Winter Wonderland

Happy Holidays to everyone.

I took this photo of our white birch tree after a morning of freezing fog. We've had snow on the ground since Thanksgiving, with a few inches more expected tonight and tomorrow morning.

A Review

*The Pendant: Callie* just got its first review from Coffeetime Romance. 4 cups!
Read the whole review here:
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Thependantcallie.html

And apologies for dropping Turkey for Dinner in mid-story. Between family demands and a nasty virus that's hit the family (me included! ) I've barely had a coherent thought in the past 10 days. A new installment will be up today.

Short Story

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?

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/

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!

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!

There's a thing in my garden

Huge and green. With a horn on the end to boot, and some huge mandibles.