mind this picture. And you know he's saying, "How come the cat always gets the top bunk?"
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Busy Saturday
I always plan a lot for Saturdays. It seems that it's the only day that my husband and I have to do all those chores and errands that we need to do together. But inspite of all our good intentions, we never seem to accomplish everything on the list. Today was no exception. I really don't know where the time went!
~Susan
~Susan
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Cover Art
Here is the cover for my upcoming release
I love it!And here is the back cover blurb:
Callie Haas thinks it’s about time she takes charge of her life and leave the family home in Kansas. The first step is taking a teaching position at Cherwell Springs College in Pennsylvania. The next step? Finding a place to live. Easier said than done, given the housing shortage in Elm Springs.
Luke Graham, computer technology whiz and Callie’s new landlord, can’t stop thinking about the new Zoology professor. Her penchant for risk-taking drives him insane. How can he keep her from injuring herself during her quest for independence if she won’t let him help her?
Complicating matters is an antique pendant with the magical power to bring soul mates together. Too bad the pendant believes Callie’s soul mate is a man she can’t stand. Luke. She is determined to prove the pendant wrong. All she needs to do is survive her debunking experiment, and keep firm hold of her heart. Easy. Right?
~Susan
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Down to the Wire
The Moonlit Monday chat was a lot of fun. My neighbor won the doorprize. Thanks to all who came!
Okay, this is it, and we're down to the wire. Today is the deadline! I'll be spending the day formatting The Pendant: Callie, and then sending it off for publication.
For anyone who believes that writing romance is all marabou feather boas and high-heeled mules and chocolate bon-bons, well...
Okay, it is about the chocolate! But it's also hard sit-you-tail-in-the-chair-'til-it's-numb work!
But in spite of it all, I'm having a blast!
Check out the Moonlit Readers' Group contest. The link is on the Moonlit Romance home page.
http://www.moonlitromance.com/
Back to the salt mines
Okay, this is it, and we're down to the wire. Today is the deadline! I'll be spending the day formatting The Pendant: Callie, and then sending it off for publication.
For anyone who believes that writing romance is all marabou feather boas and high-heeled mules and chocolate bon-bons, well...
Okay, it is about the chocolate! But it's also hard sit-you-tail-in-the-chair-'til-it's-numb work!
But in spite of it all, I'm having a blast!
Check out the Moonlit Readers' Group contest. The link is on the Moonlit Romance home page.
http://www.moonlitromance.com/
Back to the salt mines
Monday, October 1, 2007
Welcome
Welcome to Susan's Book Garden. I'm pleased to announce that my book, The Pendant: Callie will be available this month from Moonlit Romance. Stop by the Moonlit website. Check out the authors' blog and join the readers loop. Tonight at 9 p.m. US Eastern time is the Moonlit Monday chat. We'll be discussing my book.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
