With Thanksgiving only a week away (where did the rest of this month go??) I'm gearing up for T-day here at home - juggling things in the freezer in hopes that by Saturday I'll be able to go buy the main attraction and have him fit.
Ice cream, anyone?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
New Pendant Book!
This is release week for the second book in the Pendant series: *The Pendant: Maeve* by Laura Hamby, from Moonlit Romance http://www.moonlitromance.com/
Laura and I had a blast creating the elements that will "travel" from book to book: the antique shop, Tesoro del Cuore, it's proprietor, Dacien, and of course, the unusual properties of the pendant itself.
So, check it out all this week. Laura is featured on the Authors' Blog : http://ue_authors.bravejournal.com/
There is also an excerpt up on her blog: http://laurahamby.blogspot.com/
And don't forget to visit The Pendant ~ Journeys Through Time website, which is devoted to this series:
http://www.freewebs.com/thependant/
Laura and I had a blast creating the elements that will "travel" from book to book: the antique shop, Tesoro del Cuore, it's proprietor, Dacien, and of course, the unusual properties of the pendant itself.
So, check it out all this week. Laura is featured on the Authors' Blog : http://ue_authors.bravejournal.com/
There is also an excerpt up on her blog: http://laurahamby.blogspot.com/
And don't forget to visit The Pendant ~ Journeys Through Time website, which is devoted to this series:
http://www.freewebs.com/thependant/
Monday, November 12, 2007
A New Hero
Sometimes I find it difficult to let go of a character so I can move on to a new project. And that is how I feel about Luke Graham in *The Pendant: Callie*
Luke is the epitome of the good guy - even though his efforts are sometimes misguided. His feelings of guilt over his sister's accident have colored his perception of responsibility and have greatly influenced his relationships. After all, if you can't keep an eye on your little sister for a few hours, how on earth could you keep a wife and children safe?
As interesting as I find Luke, it is time to let him go and get to work on a new hero: C. Jefferson Worth. Jeff's attitude toward responsibility is a little different - he is willing to tackle any project his father throws his way, but when it comes to managing a multi-million dollar trust fund for Carilla Morgan, a grad student at NYU, he balks. Unfortuntely, there is nothing he can do. And because Jeff has seen several close friends run through that type on money like it was water, he is bound and determined to keep Carilla's spending under control. His control.
I'm enjoying the nuances of Jeff's character as they develop - and I'm enjoying the tussles he's having with Carilla!
Luke is the epitome of the good guy - even though his efforts are sometimes misguided. His feelings of guilt over his sister's accident have colored his perception of responsibility and have greatly influenced his relationships. After all, if you can't keep an eye on your little sister for a few hours, how on earth could you keep a wife and children safe?
As interesting as I find Luke, it is time to let him go and get to work on a new hero: C. Jefferson Worth. Jeff's attitude toward responsibility is a little different - he is willing to tackle any project his father throws his way, but when it comes to managing a multi-million dollar trust fund for Carilla Morgan, a grad student at NYU, he balks. Unfortuntely, there is nothing he can do. And because Jeff has seen several close friends run through that type on money like it was water, he is bound and determined to keep Carilla's spending under control. His control.
I'm enjoying the nuances of Jeff's character as they develop - and I'm enjoying the tussles he's having with Carilla!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Character Study
What makes the ideal heroine? We all have our own opinions - the wild-child, the spunky go-getter, the sweet girl-next-door. I like my heroines to have a measure of independence - like Callie does in *The Pendant: Callie.* She's independent to a fault, however, and this nearly costs her relationship with Luke.
My latest heroine, Carilla Morgan, has a streak of stubborness and independence as well, but she is not as strongly motivated as Callie. Callie was being smothered by her well-meaning but definitely overbearing family. With four older brothers watching her every move, it's no wonder she fled to Elm Springs, PA.
On the other hand, Carilla has just lost her father, leaving only her Aunt Elizabeth and two cousins as her closest relatives. With independence foisted on her, she turns to the people in her apartment building and they become her "family." When she uses her inheritence to help them, she runs into a road-block: C. Jefferson Worth, who controls the trust fund left to Carilla by her father.
Carilla is stubborn and creative, and she uses these characteristics to outwit Jeff. Meanwhile, Jeff is doing all he can to keep Carilla from running through her inheritence. He's also been charged with the task of keeping her safe from fortune hunters. Fortune hunters!!?? In modern day New York City? No wonder Carilla thinks she's been trapped in a Regency romance novel!
My latest heroine, Carilla Morgan, has a streak of stubborness and independence as well, but she is not as strongly motivated as Callie. Callie was being smothered by her well-meaning but definitely overbearing family. With four older brothers watching her every move, it's no wonder she fled to Elm Springs, PA.
On the other hand, Carilla has just lost her father, leaving only her Aunt Elizabeth and two cousins as her closest relatives. With independence foisted on her, she turns to the people in her apartment building and they become her "family." When she uses her inheritence to help them, she runs into a road-block: C. Jefferson Worth, who controls the trust fund left to Carilla by her father.
Carilla is stubborn and creative, and she uses these characteristics to outwit Jeff. Meanwhile, Jeff is doing all he can to keep Carilla from running through her inheritence. He's also been charged with the task of keeping her safe from fortune hunters. Fortune hunters!!?? In modern day New York City? No wonder Carilla thinks she's been trapped in a Regency romance novel!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
There's a thing in my garden
Huge and green. With a horn on the end to boot, and some huge mandibles.Freeze, but the writing is hot!
Okay, last night did it. A hard freeze. We'd spent the weekend pulling out the tomatoes and peppers and a bunch of marigolds, and trimming back some annuals that were scraggly.
I'd seen a really fat, green catapillar on one of the tomato plants and just ignored him - and a few days later, his friend. And in my "Oh, but it's going to be a butterfly or a moth" misplaced sympathy, I decided to leave them on a tomato branch instead of sending them to the yard waste collection.
Then I did a little internet sleuthing. Yep. Tomato hornworms.
So, in 40 mph winds, I hike out to find the critters. The big one was gone, naturally. They burrow into the ground to pupate, which I'm sure is where it is now.
Of course the website I visited suggested "squishing" them as a control method in a small garden; I'd like to see whoever wrote the article "squish" a caterpillar that is 5" long and 1/2" in diameter and has a pointy hook on its rear end.
Daylight savings gives us so much. You really pay for that extra hour of sleep you get on Sunday morning. We're paying because the animals have decided they're not falling back this year, and between the dog woofing and the cat crying at the door, you just may as well get up. Well, today I just ignored the beasts, and in that wonderful state between sleep and awake, plotted two scenes for my new work-in-progress.
Of course this comes on a day when I'm running errands galore and still haven't even opened the document. I have about 35 minutes before it's time to pick up the car from the garage... let's see what I can do!
I'd seen a really fat, green catapillar on one of the tomato plants and just ignored him - and a few days later, his friend. And in my "Oh, but it's going to be a butterfly or a moth" misplaced sympathy, I decided to leave them on a tomato branch instead of sending them to the yard waste collection.
Then I did a little internet sleuthing. Yep. Tomato hornworms.
So, in 40 mph winds, I hike out to find the critters. The big one was gone, naturally. They burrow into the ground to pupate, which I'm sure is where it is now.
Of course the website I visited suggested "squishing" them as a control method in a small garden; I'd like to see whoever wrote the article "squish" a caterpillar that is 5" long and 1/2" in diameter and has a pointy hook on its rear end.
Daylight savings gives us so much. You really pay for that extra hour of sleep you get on Sunday morning. We're paying because the animals have decided they're not falling back this year, and between the dog woofing and the cat crying at the door, you just may as well get up. Well, today I just ignored the beasts, and in that wonderful state between sleep and awake, plotted two scenes for my new work-in-progress.
Of course this comes on a day when I'm running errands galore and still haven't even opened the document. I have about 35 minutes before it's time to pick up the car from the garage... let's see what I can do!
Friday, November 2, 2007
Contest Winner!
Congratulations JoAnn Carter, you've won *The Pendant: Callie* and a TryMe kit from Devita Natural Skin Care!
Thanks to all who participated!
Check back, I'll be having another contest soon!
Thanks to all who participated!
Check back, I'll be having another contest soon!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Frosty, But Not Freezy
Thanks to all who participated in the contest. The winner will be announced tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the garden is still holding its own. We had a heavy frost in some areas last night, but it didn't do much damage in the garden. Even the most tender of the plants are still green. It is time spray the evergreens with an anti-wilting solution that will protect them from the bitter cold and harsh winter winds that they're subjected to here in the plains. This weekend will be busy as we add mulch to the perennial beds and start clearing out the annuals.
Writing was a little slow today. I came up with some names for two secondary characters that I think fit their personalities well. After all, a woman who wears lurid blue nail polish and eyeshadow needs a name that stands up to her quirkiness! The plot is plodding along. There were a lot of interruptions this morning; hopefully tomorrow things will take off.
Meanwhile, the garden is still holding its own. We had a heavy frost in some areas last night, but it didn't do much damage in the garden. Even the most tender of the plants are still green. It is time spray the evergreens with an anti-wilting solution that will protect them from the bitter cold and harsh winter winds that they're subjected to here in the plains. This weekend will be busy as we add mulch to the perennial beds and start clearing out the annuals.
Writing was a little slow today. I came up with some names for two secondary characters that I think fit their personalities well. After all, a woman who wears lurid blue nail polish and eyeshadow needs a name that stands up to her quirkiness! The plot is plodding along. There were a lot of interruptions this morning; hopefully tomorrow things will take off.
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