Tomorrow’s the big day. DD’s first day of middle school and DS’s first day as a BMOC — yah, he’s a fifth grader. Today’s kinda crazy rushing around trying to get everything finished and together for tomorrow. I really didn’t like the alarm going off at 6am in preparation for this momentous occasion. We’re also…
I’ve been fascinated with Gunter’s Tea Shop lately. It now figures prominently in two of my stories. Located in Berkeley Square, it capitalized on the fashionable pastime of gentlemen taking ladies for rides in their carriages and provided one of the few places they could stop to socialize without risk to reputation. Besides, who doesn’t…
13 Middle School Differences My oldest child starts middle school in less than a week. I’m not a big fan of new situations or unfamiliar ones, but luckily DD is much more like her father in this respect. She spent yesterday morning at orientation camp, where they “played dumb, boring games” and took…
One of the fun things about writing historicals is you have to learn all this really cool trivia. You need to be able to set the stage and do it in a believable manner. This includes how to properly dress your characters. And every sharp-dressed man should wear a cravat. Contemporary heroes have life easy….
Another author on Romance Divas was having problems with her hero. Someone suggested calling him Hubert until he gave in and whispered his true name in her ear. Apparently the name didn’t get to him as much as giving him a hobby like woodworking. She finally learned his name was Ethan and he sailed. Going…
13 Online Virtual Workshops Romance Divas had their own Not-Going-To-Conference Conference last week during RWA Nationals and there was a lot of good information to be had, but I also found out Lynn Viehl hosts her own virtual workshop deal (Left Behind and Loving It) on her blog PaperBack Writer. Lots more to…
On Sunday, I dragged my kids with me down to El Cajon to the Romance World bookstore. Two of my favorite Avon authors, Suzanne Enoch and Teresa Medeiros were signing their newest books, Before the Scandal: The Notorious Gentlemen and Some Like It Wicked. After attending the Janet Evanovich event here at Borders, I was…
I’ve been trying to work on a short story at Bria’s instigation. I’ve got a basic plot line and some conflict thrown in. I know what the hero and heroine were like as kids, but now that they’ve grown up, I barely know them any more. I have a general idea of how they’ve changed…
Yesterday’s earthquake that was in the Chino Hills/Diamond Bar area east of LA is old news by now. In the 20 minutes after it happened I got to calls. One from my mom on the east coast (who had been called by my uncle on this side of the Rockies) to find out if we’d…
Ok, not quite alone, but it seems like everyone’s gearing up for the RWA National convention in San Francisco this week. And I’m not actually going to be home all week either. We’re going camping with the Cub Scouts again this weekend — only two left! This is going to be more like “extreme picnicking”…