Sally's Ramblings

The Duchess of Love

2012-02-05T09:11:00.011-05:00

Here's the cover for my May e-novella, "The Duchess of Love," that introduces my new series about a matchmaking mother and her three sons.

I originally planned the series as only a trilogy with the duchess a widow, but then my agent suggested I write the duchess's love story. Once I met the duke, I couldn't kill him off! I had to revise my plans. The duke became a character, and his oldest son got "demoted"--he couldn't be the title holder any longer. That changed a lot about his story--more than just how I referred to him.

It's a good thing I'm more of a "pantser"--a "go with the flow" kind of writer--than a strict plotter.

Judging a book by its cover

2012-01-29T14:03:00.003-05:00

So it's RITA--a Romance Writers of America contest for published authors--judging time, and I got my panel of books to read and score. I'm not one who likes to make decisions, so a number of years ago I had my youngest son stack the books in the order he thought I should read them. He went away to college and I was on my own for four years, but now he's back, so I asked him to put the books in order-to-be-read again.

I was in the living room and he was in the kitchen where I'd spread out the books for him to choose. He calls over--did I want to read them best to worst or worst to best? Hmm, I thought, this should be interesting. I knew he knew nothing about the authors and would never knowingly read a romance. I also knew he was going to spend about 2 and 1/2 seconds on this decision. "Worst to best," I said.

After he left, I went out to the kitchen to see how he'd ordered them. I wasn't surprised. The "worst" books had covers that were sexy or sweet; the "best" books were rather stark, looking like they might offer murder and mayhem.

Have I mentioned my family consists of one husband and four sons?

More resolutions and San Francisco

2012-01-08T12:12:00.000-05:00

I managed to get through a week without playing computer solitaire. Yay, me! I had to fight the urge far too many times, but maybe it will get easier. My next step to reclaiming my life and being more productive is to limit my time on-line. This will be a far bigger challenge since the Internet is my main method of communication. And I did do a little bit of tidying—I recycled a few ancient papers.

And now, as promised, some more pictures from our San Francisco trip. I’m writing this on Windows Live Writer, which I haven’t used for a while and never mastered, so we’ll see how it goes.

Anyway, San Francisco is a wonderful, walkable city (assuming you’re part mountain goat). It’s a little like Washington, D.C., that way—except minus the mountain goat bit. And because of all the “hills” and man-made vantage points like the Coit Tower, there are lots of places to take in the view. Here’s a shot of the skyline, I think from the Coit Tower:

And a view from the bay side:

For a more close up “experience” of the hills—Mr. M. took this shot while we were riding on a cable car, though I’m not sure you really get the vertical “feel”:

Perhaps this helps:

This was taken at the bottom of the famously crooked Lombard Street.

Suffice it to say, we got plenty of exercise, even just walking the few blocks to one of the local Starbucks!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T19:53:00.002-05:00

Happy 2012! The start of a new year is always a good time to make resolutions, so here are three of mine.

1. Live in the moment. Of course, I can't live totally in the moment. I have doctors appointments, book deadlines, and other things cluttering up my calendar. I have to plan in various ways to be sure those things get done. But I don't have to worry about them. Worry and regret are two useless emotions--or at least so I tell myself. I do better if I can think about the paragraph or the scene I'm writing right now and not the 400 pages or 100,000 words I still have to write.

2. Tidy. There's lots of tidying that needs to happen around here, especially as son #3 and daughter-in-law-to-be say they'd like to have their rehearsal dinner here at our house this summer. Oh, dear. I'm not much into interior decorating, and I'll admit to hoarding tendencies. Mr. M says I'm a bit rodent-like, making piles of papers and books and other stuff. So I need to try to get rid of things, organize what I want to keep, and maybe--probably--buy some new furniture.

3. Stop wasting time. I've given up playing computer solitaire. This is my second day of going cold turkey. I know it will get easier each day I manage to resist its siren call--or at least I hope it will.

Anyone else have some new year's resolutions? Feel free to share--and good luck with them!

Christmas presents

2011-12-26T15:49:00.006-05:00

After our trip to San Francisco (more pictures to come...eventually), I had a serious case of camera envy. My husband's camera isn't terribly fancy, but it takes (or maybe HE takes) much better pictures than I get with my little point and shoot. Not that small cameras don't have their place in the world. Having something that will slip into a purse or pocket is great for taking spur of the moment pictures or shots at writers conferences--except now if I remember to take any pictures, I tend to use my phone. But a bigger camera with better lenses--in this case, a single lens reflex (SLR)...well, there really is no comparison.

Back when I was in college many, many moons ago, I took a photography course. I had somewhat artsy aspirations then and an SLR with a zoom lens...which used film. (I even learned to develop black and white film.) I wasn't a particularly educated photographer; I just liked to look through the lens and take pictures. Sometimes they turned out well...and sometimes not so much. But it was fun. Once I had kids, I took pictures of them. It's much easier to photograph a baby in an infant seat than the same baby--older, of course--running cross country. By the time I pushed the shutter button, all I usually got was the heel of his spikes. And then the babies went off to college and I never made the jump to digital.

So now I've got my fancy camera--not TOO fancy, I hope--and I'm pouring over the instruction booklet. Son #2 just spotted a heron in the park across the street. Husband ran to open the front door while I grabbed the camera and tried to remember how to turn it on. I did get a picture of the bird as he (or she) took off again, but the photo won't be making its appearance here. The only way I know I captured the image was to use another cool camera function and zoom in on the picture to find the blurry image of the large bird with its wings outstretched.

I think for a while--hopefully not forever--I'll have more luck shooting pictures of trees.

Holiday music

2011-12-23T16:51:00.003-05:00

Need some music to get in the holiday spirit? Here's a flash mob rendition of the Hallelujah chorus that made the rounds last year, but is till a winner in my book.

And the Maccabeats had a hit last Hanukkah with Candlelight. This year they're back with Miracle.

Enjoy! I'm off to finally decorate our Christmas tree. Yes, I'm a little behind.

Happy holidays!

2011-12-19T15:30:00.006-05:00

I love the holidays, but I'm sadly not very organized about them anymore. I seem to have had writing deadlines clustered around these dates in the last few years--a nice "problem" to have, I will admit. And now that all my kids are adults, the season has an entirely different energy level than it did when they were children. We used to have to decree that no one could get up before 6 on Christmas morning; now we have to wake some boys up or we wouldn't start opening presents until afternoon.

This year we'll miss third son--he's staying in California with his fiancee and her family--but we'll have oldest son and his wife back from Denver. In fact, they'll be living with us while they look for apartments--oldest son has taken a job here. (Yay! says mama.) But having guests--especially a female guest who might actually appreciate some level of cleanliness--requires a massive tidying effort. And I'll confess my house is massively untidy. So with Bookmas over, I'm hanging up my blogging hat for a bit; I do hope to get back here on a somewhat regular basis in the new year. I still have San Francisco pictures to share!

Have a wonderful holiday time with family and friends--and find time to read a good romance, if you can.

Bookmas Day 12

2011-12-16T12:05:00.007-05:00

I wrote the first few drafts of our family Christmas letter yesterday. I usually try to get it done around Thanksgiving, but I was too busy with various book production tasks to do it then.

Some folks start foaming at the mouth at merely the mention of a Christmas letter. Actually, I'm related to some of them. We heard through the grapevine that a particular person connected by marriage didn't appreciate getting our news, so we obligingly took them off the mailing list. And I can still remember how, when I was growing up, my folks and I used to laugh--and not in a good way--at the few Christmas letters we'd get.

I confess, I don't really understand that reaction now.

I started our Christmas letter tradition when I realized I was writing virtually the same thing to everyone on my Christmas card list. I just don't have that exciting a life nor that much time or creativity at holiday time (if ever) to compose a deep, detailed missive to everyone--that's true now, but it was even more true when I had four little boys age seven to zero. If I wrote it once--on the computer and thus, as an added bargain, saving me writer's cramp--I could fill everyone in on our doings and then add a short personal note where appropriate.

And yes, I've gotten those eye-rolling letters that non-fans of the genre like to point to and make fun of. It was one such letter that contributed to my decision to write my own. (Akin, I suppose, to what some authors say motivated them to write their first book--they thought they could do better than something they'd read.) While I hope my letters are both mildly entertaining and informative, I also hope the people I send them to are my friends who are really just interested to see what the MacKenzie clan has been up to this year. I know I look forward to reading their news no matter how well or how awkwardly written. And that letter that made me roll my eyes and set me on the Christmas letter path? I was still very happy to get it.

Back when I was growing up, my folks used to send Christmas cards with their name imprinted--not even a signature. I'm not faulting them. In fact, I looked forward to my dad bringing home the books of cards for us to pour through and choose from. And, due to his job, he had to send cards to business associates--a Christmas letter would not have been appropriate. But, hey, if you're on my list and you send me a card, I want to hear your story!

Last Bookmas clue: metal mannequin.

Bookmas Day 11

2011-12-15T12:05:00.001-05:00

I'm SO far behind on all things Christmas, so this will be a short post, too, and maybe even lamer than the others ;)

1. I'd really get excited if there was anything about AAAs, but I'm not holding my breath.

2. Not out of.

Bookmas Day 10

2011-12-14T12:05:00.005-05:00

Yay! Copy edits are handed in!!! Now I should get back to work on the book that's due in May, but I just can't. I have to catch up with everything I let slide. And then there's the little matter of holidays coming.

I also realize I've been rather remiss in linking back to the BookEnds blog that explains Bookmas. You can find it here.

I had to laugh when I saw the answer to Lauren's clue. I was an English major, and frankly I think it set my writing back years. I went to college thinking books were magical, that they conveyed some sort of truth and emotion and meaning. And then I read Lost in the Funhouse (John Barth), Trout Fishing in America (Richard Brautigan), and The Crying of Lot 49 (Thomas Pynchon). I just didn't get it. Even Vonnegut left me cold. I guess I was always meant to be a genre writer, though I don't believe romance had yet been "discovered" as a genre.

But I did like this author that Lauren doesn't. I don't believe I ever took a class in this person's work, but I do have a few of his/her writings around here somewhere. and I certainly smile when I read his/her name. Just goes to show, I guess, that so much of literature is taste. We all like different books for different, good reasons.

So here's my clue: Actually, I write on the living room love seat.

Oh, and please pardon my typos. I seem to be all copy edited out.

Bookmas Day 9

2011-12-13T12:05:00.002-05:00

Not much more than a clue today--I'm still working away on the copy edits. They are due, so they must be done.

I have a somewhat painful writing method, alas. I agonize over Every. Single. Word. I almost repeat the process on copy edits. Those are a little bit easier, as they are more polishing than creating or even editing, but they are still hard. Whine.

So here are the clues: 1. I thought I'd read this author when I was growing up, but maybe not. Anyway, she died a few years ago, having made it well past the century mark. 2. I have to admit Georgette Heyer was my gateway drug, not this author. 3. This guy wrote romance many, many, many years ago. (He's the oldest of this bunch.)

Bookmas Day 8

2011-12-12T12:05:00.007-05:00

I'm still working on copy edits, so another short post.

You can't go to San Francisco without visiting the sea lions on Pier 39. My youngest son and I stopped by when I was in SF for the Romance Writers of America conference in the summer of 2008. Mr. M couldn't get away from work that year, so I dragged him over to see the animals this September. I think there are fewer of them now--they did all clear out in November 2009, but at least some came back. Here's a link to the web cam--as I check it now, no one's at home, but I'm writing this Sunday evening.

Bookmas clues: I went to this author's website to see what her books were about. They sound really interesting, so maybe I'll add her to my Christmas list. 1. Do this too long and you'll have a yucky, moldy mess. 2. Wonder if she ran into the cow?

Bookmas Day 7

2011-12-09T12:05:00.007-05:00

I'm still wading through copy edits, so this post will be quick. I think I'm out on the Municipal Pier here. You can see some of the San Francisco skyline behind me. The building up on the hill on the left is the Coit Tower--it has some great murals--and our legs got quite the workout hiking up to it. (Though any walking in SF is good exercise.) The pointy building is the Transamerica Pyramid. I was puzzled by that ship the last time I was in SF--it's part of the Maritime Museum. It's late 19th century, so not of immediate interest to a Regency writer. The water behind me is the Aquatic Park Cove, shared by boats and swimmers--and I suspect some seals and sea lions (though I'll confess I'm a little unclear of the difference between those two.)

My Bookmas clues: 1. What Regency debutantes might do at Almack's; 2. Piccadilly after hours; 3. I was in fourth grade; we were washing our desks.

Bookmas Day 6

2011-12-08T12:05:00.000-05:00

Taking a break from the San Francisco pictures to talk about copy edits, since that's what I'm working on at the moment.

Once I hand in a book, I heave a big sigh of relief, but I know I'll see that manuscript again. And I do. After a certain amount of time, copy edits come. They used to show up on my doorstep; now they come on my computer. (The copy edits I have in hand now are for my June 2012 release, Bedding Lord Ned.) Hopefully, the editors will have identified all the problems--awkward sentences, places where I've been inconsistent (changing the hero's eye color for example), sentences where I've misspelled a word (maybe "it" instead of "if") or made some other error.

Copy edits are my last chance to make major changes to the story. If it's been a few months since I've seen the book, I may have lots of changes I want to make. In this particular case, I just handed the manuscript in at the end of September, so I'm not finding much I want to change--or at least I haven't yet. And I'm also hunting for typos myself. I think I might have been a copy editor in a former life--I'm finding little mistakes that no one else has flagged. Which actually makes me happy. If I didn't find any errors, I'd worry I'd let my brain and eyes glaze over.

Once I send the copy edits back--they are due on Monday--I'll see the story one more time in page proofs. This is the manuscript laid out like a book; changes at this stage can cost money, so I really try to limit myself to correcting typos--which hopefully, if I've done a good job at the copy edit phase, will be few and far between. And I know that no matter how closely I or anyone else edits, there will be mistakes that make it into print.

The other thing about copy edits and page proofs--I think many writers are so sick of the book by this point they want to throw it out and start over. I know I do. But I've learned to tell myself--or have my writer friends tell me--that I'm just too close to it to judge any more. I've been reading it in a way no sane reader would. I'm seeing all its warts, real or imagined. I want to be done with it and get back to the book I'm working on now.

It's time to kick this baby out of the nest and let it fly on its own.

And now the Bookmas clues: 1. Not a story by H.G.Wells. 2. I like to have my characters quote this guy.

Bookmas Day 5

2011-12-07T12:15:00.008-05:00

Our main reason for going to San Francisco was to see our third son and his fiancee and meet some of her family. (She and they are native Californians.) After spending the weekend with them, though, we were on our own. We took the BART--much like our D.C. Metro, which I think might have been modeled on BART--into the city. We came armed with maps and recommendations of sights to see and places to eat.

This, I think, is a picture of the Ferry Building. It's a great place to eat--it's filled will all kinds of restaurants and sometimes a farmer's market as well. On our first tourist excursion, we had lunch at The Slanted Door at the recommendation of my son's future mother-in-law. She didn't steer us wrong--the food was interesting and delicious. We went back to the Ferry Building later in our trip to have breakfast at Frog Hollow Farm and shared a sandwich from the Cowgirl Creamery. Our daughter-in-law to be recommended the Blue Bottle Coffee Co. but since neither of us is a huge coffee drinker, we gave it a pass. I was afraid the caffeine would have me wired all day and night. We did enjoy browsing all the shops--you can do that virtually here.

Today's Bookmas clues: 1. My oldest son has written a book. He gave me the manuscript to look at, and one of my "helpful" comments was that he was using the British, not the American, spelling of this word that appears in one of Jessica A's titles. 2. One of the words in the other title showed up on a poster that became part of a copyright battle.

Oh, and an update to Monday's blog. My husband informed me that he didn't have that jeans jacket in college--he didn't get it until he got back from the Peace Corps a couple years later, which was still a few months before we met in the fall of 1976.

Bookmas Day 4

2011-12-06T12:15:00.002-05:00

My mother-in-law is a huge golf fan, so we had to get a picture of Pebble Beach. (The golf course here--I'm not sure what this beach is called.)

I'm afraid I don't get the whole golf thing. Well, I don't mind mini golf--you know, when you try to get the ball into the clown's mouth or between the windmill blades--but "real" golf? Meh. I agree with Mark Twain that: "Golf is a good walk spoiled."

But I suppose I should also confess I went to the University of Notre Dame and am totally uninterested in football. I will occasionally be lured into watching a little of the Super Bowl to see the ads and have some of the snacks--and I'll usually watch a little of the Puppy Bowl--but if the whole thing was cancelled, I wouldn't shed a single tear.

I like competitive swimming, which my husband thinks would be improved if it took a page from mini golf and added obstacles. Actually one outdoor long course meet did have a little of that going. A duck decided to go for a swim, too. He (or she) kept switching lanes. The swimmers were doing backstroke, so they never knew, but the spectators were amused. (Though maybe not the parents of the swimmers in the duck lanes--but the duck never interfered, so all was good.)

Here are my Bookmas clues: 1. One of the names of this company reminds me of a children's game. 2. If we all go digital, we won't need these any more.

By the way, I do like to clamber up on rocks, much to my height-averse husband's consternation. Here's me viewing Pebble Beach:

Bookmas Day 3

2011-12-05T12:15:00.004-05:00

I think this was taken at Point Lobos State Reserve. (I definitely should have done something with these photos closer to the time they were taken.) We had great weather the entire trip, but you can see here that this particular day was overcast--I think that's fog hovering at the top of the picture. Consequently, some of the shots look as if they were taken in black and white--but you can clearly see that the camera did do color. (In the old days there was color or black & white film...I guess now there are camera settings?)

I'm not usually so colorful. The windbreaker I dug out of the back of the closet--it seemed the perfect weight for the trip. I think I bought it when the kids were playing soccer, thinking that this way they could find me in the crowd. It was when they still wanted to find me, so they must have been in grade school--which would make this jacket somewhere around 15 years old. The hat is new. It wasn't my first choice, but it was in stock at L.L. Bean (which is where I got the windbreaker years ago--I've got a fair number of L.L. Bean items in my closet) and I needed something for the trip. I've been trying to keep out of the sun, but it's also a rain hat--AND it has a string to keep it on when the weather gets windy, which it did a lot on our hikes along the coast in San Francisco.

The scarf...well, my only other choice was a burnt orange, and that really would have been over the top.

My Bookmas clues: 1. This piece must have given Kim's brain and tongue a work out. 2. Our summer swim coach, looking for a "G" rated film to show the teens on the team, rented a film version of this novel. I guess it was a little slow for the modern--well, ok, this was probably about fifteen years ago...hmm, maybe that windbreaker is older than I think... Anyway, the swimmers, even the girls, thought the movie was endless. (Looking online, it says it runs for 130 minutes...in black and white.) It became a swim team joke.

And speaking of old jackets, my husband owns--and still wears--a jeans jacket he got in college, long before he met me.

Here's proof that my colorful getup makes me easy to find:

Bookmas Day 2

2011-12-02T12:15:00.003-05:00

This was from one of our hikes--we did a LOT of hiking. And Mr. M took a lot of pictures, but I promise not to show you them all. I will confess, though, that I now have a serious case of camera envy--as reflected in my list for Santa.

My Bookmas clue: This book is set in one of my favorite cities, but not in my favorite time period.

Bookmas Day 1

2011-12-01T12:15:00.005-05:00

Another San Francisco picture. We've got seagulls around here--I'm not quite sure why, since we're not on the coast--but I've never seen one hang out on a car's roof. Maybe the Californian seagulls are more laid back?

Here's my Bookmas clue. (You can find the puzzle here.)

I'm pretty sure I've never read this book, though looking at the copyright date, I certainly could have. I did see the musical of a slightly different name and, no offense to Jessica who's my agent and clearly an excellent judge of literature, but I found it quite creepy.

Back to blogging

2011-11-30T16:04:00.005-05:00

Where have I been? Not lying around on a beach like these elephant seals.

After I finished the first draft of Bedding Lord Ned, I went into revision mode. It takes me about a month of intense work to get a manuscript whipped into shape. Then we dashed off to San Francisco to visit third son who moved there this summer--drove alone cross county with his mother trying very hard not to worry--and his fiancee and her family. We visited these seals in the course of our travels. Too bad we don't have sound on the blog...well, maybe it's a good thing. They make rather rude noises.

Once back home, it was time to start the next book. And then copy edits for my May novella, The Duchess of Love, showed up via computer. They were my first experience with e-edits--my old eyes were NOT happy. And then, when I'd barely caught my breath, the novella page proofs were on my doorstep.

Anyway, I'm back now because my agent is doing the twelve days of Bookmas again. You can read all about it here. The first clue goes up tomorrow at noon EST...once I figure out what the clue will be. Any you might get some more SF pictures.

First draft's done!

2011-08-26T10:39:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I finally finished the first draft of the first book in my new Duchess of Love trilogy. Whew! I will bask in a few moments of relief while I run some errands and get ready for Hurricane Irene's possible arrival. Then it's time to dig into the manuscript again to revise and polish. I took the precaution of printing it out in case Irene steals our power. Hmm. Better check the flashlight batteries, too.

Stay safe, everyone in Irene's path!

Poking my head out of my writer's cave

2011-08-08T10:25:00.003-04:00

I'm still working away on the first book of my new Duchess of Love trilogy. I just found out that the novella that's a prequel to the series is tentatively scheduled to come out as an e-book in May 2012. I'll share more information about that when I have it.

Meanwhile, I did snatch a few minutes here and there to answer some questions over at The Regency Inkwell. You can find the interview here.

Okay, back to the salt mines!

Inspiration

2011-07-15T10:06:00.003-04:00

Poking my head up briefly from the forced march to "The End." (So far so good, btw.)

I was working with my trainer on Wednesday, complaining how I felt draggy--had had to be out in the heat selling programs for a swim league meet the night before. I had a headache, but I had to get my 5 pages written before I went to bed. (I was trying for 7 pages because I'd had to quit early to go work the swim meet, so had only gotten 3 written the day before.) She commented how hard it must be to be inspired to write under those circumstances.

Here's a news flash--inspiration isn't really part of my work plan, or at least not the fairy-like gal that floats by and hits you with the magic story idea wand. No, if there is inspiration, it's more like the mud wrestling. (Not that I've ever mud wrestled.) I sit down at the computer and I bang my head against the keyboard (not literally, though some days it feels like it). I push the words and the characters around. I get up to have a cup of tea. I wish I was still doing something easy like writing regulations. I fret about how I have to get 5 pages done someway. I fuss with the characters some more. And eventually something will click and I'll get them to do something so I can write my darn 5 pages and maybe, if I've got them talking, a few extra.

Every day, it's the same struggle. Finally I reach "The End"--alleluia! And then I wrestle again--a little differently--when I go over the story and revise.

For me at least, writing feels like hard, dirty work. Not very inspiring. And then I'm amazed when I happen to read a bit of one of my books and see that it's not so bad. Frankly I wonder who wrote it. My name's on the cover, but I'm really not sure how the book happened.

Which may be why I feel the same panic every time I start a new book.

In hiding

2011-07-11T16:21:00.002-04:00

You probably won't see much of me around here for the foreseeable future. I'm deep in what we authors like to call "deadline hell," though I foresee this as more of an extended stay than just a dash to a due date. With travel and promotion, I'm not where I want to be on the current book...so I'm off to my writerly cave, laptop chained to my fingers.

RWA NYC 2011

2011-07-04T21:13:00.003-04:00

Whew. I’m on the train, heading home from RWA NYC. I think I only got online once while I was in NYC. As always, no matter how much I resolved to slow down and savor the moment, the days flew by in a blur.

Here are five highlights and "lowlights" from what I remember of the conference:

1. The hotel elevator system. It was funky. You entered the floor you wanted on a key pad by the elevator bank and it would then tell you which elevator—A, B, C, etc.—to go to. There were no floor buttons inside the elevators. If, as happened to me once, the system was overloaded, the key pad would flash “XX” or your desired floor number without giving you an elevator destination. As I was on the 33rd floor (there were 48), I was not going to be doing the stairs.

2. The beau monde mini conference. As always, it’s great fun spending time with my Regency pals and leaning more about the period. Unfortunately, two of the workshops I most wanted to hear were scheduled at the same time—and, even worse, just happened to be during my agency party. So at least I didn't have to chose between them—I missed them both.

3. The giant literacy signing. It’s always wonderful to meet fans, and I enjoy chatting with the authors on either side of me. This year’s signing seemed particularly crowded. They actually asked us to stay past the scheduled closing time because there were still people waiting in line to get in. (I guess the fire marshals were limiting the number of folks in the room.) And it was LOUD. I ended up with a bit of a headache and a raw throat from trying to talk in the bedlam.

4. The beau monde soiree. I missed part of the soiree because the signing went late, and I didn't do any dancing, but I still had fun--and won a few new research books in the silent auction.

5. The PAN retreat. Mostly because I was on the PAN steering committee this year—and because the workshops were so good, of course—I spent most of my time at the PAN events. This means I missed all the regular workshops which was really too bad as there were some great ones, especially for a Regency writer. One PAN workshop I wish I could have missed was the one on media training. Actually, it was a great workshop. The problem was I’d volunteered to be a “guinea pig.” I and two other ladies arrived before the workshop to each do a taped interview. I thought I hadn’t done too badly, but then as the workshop progressed, I realized I’d totally missed the boat. The other two ladies did an excellent job, so I suppose my interview served the important role of showing everyone what NOT to do. And my takeaway? Run for the hills if I see a microphone and reporter approaching, lol!

So there you have a few of the things my poor, shredded brain recalls. I wish there was more time--more hours in the day--to take it all in. Oh, well. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Off to NYC

2011-06-27T08:00:00.002-04:00

By the time you read this, I should be at Union Station, waiting for the train to New York. Or I'm on the Metro. I do hope I'm not stuck on Metro...but we'll think positively, okay? No travel issues, please. I'm off to the Romance Writers of America national conference.

Even though I'm not an extrovert, I always look forward to this conference--and especially this year when it's in my time zone, just a few hours (I hope) train ride up the coast. I get to see writer pals that I generally only "see" on line. Yes, I may forget people's names and I'll likely say something that I wish I hadn't, but I still have fun. And this year I'm one of the media training guinea pigs which I think means I've volunteered to have myself taped so everyone else can see what not to do. Eh, okay, that might be a little icky. I get to meet readers at the literary signing and see my agent and editor. And I'm sure I'll meet some new people, too. (I'll just apologize now for forgetting your name, shall I? It's really nothing personal. I'm just terrible with names--which I know I should work on, but hey, I don't even always remember my characters' names.)

On Friday My husband is coming up, so when the conference ends, we'll spend the weekend exploring the city while the sons at home hold down the fort. I'll try to post pictures here or on Facebook, but I don't always remember to get out the camera.

Then it's home again and nose to grindstone!

Blogging today

2011-06-22T10:47:00.002-04:00

I'm blogging today on the RomCon site if you'd like to stop by. You can find me here.

Book party!

2011-06-21T09:23:00.006-04:00

Every year my pal Debbie hosts a book signing party for the newest Naked noble. It's always great fun. Most of the attendees are ladies we know from the elementary school our kids went to or the high school our sons graduated from, so we spend a lot of time chatting and laughing. (She usually has to nag me to stop talking and start signing some books.) Here's this year's group. And no, I didn't come in the crown--Debbie got it as a table decoration, but thought she'd decorate me for this shot.

Tomorrow I'm blogging over at the RomCon site. I'll post the link when I have it.

Contest winners

2011-06-16T10:42:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a late night. My pal Debbie hosted a book signing party for The Naked King. She's wonderful--she does this for all my books. Debbie's kids went to grade school with my kids and her son went to my sons' high school, so we go way back. We invite a lot of moms from the grade school and high school and some from the neighborhood. It's a blast. The only problem is I have to stop chatting long enough to sign books. I'll post a picture if she sends me one.

So I didn't get around to picking the winners of my contest until this morning. Without further ado, here they are:

The Naked Duke--Donna K

The Naked Marquis--Jackie W

The Naked Earl--Ari J

The Naked Gentleman--Michelle B

The Naked Baron--Nurul Z

The Naked Viscount--Mindy N

Lords of Desire--Melissa K

The Naked King--Cassandra M

Thanks to everyone who entered. I hope to get the books in the mail tomorrow.

And wish me luck. Tonight I'm doing an interview for a local cable TV channel. I'll post a link when I have it.

Speed dating

2011-06-14T08:08:00.000-04:00

Today I'm doing an author "speed date" over on my agent's blog here.

Last days of the contests

2011-06-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Time is running out to win a Naked book. Check out the details on my contest here and on my publisher's contest here.

Another blog visit

2011-06-10T06:11:00.003-04:00

Today I'm a blog guest over at Borders True Romance. Please stop by if you get the chance.

Taking a break

2011-06-08T09:40:00.004-04:00

I'm taking a break from blogging today and tomorrow to work on the wip. I'll be on Borders True Romance blog on Friday--I'll post the link then. But if you want to read something today, you can find an article that ran in today's local paper here.

Release Day!

2011-06-07T08:33:00.001-04:00

Today's the official release date for The Naked King. Hopefully, you'll be able to find the book everywhere.

Continuing my blog tour, I'm over here at Romancing the Book today.

Blog tour continues

2011-06-06T06:45:00.004-04:00

I'm over at the SOS Aloha blog today, so please stop by. I should be at another site also--I'll update this post later, if necessary. Now I'm off to the gym!

Back from the gym and, as promised, here's the update: I'm also over at Vanessa Kelly's blog. Stop by if you can.

Blog tour begins

2011-06-05T07:07:00.002-04:00

Hi, everyone. I'll be popping up around the internet this week. Today I'm over at the Risky Regencies blog. Please stop by.

The Naked King--chapter 2, last "bite"

2011-06-03T08:00:00.004-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

He grinned. “Well, to begin with, I don’t think you should glare at me all the time. Do you suppose you might be able to manage that?”

“I might.” Her eyes focused on his lips. Her brain told her that was a stupid thing to do, but her eyes refused to listen.

His lips had felt so good.

“That’s it. You are doing an excellent job of not glaring at me now.” His voice had dropped. His arms came around her. They felt good, too.

“Hmm.” His lips were now so close and coming closer. He brushed them over her mouth, but it was not enough. She must have whimpered slightly, because he came back.

He didn’t mash her lips against her teeth. He didn’t try to force his tongue down her throat. He didn’t haul her body up against his so tightly she couldn’t breathe. He didn’t do any of the things Brentwood had done.

He held her firmly, yet gently, and slowly, leisurely, explored her mouth, filling her with a dark, liquid heat that pooled between her legs.

She knew what happened between a man and a woman. It was embarrassing and painful...but that was not what many of the married women said. No, they smiled and giggled and blushed when they talked about their marital duties.

Perhaps the act was different with different men like kissing appeared to be.

Her body insisted everything would be different, better, with Mr. Parker-Roth.

“Anne,” he said, his voice slightly breathless, “there’s no one here to fool. You’re supposed to be pushing me away and giving me that evil look of yours.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “You’re supposed to be lashing at me with your sharp tongue, telling me to stop.”

He kissed her again, his hands bringing her closer, up against the hard ridge of his erection.

Nerves fluttered through her. Brentwood had done a similar thing...

But his hands had been rough. She’d felt trapped.

She didn’t feel trapped now. She felt welcomed.

The King of Hearts had earned his title; there was no question about that.

He urged her toward one of the couches, but it was too low. She lost her balance and tumbled against him, ending in a tangle of skirts and legs as the carefully closed, but unfortunately unlocked, door flew open and Harry bounded in.

*****

Want more? You can order The Naked King from your favorite bookstore, or go here and scroll down to the bottom of the page for links to various online merchants.

The Naked King--chapter 2, 13th "bite"

2011-06-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

“I won’t hurt you.” Mr. Parker-Roth actually looked worried. “I thought you knew that.”

“You’re drunk.”

He shook his head and winced. “Not any longer--or at least not enough to mask my other aches and pains.” He looked at her intently. “But even drunk I’d never force myself on a woman.”

He wouldn’t have to. Women would force themselves on him.

She dropped the pillow back on the couch, feeling a little ridiculous. “About this sham betrothal?”

He studied her for another minute and then shrugged, running his hand through his hair. “I do think it’s the only way to save your reputation and salvage your sister’s Season.”

She had a very uncomfortable feeling he might be correct. She didn’t care about her reputation--she didn’t have one to salvage--but she’d fight tooth and nail to protect Evie’s chance to enjoy a London Season and perhaps find a suitable husband. “If Lady Dunlee would keep the story to herself, we might be able to get by.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, and if I had wings, I might be able to fly across the Thames.”

“But--”

“But I am sure Lady Dunlee and Melinda Fallwell are setting out this very moment to share the tale--in strictest confidence of course--with ten or twenty of their closest friends. It will be all over London by nightfall.”

“No.”

“Yes. You don’t have to be familiar with London to know how gossips operate. There are plenty of those in the country.”

“Oh, yes, I know.” Though somehow the story of her downfall had never spread, probably because only she and Brentwood knew about it. She was not about to say anything, and Brentwood likely had forgotten it the moment he’d pulled her dress back down. From what she’d heard later, she was only one of his many conquests.

Damn. They had only arrived in London yesterday. How could she have made micefeet of everything so quickly?

“Hey.” He touched her shoulder. “Don’t look so glum. We’ll muddle through.”

She tried to smile.

He cupped her cheek. “It would be easier to pass the story off if we seem to like each other, you know. Given the rather passionate display Lady Dunlee witnessed, we might even wish to appear somewhat ardent. Restrained, of course, but just barely--giving the impression that the moment society looks the other way, we’ll be in each other’s arms.”

“How are we to do that?”

The Naked King--chapter 2, 12th "bite"

2011-06-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

She had a bad feeling about this. “Everything was here when we arrived.” She snatched the statue out of his hands and looked at it. There was a man and three women and they were--

“Dear God!” She stuffed it behind one of the couches. As soon as she got rid of Mr. Parker-Roth, she would examine all the knickknacks and pack away the inappropriate ones before the twins found them. This looked like just the sort of room ten-year-old boys would love. “Apparently collecting erotic--I mean exotic--items runs in my father’s family.”

“Apparently.” The annoying man had found another inappropriate sculpture on the mantel.

“Will you put that down?”

“I don’t know. It’s rather...stimulating, don’t you think?” Mr. Parker-Roth sent her a heated look. His thumb was rubbing slowly over the brass woman’s extremely prominent breasts.

“No, of course not.” If he wanted prominent breasts, he would have to look elsewhere.

And why was she thinking of breasts at all? How shocking.

Her body wasn’t shocked. Her little breasts felt oddly sensitive, almost achy, as if they’d like Mr. Parker-Roth to touch them as he was touching the statue. “Didn’t you drag me in here to discuss our b-betrothal?”

He put the statue back on the mantle and smiled. “Yes, I did.” His voice sounded like sin as he came toward her. He looked like sin.

He’s the King of Hearts, you ninnyhammer. Seduction is his middle name.

She looked for a sturdy settee to dodge behind, but the damn room had nothing so conventional. She grabbed a fat pillow instead and held it in front of her like a shield.

He stopped a good two feet from her and frowned. “You aren’t afraid of me, are you, Anne?”

“Of course not.” God help her! His look of concern made him even more alluring.

She wasn’t afraid of him; she was afraid of herself.

What was the matter with her? Had she forgotten the last time she’d let her body rule her head? Ten years ago, she’d gone with Lord Brentwood into Baron Gedding’s garden and come back without her virginity. She would not be so stupid as to make that mistake again.

Well, she couldn’t, could she? Virginity once lost was gone forever.

The Naked King--chapter 2, 11th "bite"

2011-05-31T08:00:00.002-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

She must have made a sound, because Lady Dunlee raised her brows, giving her an alarmingly arch look. “You are very lucky, Lady Anne. Countless society maidens will take to their beds in a fit of the dismals when they hear Mr. Stephen Parker-Roth is no longer available.”

Her stomach sank to the bottom of her slippers. This must be a nightmare. She would wake up in a moment safely tucked into her bed at Crane Castle.

“Oh yes, society will be abuzz with the news of your betrothal.” Lady Dunlee gave what looked suspiciously like a skip as she cleared the threshold.

“But you promised not to say a word,” Anne called after her.

The woman just smiled over her shoulder and waved her hand. Instead of turning to mount the stairs to her house, she headed off across the square. A large, gray cat darted out from under a bush to rub itself against her ankles.

“At least Miss Whiskers is safe,” Mr. Parker-Roth said, closing the door.

Anne glared at him. “I don’t care about that stupid cat--where is Lady Dunlee going?”

“To Melinda Fallwell’s. She lives at number forty-nine.”

“Who’s Melinda Fallwell?” Anne pointed to the door. “And aren’t you leaving, too?”

Mr. Parker-Roth took her arm. “Melinda Fallwell is London’s second greatest gossip--second to Lady Dunlee, of course--and, no, I am not leaving. We need to discuss our betrothal. Where can we be private?” He started back down the corridor, opening doors and peering in. “Ah, this will do nicely.”

He pulled her into what Hobbes had called “the, ahem, Oriental room” when he’d given Anne a quick tour of the house the day before. She called it the harem room. It was furnished with low couches and oversized pillows. Gauzy striped curtains festooned the ceiling and hung down the walls giving one the feeling of being inside a large tent.

Mr. Parker-Roth picked a brass statue off the mantel. His eyes widened and he chuckled. “Interesting decorations you have, Lady Anne.”

Happy Memorial Day

2011-05-30T08:00:00.004-04:00

If you are in the U.S., today is Memorial Day. While the reason for the holiday is serious—all the more so with the current wars--the day also marks the official start of summer, at least in my neck of the woods. I'm sure many of my friends and neighbors are at the Maryland and Delaware shores frolicking in the surf or walking along the beach. Closer to home, the neighborhood pools opened Saturday, and the summer swim teams are gearing up for the start of practice. Thus I’m taking a break from posting chapter two of The Naked King—that will resume tomorrow.

Last weekend we were traveling—one reason I set the chapter to post. We left Friday and returned Tuesday and didn't sleep two nights in the same bed. First, son #2 graduated from law school. Here’s a shot of graduate and proud parents:

We were able to work things out so that everyone except son #4 gathered for dinner at a restaurant in Baltimore—3 of the 4 sons, one daughter-in-law and one fiancée. (This was the first time fiancée and d-i-l had met—I think they spent the whole meal discussing weddings and such.)

Son #4 couldn’t be with us because he had his own graduation festivities to attend. We headed north the next day to join him. The tradition at his college is to stay up all night to greet the sun—perhaps you can tell he participated by his somewhat groggy expression.

It was freezing in Boston—well, freezing for a thin-blooded Marylander—and graduation was outdoors, so I was happy to have my blue raincoat/fleece combo. I also hit the bookstore to stock up on warm stuff--knit gloves, padded stadium seats, and a blanket. We managed to make it through without shivering too much.

Now we’re home and I’m busy with promotion efforts for The Naked King—amazing to think the book will finally be out in the “wild.” In an attempt to spread the Naked word, I’ll be blogging all over the place. (Or so it seems to blog-shy me.) I’ll try to post links to those posts when I have them. The date of the first blog is still up in the air, but it might be today...

And don't forget about my publisher's contest (details here) and my contest (details here). They go until June 15, so there's still plenty of time to enter.

The Naked King--chapter 2, 10th "bite"

2011-05-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

Well, perhaps thinking wasn’t the issue. Her head insisted she should move away, but her body... She drew in a deep shuddery breath, filling her lungs with his scent, a heady mix of brandy, damp broadcloth, eau de cologne, and...man.

A heavy liquid warmth settled low in her belly.

Oh, God. She’d never felt this way before, even when she’d thought herself in love with Brentwood. It could not be good.

“I will see if I can train Harry to behave in a more gentlemanly fashion,” Mr. Parker-Roth was saying. “As I’ve been in London and Lady Anne’s been in the country, I haven’t had the opportunity until now to do so--and of course manners in the country are more relaxed.”

“Indeed they are, sir,” Lady Dunlee said, scowling at him, “but I hope manners are not so relaxed as to approve the behavior I just witnessed in the square. You know, if Lady Anne does not, that London society will not tolerate such conduct.”

“I--”

Mr. Parker-Roth didn’t let Anne squeeze a word in. “I beg your pardon for my lack of decorum, Lady Dunlee. I can only plead temporary insanity. I’d not seen Anne in far too long.” Mr. Parker-Roth managed to look suitably contrite--he’d probably perfected that charmingly apologetic expression as a boy.

Good Lord, Lady Dunlee dimpled up at him. “Of course you have my pardon, sir, as long as I have your vow to control your emotions in the future. I quite understand the fervor of young love.”

Anne had to choke back a laugh, turning it into a cough. Lady Dunlee had at least forty, if not fifty, years in her dish. Young love must be a very faint memory.

“But I would be terribly remiss,” Lady Dunlee continued, “if I didn’t point out many people will wonder at this sudden betrothal. You can’t wish to make things more difficult for Lady Anne and her family.”

“Of course I don’t.”

Anne barely heard Mr. Parker-Roth’s words. Many people would wonder? What a horrifying thought.

The Naked King--chapter 2, 9th "bite"

2011-05-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

Lady Dunlee must have heard her snort and was now looking at her inquiringly.

“Er...” What to say? Lady Dunlee obviously expected something. “I do apologize for Harry’s behavior.” She was saying that a lot today, not that she meant it this time either--Lady Dunlee should have kept her cat inside.

“That’s quite all right.” Lady Dunlee turned to examine a naked statue of Apollo through her lorgnette. “No permanent harm done. Miss Whiskers has likely found her way home by now.”

“Then you’ll want to hurry off to let her in,” Anne said hopefully. She reached for the door, but Mr. Parker-Roth’s large hand grabbed the knob first.

Lady Dunlee tore her eyes away from Apollo’s fig leaf. “Oh, I’m sure my butler has already done so, unless Miss Whiskers chose to stay on the front step. She likes to lie on stone that’s been warmed by the sun. I image it’s quite cozy, don’t you?”

Anne blinked. She hadn’t ever considered the matter. “I...I suppose you are right.”

Lady Dunlee nodded. “Of course I’m right.” She stepped past Anne, but paused on the threshold to give her a stern look. “Before I leave, I must insist you keep your dog under better control in the future, Lady Anne. Miss Whiskers and I will not be pleased if we are constantly disturbed by the brute.”

Miss Whiskers had been the one doing the disturbing this morning, but Anne managed to keep from saying so. “Yes, indeed. I will try to keep Harry away from your cat.”

Lady Dunlee nodded toward Mr. Parker-Roth. “I’m sure your betrothed can help. Oftentimes large dogs need a man’s touch.”

“Exactly.” Mr. Parker-Roth wrapped an arm around Anne’s waist. “I’ll be happy to take Harry in hand.”

Anne stiffened at his touch. Lady Dunlee’s lorgnette had snapped up and her enlarged orb was now staring at his hand on her waist. She tried--halfheartedly, but she did try--to shrug out of his embrace, but he wouldn’t let her go. Instead his hand slipped a little lower so it lay on her hip just below her stays.

Oh! She felt each finger as if it were burning a hole through her dress and chemise. The hard strength of his arm and the warmth of his body all along her side made it very difficult to think clearly.

The Naked King--chapter 2, 8th "bite"

2011-05-25T08:00:00.004-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

Anne looked at her cousin. Clorinda had already returned to the book she’d been reading when Lady Dunlee, full of moral outrage, had barged in with them. “Coming, Clorinda?”

“Hmm?” Clorinda turned a page.

“Are you coming to see our guests out?”

Clorinda waved her hand vaguely, her nose still buried in her book. “You can do that without my help.”

“Very well. I’ll--”

“Just do be careful.” Clorinda marked her place with her finger to glance up at Anne. “Mr. Parker-Roth is very pleasant to look at, I grant you, but he’s also a bit of a rake. They call him the King of Hearts for a reason, you know.”

“Yes, I know.” And didn’t Clorinda know the man was standing in the corridor right behind her? Anne heard him choke back a laugh. Lady Dunlee snickered.

“Just thought I should put the word in your ear, Anne,” Clorinda said, returning to her reading. “Having spent your whole life in the country, you’re hardly up to snuff.”

“Thank you, Clorinda.” One didn’t need to come to London to learn about libertines, but Anne didn’t wish to discuss that topic whilst the current libertine and the queen of London gossip listened. She pulled the door closed behind her and avoided her guests’ eyes. “This way,” she said.

She started briskly toward the front of the house. She’d be extremely happy to see the back of Lady Dunlee--and Mr. Parker-Roth, too, of course. Once they were out the door, she could finally get on with her day. She’d planned to take her paints out early to explore the back garden, but first Harry had needed a walk and then the...incident with Mr. Parker-Roth and Lady Dunlee had occurred, and now she’d completely missed the morning light. Blast! As soon as her unwelcome guests had departed, she’d hurry upstairs and...

No, the way this day was going, she’d never be so lucky. The boys were sure to be into some kind of mischief--she almost hoped they were teasing Miss Whiskers again--and she was supposed to take Evie shopping. A proper come-out required an annoying amount of clothing.

She glanced over her shoulder. Lady Dunlee was peering around as if trying to memorize every detail her greedy little eyes beheld. Papa must not have invited her in on his rare visits to London. She snorted. Why would he? He might be more focused on Greek and Roman artifacts than English society, but he could recognize trouble when it lived next door.

The Naked King--chapter 2, 7th "bite"

2011-05-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

“Georgiana does share Papa’s passion,” Anne said, trying not to sound disgruntled. Papa and Georgiana never thought twice about taking off at a moment’s notice, leaving her to manage everything at home. She’d got used to it, but to expect her to handle Evie’s come-out as well... What in God’s name had they been thinking? She knew nothing about the London Season, never having had one herself, and it was clear to her Clorinda would be no help. And now with this nonsensical betrothal to complicate matters...

All she needed was for Brentwood to put in an appearance, and this disaster would be complete.

“And I really don’t see how you are one to talk, Clorinda,” Anne said. “You have your nose forever buried in some ornithological tome.”

“That’s an entirely different matter. I’m studying living, breathing creatures.” Clorinda sniffed. “Your father and the countess are pawing through history’s middens”--she wrinkled her nose in distaste--“picking through someone’s garbage.”

Mr. Parker-Roth cleared his throat.

“Oh, what is it?” Anne looked at the man in exasperation, but her damn heart stuttered the moment her eyes focused on him. He was so incredibly handsome. Women must stare at him wherever he went.

Idiot! Of course they stared at him--he was the King of Hearts. All the ton’s females vied for his attention.

“I don’t believe we need to take any more of Lady Dunlee’s time, do you?” Mr. Parker-Roth was saying. He tilted his head slightly toward the woman and raised his eyebrows significantly. “I’m sure she must have other commitments.”

“Oh.” Anne glanced at the annoying busybody. Lady Dunlee’s beady little eyes fairly glowed. Clearly she was gathering bits of gossip like a squirrel gathering nuts for the winter. At any moment her cheeks would start to bulge. “Yes, indeed. Please don’t let us detain you, Lady Dunlee.”

“Tut, tut. Don’t be silly.” She smiled as if she were some completely harmless matron. “As it happens, I have nothing pressing to attend to. Please, carry on. Just pretend I’m a potted palm.”

A potted palm with a tongue that runs on wheels. “I wouldn’t think of it,” Anne said. “I know you are a very busy woman.” Busy about other people’s affairs. She walked briskly to the bookroom door and opened it. Mr. Parker-Roth gestured for Lady Dunlee to precede him. The woman hesitated, but finally must have concluded--correctly--she had no choice in the matter. She dragged her feet, but she went.

The Naked King--chapter 2, 6th "bite"

2011-05-23T08:00:00.002-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

Truthfully, marriage shouldn’t be that onerous. This farce had saved him the annoyance of shopping for a bride--or having Mama shop. Once he was wed, he’d be off looking for plants on foreign shores most of the time anyway. It might even be convenient to have a woman on his estate to warm his bed and tend his children when they arrived. It wasn’t the marriage his parents had--it wasn’t the marriage he’d thought he’d have--but it was the exact sort of arrangement much of the ton enjoyed.

He studied Lady Anne’s expressive face. She was so full of emotion, she looked ready to explode. How would she look full of passion, naked in the center of his bed?

Delightful.

She should keep his nuptial bed very warm indeed.

“I know we aren’t ready to make a formal announcement, my love,”--she scowled at him--“but now that Lady Dunlee and your cousin have found us out...” He turned to the queen of London gossip. “We can ask you to keep our little secret, can’t we, Lady Dunlee?” He managed to keep a straight face at the absurdity of his request. He might as well ask the sun to change places with the moon.

“Of course.” Lady Dunlee’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “You can rely on me. I won’t tell a soul.”

Stephen believed her. She wouldn’t tell a soul--for however long it took her to toddle across the square to the house of her bosom friend and equally accomplished gossip, Melinda Fallwell.

“I still think the earl would have made it a point to say something to me if he’d known about this betrothal.” Miss Strange’s nostrils twitched as if she smelled something rotten.

What was the matter with the woman? His and Anne’s betrothal might be a complete sham but why would she wish to discuss that in front of Lady Dunlee? She must see the woman was dying for the smallest crumb of gossip, and here she was offering the gabble-grinder a veritable feast.

Stephen forced himself to smile. “I gather Lord Crane was in a hurry to catch his ship.”

“In a hurry?” Anne said. “That hardly describes it. Papa almost shoved us out of the carriage while it was still moving. He certainly didn’t pause to have a word with you, Clorinda.”

“No, he didn’t.” Clorinda nodded. “The man’s obsessed with bits of pottery and broken statues. Queer as Dick’s hatband about it, if you ask me--always has been. We were surprised he got his head out of the dirt long enough to marry your mother, Anne. And the current countess...she’s as daft about debris as he is.”

The Naked King--chapter 2, 5th "bite"

2011-05-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

“Betrothed?” All three women spoke together in the same tone of incredulity. They were like a damn Greek chorus. Three pairs of eyes goggled at him now.

“I’m sure you didn’t tell me you were betrothed, Anne.” Miss Strange’s tone was an odd mix of confusion and horror. “I would have remembered if you had. And your father didn’t mention it in his letter.” She paused, her brow wrinkling. “At least, I don’t think he did. I grant you he ran on so about his silly antiquities I did skim a lot of his missive.”

Anne tried to tug her fingers out of his grasp, but he wasn’t about to let her go. “I didn’t tell you, Cousin, because Mr. Parker-Roth and I aren’t--ouch!”

She glared at him accusatorily; he smiled. He was sorry to have squeezed her so hard, but he couldn’t let her ruin his attempt to save her reputation. Couldn’t she comprehend? All they had to do was fabricate something remotely plausible. Lady Dunlee might doubt their story--most likely would doubt it--but she couldn’t know for certain what the truth was. He and Anne would have all Season to convince her and the ton of their devotion.

He lifted Anne’s fingers to brush his lips over them--and smiled a little more as she blushed and tried again to snatch them out of his grasp. This charade might even be pleasant. And should it--as it likely would--end in matrimony... Well, he’d been thinking just this evening--or was it this morning?--that he needed to give in and look about for a bride. He’d just turned thirty, he’d narrowly escaped a marriage trap two months ago, and his older brother and younger sister were both wed and busily procreating. Hell, after his second bottle of brandy, he’d admitted to himself he didn’t much care to live out his life as old Uncle Stephen.

Not that he’d be given that opportunity, of course. When he’d been home for his nephew’s christening, Mama had been hinting--rather more than hinting--that he should embrace the joys of matrimony sooner rather than later, and with John and Jane both taken care of, she would turn the complete focus of her marital machinations on him--Nick was still too young, the lucky dog.

He’d laughed when he’d watched her drag John up for the Season year after year and push eligible young ladies into his path--he would not be laughing so heartily if he were Mama’s victim. Frankly, he’d been a little surprised she hadn’t followed him to London when he’d left the Priory after the christening. Thank God for baby Jack. But he had little doubt the joys of grandmotherhood would not supplant the duties of motherhood--as Mama saw them--forever.

The Naked King--chapter 2, 4th "bite"

2011-05-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

“No. I mean I didn’t.” Lady Anne’s complexion got even redder. “That is, he kissed me.”

The silence that followed this announcement was deafening.

“So the beast forced himself on you?” Miss Strange choked on the words. Two pairs of feminine eyes--Lady Anne had the grace to examine the floor at her feet--swiveled toward him.

“Er...” If he remembered correctly Lady Anne had been a very willing participant in that kiss. Surely he remembered correctly? He wasn’t that drunk--he’d never been so drunk as to take liberties with an unwilling woman.

“No, of course he didn’t force himself on me, Cousin,” Lady Anne said, her cheeks still bright red. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Miss Strange patted Anne on the shoulder. “There, there. No need to be embarrassed. It’s not your fault.” She glared at him. “Everyone knows men are all too often driven by their baser instincts.”

Anne stepped away from her cousin’s touch. “You sound like the worst horrid novel, Clorinda. Mr. Parker-Roth did not attack me.” She shrugged one shoulder, looking most uncomfortable, but compelled by honor to tell the truth. “He may have initiated the encounter, but I didn’t exactly struggle.”

Not exactly. He bit back a smile. Not at all.

He cleared his throat, bringing the ladies’ attention back to him. He couldn’t let Anne dig herself deeper into a hole. A hole? Ha. He felt parson’s mousetrap yawning before him like a bottomless abyss, but there was no way to avoid it now; they might as well step in with as much grace as they could.

“Of course you weren’t struggling, dear heart.” Three jaws dropped at the endearment. “Why would you?” He moved to take her hand in both of his before turning to the other women. “My apologies, ladies, for letting passion rule my better judgment, but I’m afraid it’s been so long since I’ve seen my betrothed, I couldn’t contain my happiness.”

The Naked King--chapter 2, 3rd "bite"

2011-05-18T08:00:00.002-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

Lady Anne moaned--and not with suppressed desire. No matter. The sound, throaty and deep, caused his eager cock to grow another inch.

Blast it, this was most definitely not the time or place to entertain salacious thoughts concerning Lady Anne. They were in a very sticky situation. Lady Dunlee was by far the biggest gossip in London if not in all of England.

Miss Strange’s jaw had dropped almost to her slippers, and her throat worked exactly as if she were indeed a heron trying to swallow a large fish whole. “Ah, ah.”

“I fell.” Lady Anne had found her lovely voice again. “I wasn’t...there was nothing...” She took a deep breath and scowled at Lady Dunlee. “It was all your cat’s fault.”

Good God, didn’t Anne realize she was teetering on the edge of social annihilation by accusing the woman’s pet of misbehavior? It was akin to jumping in front of a speeding carriage. Lady Dunlee could--and likely would--take instant umbrage and flatten Anne’s reputation with just a well chosen word or two.

He cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should sit down and discuss the matter over a nice, calming dish of tea.” He’d prefer a large glass of brandy, but even his sodden brain knew he dare not ask for that. At least his dimensions had subsided sufficiently so he could risk Lady Dunlee’s scrutiny long enough to take a seat. In fact, other pains were overtaking the ache in his crotch. His shoulder and hip throbbed from where he’d landed on the pavement and his head threatened to explode. His knees felt a touch wobbly and his stomach was considering revolt.

The ladies ignored him.

Lady Dunlee had swelled up like an angry feline. “How can you possibly say Miss Whiskers is to blame for your sins?”

“Because she is to blame.” Lady Anne clasped her hands as though to keep from strangling Lady Dunlee. “And they aren’t sins.”

Lady Dunlee’s eyebrows disappeared into her hair. “Rolling around on the ground in passionate--”

Anne cut her off. “The entire incident was an accident. If your cat hadn’t darted past just then, Harry would not have taken off after her and pulled Mr. Parker-Roth backward, causing us both to fall.”

“Ah.” Lady Dunlee’s lips pulled into a rather dangerous smile. “And I suppose Miss Whisker’s presence somehow compelled you to kiss and caress Mr. Parker-Roth before your dog pulled you over?”

The Naked King--chapter 2, 2nd "bite"

2011-05-17T08:00:00.002-04:00

Chapter 2 (cont.)

Lust shot directly to his, er, brain, so he momentarily lost track of the conversation. Fortunately instinct prompted him to step quickly behind a chair, shielding his telltale bit from Lady Dunlee’s sharp eyes.

Lady Dunlee had misconstrued the scene, of course, but he wished she’d had the right of it. He was more than willing to let Lady Anne have her wicked way with his poor self.

How wicked would her way be? Mmm, that was an interesting question to contemplate. If her imagination faltered, his was more than adequate for the task. Much more. It was currently producing a number of delicious images, completely inappropriate for his present location. But if he and Anne were in his bedchamber--

“Mr. Parker-Roth, did I just hear you groan?” Damned if Lady Dunlee’s eyes didn’t drop to his nether regions, still well hidden behind the wing chair.

“I don’t believe so, madam, but I do have a touch of the headache.”

The blasted woman kept her eyes focused on where his unruly cock was misbehaving and arched a brow. “I bet you do.”

She couldn’t see through the chair, could she? He felt a hot flush sweep up his neck, but he did his best to ignore it. At least this corner of the room was too shadowy for his heightened color to be easily discerned...he hoped. He glanced at Anne.

She appeared to be too mortified or too furious to form a coherent sentence. Her mouth was open, but only strangled sounds emerged.

Unfortunately, Miss Strange’s voice was working perfectly. “Anne, were you actually on the ground with a man?” She might as well have said “soul eating devil.”

Her voice drilled right between his eyes. He rubbed the spot with his index and middle finger and leaned a little more against the chair. At a guess, Miss Strange was not a huge admirer of the male of the species. Not surprising. He couldn’t imagine any of his sex admiring her. She looked like an elderly heron, all stiff and angular, with a long neck and beak-like nose. She wore her gray hair in a bun so tight her watery blue eyes bulged.

“Oh, yes.” Lady Dunlee wasn’t even trying to hide her glee. She glanced at him again before dropping her voice to a stage whisper. “Lady Anne’s skirts were up around her knees, and Mr. Parker-Roth’s hands were on her”--she dropped her voice even lower--“derriere.”

The Naked King--chapter 2 begins

2011-05-16T08:00:00.002-04:00

As promised, I'll be posting chapter 2 of my June release, The Naked King, in 14 bites--today is the first installment. If you haven't read chapter 1, you can find it here. And don't forget about my contest and Kensington's contest. The details here and here.

*****

Chapter 2

Stephen rubbed his temples and tried surreptitiously to lean against a sturdy wingback chair in Lord Crane’s bookroom. Tiny devils with sledgehammers were banging away on the inside of his forehead and the high-pitched yammering around him only added to his misery. He’d give his damn fortune to be back in his bedchamber, curtains drawn, icepack on his head. But he was, for all his faults, a gentleman. He couldn’t leave Lady Anne to face the music--or screeching--alone.

He glanced over at her. She looked more than capable of defending herself. At the moment she was glaring at her elderly cousin Miss Clorinda Strange and Lady Dunlee, her mouth set in a tight line, her brows almost meeting over her nose. He’d swear her nostrils flared. If he were closer to her, he’d probably see green sparks shooting from her eyes.

“Cousin Clorinda, Lady Dunlee, you are making far too much of this incident.”

“Far too much?” Lady Dunlee sniffed and raised her eyebrows. “I don’t see how one can make ‘far too much’ of a lady disporting herself with abandon in a public square--and with the King of Hearts, no less.” She shot him a pointed look. He smiled back as blandly as possible.

“Anne.” Miss Strange was scowling. She’d not looked pleased when they’d interrupted her--she’d been perusing some large, musty tome when Lady Dunlee had burst in, dragging them along in her wake. “Is this true?”

Lady Anne turned a lovely shade of red. “Of course not. I was not disporting myself with”--Zeus, she turned even redder--“I wasn’t disporting myself at all.”

Damn, he’d like to disport himself with the lady in a private room, on a large, soft bed. Odd. He’d never been drawn to bespectacled spinsters dressed in sacks before, but there was something about this spinster... She’d been delightful in the square. Shy, hesitant, yet curious, too--quite the contrast from her prickly behavior up to that point.

“Oh, no?” Lady Dunlee said. “I saw you in Mr. Parker-Roth’s arms. You were running your hands over his chest before you kissed him and threw him down on the ground to have your wicked way with him.”

Selling by accident

2011-05-13T08:00:00.010-04:00

Yesterday I said I'd sold my first book, The Naked Duke, by accident. You may be wondering how that happened.

I decided I wanted to be a writer in about 5th grade. I read a story I'd written to the class and they laughed! I was hooked. But that was back in the days of typewriters, and I wasn't a very good typist. Still, I sought out writing opportunities wherever I found them, mostly writing short pieces--a poem in a free local paper, articles in my college magazine. When I graduated--after a brief stint in law school--I went to work writing federal regulations for the USDA school nutrition programs. (Anyone remember ketchup as a vegetable?) I started writing a book, and I had an essay published in The Washington Post.

And then I had kids. Thinking back, it wasn't my four sons that stalled my writing career. Until the youngest was 5, I was still writing. I had an article published in Parents magazine and was writing--and submitting--picture book texts. I even collected a number of "good" rejection slips. No, I think it was taking over both the neighborhood summer swim team and the cub scout pack at the same time that did me in. That and hitting the peak carpool years--with four sons in almost every possible kid activity, I lived in my minivan. If laptops had been invented then--and I'm not sure they had--I didn't have one.

I believe getting published requires a lot of work, dedication, perseverance, some talent--and a dash of luck. When my oldest son was getting ready to apply to college, I started looking ahead to what I would do when I didn't need to be a hands on mom 24/7. I looked back at all the effort I'd put into writing, and I decided it was time--maybe past time--to see if I could make my dream of publication come true.

I read all the old writing magazines I'd saved. I made myself sit down and write all the way to "The End" and then revise and write some more. Finally I joined the Romance Writers of America to get access to the Beau Monde chapter and all their Regency expertise. And I stumbled onto the Writing Regency loop.

The deadline for entering the Golden Heart--RWA's big contest for unpublished writers--was coming up, and the "loopers" were beating the bushes for manuscripts. If the Regency category (this is the old, short Regency category that's no longer around) didn't get a minimum of 25 entries, it would be cancelled--and not for the first time. Well, I had this manuscript. Susannah Carleton, author of a number of published Regencies, helped me write my first ever synopsis, and I sent in my entry. And here's where the dash of luck comes in--I made the finals. (I've come to realize that reading tastes differ wildly, so if I'd gotten a different group of judges, I might not have done well at all.)

Editors judge the final round. One of those editors so liked The Naked Duke that she got my contact information from RWA and called me out of the blue. The rest, as they say, is history.

Monday I'll start putting up Chapter 2 of The Naked King--Chapter 1 is already up on my web site. And don't forget to enter my contest. Details are in Tuesday's (May 10) blog.

Naked character connections

2011-05-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

I’ll confess that my Naked world was born partly from panic. I sold The Naked Duke by accident. I was ecstatic, but I also now had a two book contract, which meant I had to write another book...on deadline. Ulp. I didn’t take note of the exact date that I started the Duke, but I’m guessing it took me 3 to 4 years, writing in fits and starts, to complete. I had less than 9 months to write book 2.

I had a little bit of that “deer in the headlights” feeling.

I also had two male characters--the duke’s friends. Hmm. I was first drawn to Robbie, the Earl of Westbrooke. I’d already identified his heroine--Lady Elizabeth, the duke’s sister. But Lizzie was only 17, in her first Season, and while by Regency standards she was old enough to marry, my modern sensibilities wanted her to be older. So that left Major Charles Draysmith--he became The Naked Marquis. (Actually, he was going to be an earl when his brother died, but then my publisher and I decided these would be the Naked noble books and I already had an earl--Robbie--waiting for his story, so I had to “promote” Charles’s brother to marquis before I killed him off.)

Then it turned out Emma Peterson, Charles’s heroine, had a very interesting sister, Meg. Meg became the heroine of The Naked Gentleman. And John Parker-Roth, Meg’s hero, had five siblings. I haven’t--yet--written all their stories.

Here’s a sort of scorecard of Naked heroes and heroines:

The Naked Duke: James Runyon, Duke of Alvord, and Sarah Hamilton, American

The Naked Marquis: Charles Draysmith, Marquis of Knightsdale (duke’s friend) and Emma Peterson, vicar’s daughter

The Naked Earl: Robbie Hamilton, Earl of Westbrooke (duke’s friend and Sarah’s cousin) and Lizzie Runyon (duke’s sister)

The Naked Gentleman: John Parker-Roth (earl’s friend) and Meg Peterson (Emma’s sister)

The Naked Baron: David Wilton, Baron Dawson, and Lady Grace Belmont (stood John Parker-Roth up at altar years before Gentleman)

The Naked Viscount: Edmund Smyth, Viscount Motton, and Jane Parker-Roth (John’s sister)

The Naked King: Stephen Parker-Roth (John’s brother) and Lady Anne Marston

There are also two Naked novellas connected to the Naked world: “The Naked Laird” in Lords of Desire and “The Naked Prince” in An Invitation to Sin. “The Naked Laird” happens during The Naked Baron, at the house party hosted by Viscount Motton. “The Naked Prince” occurs a few months before The Naked King and is somewhat of a prequel. Part of that story involves the “prince” trying to keep Stephen from being trapped into marriage by an unsuitable female.

Tomorrow, the how I accidently sold the Duke.

A Naked chronology

2011-05-11T08:00:00.005-04:00

The Regency period in England is technically the years 1811-1820 when Prinny--the Prince Regent who became King George IV--ruled because his father, King George III, was mad. It was a time of great change--the Industrial Revolution was well underway; the Napoleonic Wars were ending. (Waterloo was fought in June 1815.) And it is a favorite setting for historical romances.

When I started writing my first book, The Naked Duke, I knew I wanted to set my stories after the Napoleonic Wars--I'm just not a fan of wartime. So the Duke occurs in 1816. The second book, The Naked Marquis, happens a few months later. And the third book...well, the heroine of The Naked Earl is Lizzie, the Naked duke's sister. She was only 17 in the Duke, and while that would be a perfectly acceptable age to marry in Regency times, it was too young for my modern tastes. She had to grow up--so that pushed The Naked Earl off to 1819. Once I had this basic timeline established, I worked forward or backward depending on who the characters were in my new stories.

So here is the rough chronology of the books. And don't worry--they don't have to be read in any particular order. I didn't actually write them in the order they "happened."

1816, roughly concurrently: The Naked Duke, The Naked Baron, and "The Naked Laird" in Lords of Desire

1816, a few months later: The Naked Marquis

1819, roughly concurrently: The Naked Earl, The Naked Viscount

1820: The Naked Gentleman

1821, February: "The Naked Prince" in An Invitation to Sin

1821, April: The Naked King

Tomorrow, how the Naked characters connect.

A Naked noble contest!

2011-05-10T08:00:00.004-04:00

I haven't done a contest in years, so I figured it was about time--and what better way to celebrate the release of The Naked King, the last (for now) Naked noble! Here's how it works:

1. Send me an email at writesally@comcast.net. In the subject line put "Contest" and then the Naked book you'd most like to win. So if you want to win The Naked Duke, for example, your subject line should read: Contest--The Naked Duke. That way I can easily separate out all the contest entries.

2. In the body of the email, give me your snail mail address so if you win I don't have to chase you down after the fact.

3. Bonus entries! Tweet about the contest or post about it on your Facebook page or blog to earn bonus entries. Here's a sample tweet: "Be a Naked winner with @Sally_MacKenzie! Visit http://tinyurl.com/5we7v7q to enter. Please RT!" Be sure to tell me about your tweets/posts in your email entry, so I can tally up your bonuses!

4. If you'd like to tell me why you want to win that particular Naked book or what you love about the Naked series, that's good, too. I might add an extra winner.

5. If you enter the contest, I'll save your email address so I can send you a reminder when the next book comes out. I might even, at some point, use the email addresses to send out a quarterly newsletter. So you won't get much email from me--and I'll never share your email address with anyone--but if you never ever want to hear from me, you probably shouldn't enter the contest.

Since the Kensington contest runs until June 15 (see yesterday's postcard post), I'll do the same. Then I'll pick winners, one for each of my books. I'll even pick winners of the novellas. (If you want to win one of those you can put the title of the novella or the title of the anthology in the subject line.) You're only eligible to win one book--I want to spread the Naked love around.

And if you want to learn more about the Naked nobles, keep stopping by. I'll be posting something every day until The Naked King is out in the world.

Naked postcard

2011-05-09T08:00:00.003-04:00

Isn't this cool? My publisher designed this to promote The Naked King and all the other Naked nobles. If you click on each book, it will take you to that page on their site. And did you notice? If you go to the Kensington Facebook page by June 15 and tell them why you love me (blush!), you might win a signed copy of the whole Naked series!

It's less than a month until the King's official release date, and in celebration I'll be posting something here every day, Monday through Friday, until June 7. Stop by tomorrow for my own contest announcement!

Note to self--things to bring to conferences

2011-05-02T08:00:00.003-04:00

I'm back from the Washington Romance Writers retreat. I'm beat, but I had a great time.

I love the WRW retreat. Yes, we have typical conference stuff like inspiring speakers and great workshops, but to me the retreat is different from any other conference. In some ways it reminds me of a big sleepover party. I love seeing all my WRW pals--I don't tend to go to meetings, so this is my once a year meet-up with many of them. And I always meet new friends.

The retreat is conference-y enough, though, that I need to bring a few items to make my experience more pleasant. Here's my partial packing list:

1. A watch. This time I left my watch at home, and it was a big mistake. I don't tend to wear one normally. I used to, but it annoys me while I'm typing, and shedding it was sort of a symbolic way to disengage from day-to-day reality and enter my story world. But at a conference--even a retreat--I need to stay on reality's schedule if I want to get to things on time. Relying only on my cell phone wasn't a great choice.

2. A water bottle. I find the air in hotels incredibly drying. I tend to drink gallons of decaf tea during the day anyway, so even if the air wasn't so dry my body would probably complain if I suddenly cut the fluids. And if I use the workout room, it's good to have water at hand.

3. A good tote bag. I'm still working on this. I hauled around a purse part of the time at the retreat when I wanted to have my smart phone with me. When I didn't care, I ditched the purse and just used one of those neck wallets. The best kind of bag, though, has a handy place for the cell, note pad, schedule, and water bottle.

4. A jacket of some kind. I thought the weather was going to be warm this weekend, but fortunately I grabbed a shawl at the last minute. (One of the beauties of being able to drive to a conference--your car can become an extended suitcase.) Even if the weather had been warm, hotels can be chilly or, in this case, chilly in some parts. I hate being cold.

5. Drugs. No, nothing crazy. A pain reliever just in case all the excitement of being out of my writerly cave amongst real, live people brings on a headache. And I always pack Benadryl for my seasonal allergies, but also because I seem to have a bad reaction to hotel bedding.

So that's my partial must-have list. Anyone want to add anything? RWA National is less than two months away!

Looking ahead

2011-04-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

This Friday I'll be signing at Turn the Page Bookstore with over a dozen other authors. Click here for details.

Signings at Turn the Page are not like any others. The store is small--it's in a pre-Civil War townhouse. There are so many people, everyone has to take a ticket to get a place in line--and they start handing tickets out an hour and a half before the signing starts! I hope plenty of Regency readers come, but they may be bleary-eyed from getting up early to see the royal wedding. I've decided I'll have to catch the vows on reruns--Thursday is a late night at the swimming pool for me, and then I'll have to get up early to get organized and drive out to Boonsboro.

After the signing I'm off to Leesburg for the WRW--my local RWA chapter--retreat. I look forward to this event every year. It's tons of fun, and I love catching up with friends.

But now I have to put my nose to the grindstone. I'm hoping to get another chapter written on the current book before I leave.

Seven things about RT11

2011-04-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

As promised, here are seven things about RT11, again in no particular order.

1. Glass elevators! I LOVE glass elevators, and the RT hotel had them. You could get on at the lobby and ride up through the lobby roof all the way to the 35th floor. I stood as close to the windows as I could. (No, I didn’t press my nose against the glass. I have some class.) I felt like I was on an amusement park ride. I even allowed myself a little “whee” or two if no one but my husband was riding with me. My husband is not a fan, though--he stood by the doors and looked a little green.

2. Saucy Sirens. I co-hosted a social Wednesday night--Saucy Sirens through History. Here are a few of the sirens, but I have to apologize for the quality of this picture. My camera's battery died, so I had only my phone and I don’t know how to manipulate those pictures. I promise no one was possessed by evil spirits, though some of the eyes might look like it.

From left to right, the sirens are: Sahara Kelly, Sabrina Jeffries, Mia Marlowe, Victoria Alexander, Sharon Page, and Kieran Kramer. There were other sirens I didn’t catch on “film”—how 20th century is that concept?

My friend, Kim Lowe, took a picture of me with a reader.

Can you guess which siren of the silver screen I was? Well, it helps to have the list of names to choose from. Most of the attendees could figure out who I was by looking at the matching game—I’m supposed to be Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

3. The Faery Ball. I’m not one for costumes, as you may have guessed from the picture above--I had all the Audrey Hepburn items except the hat (borrowed from Pat the Hat Lady) in my closet or drawers. So I didn’t go to the Faery Ball dressed in anything other than conference wear. But Alicia Condon, a Kensington editorial director, was very impressive. She’s the one with the zebra balloons—can you believe she made that dress herself? With her are Kensington authors Mingmei Yip, Kate Douglas, and Erin Kellison.

4. The historical panel--Finding the Right Historical Setting for Your Book--I was on with fellow writers Elizabeth Hoyt, Judith James, Sabrina Jeffries, and Amanda McIntyre. Renee Bernard tried valiantly to keep us under control and on topic. I had fun and a lot of laughs with this fabulous group—and I hope our audience enjoyed the presentation as well.

5. Seeing friends. I love seeing in person the pals I generally only get to “see” on line. After our panel, Elizabeth and I went to get lunch. We ended up in the lobby restaurant which turned out to be a great choice. We had a rotating selection of lunch companions--Renee Bernard stopped by for a while, and then Jade Lee. And it was either at that meal or another that I saw Kim Lowe, Kristina Cook, Amanda McIntyre, and Jessica Trapp. I’m not sure what the wait staff thought about the musical chairs, but they adapted admirably.

6. The mammoth book signing. This year I sat next to Julianne MacLean, whom I haven’t seen in a while, so it was great to catch up. And some lovely Aussie brought us that delicious Australian treat, Tim Tams, a kind of chocolate cookie. (Or biscuit in British English.) But the highlight of the signing, of course, is meeting readers. Many of them brought their Naked books from home for me to sign—I saw some of the original Dukes and Marquis!

7. The SOS Military Mixer. Kim Lowe does a great job with this every year. It’s a wonderful tribute to our military families. Rather than recap it myself, I’m going to suggest you hop over to Kim’s blog. She has some great pictures of the event, and if you scroll down through the days, you can get a look at RT from her reader’s perspective.

I’ll leave you with one more picture. Kim took this shot of Jessica Trapp and me with the woman at RT’s helm, Kathryn Falk (and her very cute puppy, General Patton).

RT is in Chicago next year. Hmm…I haven’t been to Chicago for a while…

Seven things about LA

2011-04-11T14:24:00.001-04:00

I’m home from LA and settling back into my routine. Okay, I’m really just wading through a mountain of laundry. It’s fun to go away, but it’s good to be home, too.

Here are seven of my observations about LA and its environs—in no particular order and of no particular significance.

1. Tattoos. Perhaps I should point out that I don’t get out much. I do go to the gym where I have seen more tattoos in the women’s locker room than I had previously imagined decorated female bodies, but most of these are coverable by clothing. Our first full day in LA, we took the subway (Yes, Virginia, there is an LA subway) out to Hollywood and I was struck by the size and prevalence of this form of permanent body decoration on men and women.

2. Public transportation. Everyone I asked before we left home assured me LA public transportation was pitiful and that we could not get around without renting a car. Not true, though I suppose it does depend on where you want to go. We took the subway twice to the Hollywood area (three times for dear husband) and rode the Big Blue Bus to Santa Monica without any problems. Much more relaxing, in our humble opinions, than having our own wheels.

3. The subway. I think the subway deserves special mention. The Hollywood stations—Hollywood and Vine and Hollywood and Western—were beautiful. See for yourself:

This is (I think) the Hollywood and Western station. I took this on a Tuesday morning—we decided to explore Griffith Park. As you can see, it’s not very crowded.

The escalators are pretty, too—and deserted. Odd for us, used to the D.C. Metro which is always busy.

Even the ceiling was worth looking at—this is the ceiling at Hollywood and Vine.

4. The air. I expected smog, and we did see some haze…or I suppose it could have been smog…when we climbed to the top of Mt. Hollywood and looked down over the city.

That building with the large dome and two smaller domes in roughly the center of the picture is Griffith Observatory, by the way.

But in general, I thought the air was clear and the light extraordinary. Our first full day in LA, I was fascinated by the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

5. Birds of Paradise. They look so exotic to me, but they seem to be everywhere in the LA area. I took many pictures, but I’ll limit myself to one here.

I was delighted by all the vegetation—the flowers, the palm trees, the cacti, the weird trees. It was clear we weren’t in D.C. any longer.

6. The ocean. We’re used to the East Coast beaches—or, more specifically, the Delaware/Maryland shore. We walked along the Santa Monica beach and realized we didn’t smell the ocean nor did we collect any spray on our glasses. Even though the ocean was making our toes wet, we didn’t feel damp. Not sure if that was just the season—when we go to the Atlantic, it’s usually in the summer or fall—or whether there’s just something different. Here’s proof we were on the beach.

That’s the Santa Monica pier in the background. It didn’t begin to compare in tackiness to the boardwalks in Ocean City (MD) or Wildwood (NJ).

And of course I can’t resist showing you this shot, though as you can see, there wasn’t much muscle in view. There were a few guys swinging from the standing rings, trying to make their way down the line like monkeys swinging through the jungle.

7. Dogs. We saw dogs everywhere when we were in Hollywood, especially in the parks—and by parks, I mean rugged trails like the ones you can see in the picture from the top of Mt. Hollywood. Here’s another view of a trail—almost at the Mt. Hollywood summit.

But I swear I’ve never seen so many Chihuahuas in my life. I think I saw at least one in a purse, but I definitely saw many in outfits—not just coats but dresses and tee shirts.

So that’s seven things about LA—I think it’s best I stop there, LOL! Coming next—seven things about RT.

In LA

2011-04-04T00:28:00.004-04:00

Mr. M. and I flew out to Los Angeles on Saturday. Saturday was not a great day to be flying Southwest. The airline pulled many of its planes for emergency inspections after one plane developed a hole in the ceiling when it was way up in the sky. It landed safely, but I'm glad I wasn't on that flight! Anyway, many flights were canceled--ours wasn't, but it did leave 3 hours late which, with the 5 hour flight and the time difference, meant we weren't in tip top shape when we finally arrived on the West Coast.

Sunday we went to Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. That's a picture of part of its exterior above. As you can see, it's a bit funky looking for a Catholic church. The interior was a huge space with extremely high ceilings. Everything was very modern looking--I think the cathedral was built in 2002. The Mass itself was pretty much the same as our Masses at home.

After Mass we explored the LA subway system. Before we came out here, I asked friends about LA public transit and they all said rent a car. But we didn't have any problems today. We took the subway out to Hollywood and Vine and walked all over. Tomorrow we try the bus to Santa Monica.

I'll try to post pictures here, but if you want to see them sooner, they'll be on my general Facebook page--that's where my phone posts to. Unfortunately I brought the wrong charger for my camera, so I have to rely on my phone.

Off to bed now to be ready for tomorrow's adventure.

Taxes and travel

2011-03-28T08:00:00.003-04:00

Things are a little topsy-turvy at chez MacKenzie at the moment. Important papers have mysteriously burrowed away somewhere, so we are on a hunt to find them, and the receipts I've been saving all year don't seem quite so clear now that it's time to order them for the tax man (or woman). Hmm. But Mr. M. and the accountant will bring order to it all, and I'll resolve to keep a more orderly filing system next year. Which is this year from a tax point of view. Oh, dear.

I can't leave all this paper wrangling to the last minute as I am off to the Romantic Times convention next week. I'm excited--and unsettled. I have errands to run, things to mail, things to buy. I must study the weather reports to figure out what clothes to pack. And where are my conference clothes, I wonder?

I like going out into the world, meeting readers and seeing writer pals, but I'm also very much a creature of habit. I like hiding in my writerly cave and following my boring routine. (I even eat the same thing for lunch every day!)

So I'll be running around this week. Next week I'll try to post some convention pictures here--and if you're my Facebook friend, you may find some pictures there. If you're actually at RT, please say hi!

Peepers

2011-03-21T08:00:00.003-04:00

We live across the street from what I think is technically called a storm water management facility. When it rains, all the water from the neighborhood is supposed to collect there and get rid of some of its impurities--litter, oil, grit, what have you--before moving into the stream that runs through the park.

When we moved here many years ago, the area was a dry basin where the kids sometimes played baseball. Eventually, dry storm water management facilities apparently fell out of favor, so the city came and dug the basin out, did some engineering and planting and--voila--now we have a wet storm water management facility--or what most people would call a pond.

Not all the neighbors are great fans, but I like the pond. We have ducks that hang out there--and sometimes ducklings. A great blue heron has stopped by. And this time of year, I blush to say it's a bit of an X-rated frog orgy. Er, or maybe they are toads. Actually I think my knowledgeable neighbor told me there are several varieties of the froggy/toady creatures in the pond. Today husband and I think we think we heard two distinct frog calls.

The frogs (or toads as I suppose they may be) can get quite loud. I had a friend over for a meeting one night a few years ago, and I had to walk her to her car--she thought she was in a jungle. Son #3's fiancee thought a car alarm was going off. But we just hear it as the beginning of spring.

Injured

2011-03-14T10:51:00.003-04:00

Grumble, grumble. I've done something to my upper right calf and so had to stay home from the gym today. I've learned that rest is, unfortunately, essential, but I hope I recuperate by swim practice tomorrow evening.

I'm not even sure how I did this. It showed up after our walk Saturday morning, so I did mostly arm work Sunday morning--which is why no gym today. Can't do arms two days in a row and I'm not sure what other things I can do that won't aggravate the condition, whatever it is.

Yes, yes, a very small complaint given all the suffering in the world today. The wars, the horrible conditions in Japan. And I have this little twinge in my calf.

Meanwhile I'm trying to write a synopsis for the next book, which is not one of my favorite activities. I write very much by the seat of my pants; laying out what will happen is a bit of a guess.

Grumble, grumble.

Promotion and writing

2011-03-07T10:38:00.005-05:00

I'm late with this post...again. My excuse is that I've been working on the new book. But last week I also had to take some time to work on a promotional booklet for my June release, The Naked King. And since the King is the last Naked book, at least for the time being, I wanted to make the booklet about my Naked world.

The first challenge was technical--how to set the thing up so it would print out properly. Here my writer pal Ann Macela came to the rescue. The alphabet often puts us next to each other at large book signings, and when I admired Ann's booklet at RT last year, she offered to send me the template--which I did nothing with for months and months. But when I was ready to work on this, I found it in my email and it worked like a charm!

Ann encouraged me to use the booklet as a means to promote all my books, and since I could fit the first chapter of the King in the booklet but not the second too, I had lots of empty pages to work with. I included a page for each Naked book, a shared page for the novellas--and I still had room. So I added a "dear reader" letter and a "Frequently Asked Question" section.

And then I had to produce them--a lot of them. So I took them to a printer I know.

Ack! Deep breath.

Once I recovered from the sticker shock, I decided the cost was worth it. Getting the booklet printed professionally will give me more time to work on the next book, but, more importantly, it will make it look so much nicer than I could on my little ink jet. So this week, hopefully, I'll get the booklet done and be able to hold the finished product in my grubby little hands.

If you're at RT in LA, look for them. I hope you'll like them, too. I'm following my general rule of thumb with promotional materials--no one seems to be able to prove what works, so I try to do things that make me smile.

Timing and reading

2011-02-28T17:12:00.006-05:00

I spent Thursday through Saturday last week at this venue: the Georgia Tech pool. Georgia Tech was hosting the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men's swimming championships and youngest son, aka swimmer boy, was competing. At Saturday's finals, the ACC recognized all the graduating seniors. I took this picture with my not-at-all-fancy camera, but if you look closely, you can see the line of sweatsuit clad folks standing along the end of the pool--those are the seniors. And if you look even more closely, maybe you'll be able to make out the timers standing behind them--the people in navy t-shirts and khaki pants/shorts.

I spent part of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday dressed in my navy ACC timer shirt and khaki shorts, armed with a stopwatch, watching...well, I think of them as boys, but I suppose most people would call them men swim up and down the pool. Timers start their watches when the starting machine flashes and then we have to get to the edge of the pool and stop our watches and the "plunger" that backs up the touch pad when the swimmer hits at the end of the race. You have to be prepared to get a little wet.

I like being down on the deck. I get to see my son, but I also get to see his college friends and even some of his high school friends who swim for other ACC colleges. And I got to time with another mom whom I've timed with for years beginning when our college seniors were little boys.

So how does reading fit into this post? While I was in the volunteer room waiting for the timer briefing session to start, I struck up a conversation with a young woman, the older sister of one of the college swimmers, who was reading a book on her Kindle. Of course I asked how she liked the device and what she was reading. And she was embarrassed to admit she was reading a "silly" romance.

Now I majored in English in college, so I understand literary snobbery. Genre fiction, and especially romance, isn't quite what an intelligent woman might want to admit liking. I think many of us have a sense of what we "should" be reading. I can even remember when I was young, maybe middle school, not allowing myself to go back and read books in the children's section, even though I wanted to, because I thought they were too babyish.

I wonder where this comes from? One genre is no better than another. If I want to read children's books or if I enjoy romance more than literary fiction, why not read what I want? We all have only a limited time on this earth, so it seems silly to force ourselves to read stories we don't care for, at least once we've graduated from class assignments.

You can be sure I admitted that I not only read romance, I write it--and I'm working on saying that proudly without letting the English major in me turn up her nose even one iota.

The Naked King

2011-02-21T10:28:00.004-05:00

Oops. I guess I was juggling too many balls this weekend and totally forgot to post anything here. So I'll go with a picture--the new cover for my June release, The Naked King.

Hmm. I figured how to put a box around it on my web site, but I think you'll just have to use your imaginations here.

Happy Valentine's Day and author panel

2011-02-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

I had great fun at our author panel at a Borders in Virginia this weekend. We talked about everything from research to writing and then I got to meet some readers. Here's the crew. L to R, front row: me, Tracy Anne Warren, Grace Burrowes, Mary Blayney, Kathryn Johnson; second row: a Borders bookseller, Lavinia Kent, Josie (another Borders bookseller and the lovely woman who got us all organized), Diane Gaston (writer and moderator extraordinarie).

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Read a good romance in honor of the season!

Romance Bandits

2011-02-12T07:27:00.001-05:00

Here's the link to the Romance Bandits. I'll be popping in over there today along with Vanessa Kelly and Kaitlin O'Riley. Stop by if you have a moment.

Blogging and book signing

2011-02-11T12:55:00.003-05:00

Well, the RT blog has been pushed off to next week. I don't have a date yet, but I'll post it when I do. Tomorrow I'll be blogging at Romance Bandits; I'll stop be here in the morning to post the link.

I'll be on an author panel and will be signing books at the Baileys Crossroads Borders on Sunday, so if you're in the Washington, D.C., area, please stop by. You can find the details here.

Blogging update

2011-02-08T12:01:00.001-05:00

Hi, all. The RT blog has been moved to Friday, so I'll post the link then.

More blogging

2011-02-07T08:00:00.002-05:00

I've been blogging like a mad woman recently...or maybe it's the blogging that's making me mad (as in crazy). I'll have something up at RT Tuesday and Romance Bandits Saturday. I'll stop by here and put the live links up on those days.

At one of the blogs we were talking about heroes, and I got a bit carried away in the comments about Larry the shoe salesman. You see, I have problem feet. Well, they aren't really a problem. They work quite well. The problem is that no company cares to makes shoes to fit me. I've walked in--and out of--more shoe stores than I care to count. Which is why you'll often see me in running shoes during the winter and flip flops in the summer. Sigh.

So last week I went to buy shoes without much hope of success. But Larry understood. Larry listened. He tried to help. He'd been a shoe salesman in the old days--he'd worked at a family shoe store that I'd gone to growing up--and he actually tried to fit my feet. I did get two pairs. I wore the one pair on our trip to Baltimore this weekend and I think they worked well. Not perfect, but I don't hope for perfection in shoes any more.

Now I'm just hoping he can find me some dress sandals.

Change of plans

2011-02-01T09:10:00.001-05:00

Turns out I'll be at The Season tomorrow, not today. And my web site is misbehaving again, refusing to accept my updates. Sigh. But I do have the first chapter of my June book, The Naked King, up. You can find it here.

All around the 'Net

2011-02-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

As promised, here are links to the sites where I'll be in cyberspace today.

First, I'm at my agent's blog talking about writing novellas.

Then fellow writer Theresa Romain is featuring me this month on her site.

And finally I'm at The Season with fellow antho authors Vanessa Kelly and Kaitlin O'Riley.

Hope to "see" you there...or there...or there.

Blogging, blogging, blogging

2011-01-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

As you've probably gathered, I'm not much of a blogger. I enjoy it from time to time, especially when I'm traveling like on our trip to London, but when I'm home, I think I should be doing some real writing. You know, on my books? But when I have a book releasing--the anthology An Invitation to Sin is officially out tomorrow--I feel I have to go leaping around the Internet being perky and saying--though not in so many words--Buy my book, buy my book!!

Er, you won't tell anyone that, right?

Actually, I do like meeting readers on the various blogs, and I enjoy answering the questions and coming up with the blog posts--or I would if it were only easier. But I do get rather tired of talking about myself and my books.

And here's another secret--I have to go back and remember what the story I'm discussing is about. Oh, it's not that I've forgotten. But I've gone through production on a book and written another novella since I last touched "The Naked Prince," so I just have to polish up the brain cells and remember which story this is.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm actually showing up on THREE separate sites, if you can believe it. Stop by tomorrow and I'll have the links up.

An Invitation to Sin

2011-01-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it, but "The Naked Prince," my novella in An Invitation to Sin, will be out in the world very shortly. The anthology's official release date is February 1, but books often find their way into the marketplace early. Please keep your eyes peeled.

I'm dying to read the other stories in the collection. I haven't yet gotten my author copies. We checked in a local Barnes and Noble Sunday on our way home from buying furnace filters (yes, I live an exciting life), but it wasn't there yet. My husband always orders a few copies from online retailers sort of as a test; we think BN.com might be shipping the book soon.

"The Naked Prince" is most closely tied to The Naked King which will be out in June. In the sort of crazy way publishing works, I wrote the King before I wrote the Prince, and then I had to go back on copy edits and try to be sure the two stories were consistent.

In honor of the anthology's release, you'll see me around the blogosphere more than usual in the next few weeks. Tomorrow I'll be over at The Romance Dish talking about whom I'd most like to sit next to at a Regency dinner party.

We survived!

2011-01-17T08:00:00.004-05:00

Last Friday, these two buses pulled up in front of our house and disgorged 80 or so hungry swimmers and coaches. They were supposed to arrive at 5 pm, but plans changed and instead they came at 4:15. Fortunately, the caterer arrived early, too, so all we had to do was remove the covers from the food and stand back.

We had a few nervous moments. According to the caterer's menu, we'd ordered enough food for 120, but the trays started to run low alarmingly fast. The seniors went first, and I'm not sure any of the chicken parmigiana was left for the juniors let alone the sophomores or freshman. But there was other food--lasagna and two other pasta dishes--so everyone got something (and we gave the freshmen first crack at the desserts). We even had a little pasta and salad left over.

The locusts--I mean swimmers--crammed into all the available space: chairs, sofas, stairs, floor--but they did all fit into the house. (Another big sigh of relief.) They seemed to have fun, were very polite, and left about 6 pm. Then husband and I cleaned up and collapsed around 8:30.

Saturday we drove up to Baltimore to watch the swim meet and hand off some of the leftover waters and Gatorades for the swimmers to have on deck. Third son and his fiancee showed up to watch for a while, and we gave them the leftover brownies and cookies. After the meet, swimmer boy went off to the next hosting house--this one in New Jersey--and we went off to check into our hotel before meeting third son, fiancee, and second son (who'd just gotten back to Baltimore from New Orleans after a week of pro bono work) for dinner.

Now we're back home. I admire people who can entertain with grace and poise. I don't know if it's a skill I didn't master in my youth or a talent that doesn't mesh well with my basically introverted personality, but...Let's just say hubby and I are very glad we did it, but also very glad it's over. Now I have to get back to my "real" world and get to work on the next book.

But first I think I'll just sit here and stare out the window for a while.

Cleaning, organizing, panicking

2011-01-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

This Friday, we are hosting a dinner for 80 college swimmers (son #4's team). Panic is beginning to set in. How on earth are we going to fit 80 people into our smallish house? I'm pretty sure we can't repeal that law of physics for the evening--you know, the one about no two bodies can occupy the same space at the same time.

In an attempt to make more space, I've been cleaning and packing things away. This is actually a good thing. I was never into the fall and spring housecleaning thing, but doing a thorough vacuuming, dusting, and sorting should probably happen more than once a decade. (Unfortunately, this is not much of an exaggeration.)

So now you know what I'm doing this week.

Back to the routine

2011-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

The two kids who were home for the Christmas holidays have returned to their respective institutions of higher education, and Mr. M is back to a regular work schedule, so I'm back to my routine. I love having everyone home. I love seeing them and talking to them...but I love getting back to my usual, boring pursuits, too--getting my exercise, eating my yogurt and apples for lunch, knowing my coffee cup will be in the cupboard when I want it.

What's on the calendar for me right now? Getting through the King page proofs, polishing the novella one more time before I send it off to meet my January 15 deadline, and cleaning and organizing the house before the college swimmers descend January 14.

And how does this blog fit into my routine? My goal is to post at least once a week, probably on Monday. If other blog-worthy...or sort of worthy...thoughts strike more often, all the better. I'll also be posting to other blogs around the release date for An Invitation to Sin (February 1!), and I'll put a link to those posts when they go up.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T11:10:00.004-05:00

Happy new year--can you believe it's 2011 already? I just signed a contract for a trilogy that has me delivering the last book in 2013--crazy, but great, of course. And my next Naked noble, "The Naked Prince," is out in just one month. It's a novella in the anthology An Invitation to Sin with Jo Beverley, Vanessa Kelly, and Kaitlin O'Riley.

Here's hoping everyone has a happy, healthy new year--with lots of great reading.

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-17T08:15:00.002-05:00

I might poke my head in here sometime over the next few weeks, but I might not. I'm facing a number of deadlines and other stresses from now until mid January--the crowning event is probably having to feed 80 plus college swimmers in my little house mid January (Don't ask!)--and two of the kids will be home for Christmas, so I want to enjoy their company as much as I can. (One is a law student and has already informed me he'll be holed up working, too.) So, Merry Christmas (or merry whatever holidays you celebrate) and happy new year!

Last bookmas clues

2010-12-16T12:15:00.001-05:00

The Twelve Days of Bookmas has been fun to play. Or, I haven't actually played, since I haven't been guessing--good thing, because I would never have been able to figure out any of the answers. But I've had fun coming up with clues. Sometimes the appropriate (in my odd mind) clue jumped out at me the moment I saw the answer and sometimes I was, er, clueless.

So here we go, for the last time--the answers to these clues are two children's books.

1. I somehow missed this series, though it looks like my kids could have read it. I don't think they did--at least, I know I didn't read it to them. I had to go to good old Wikipedia to figure out a possible clue. So here it is: I didn't read these books, but I did read--or at least I have a copy of--the two volume set of Le Mort d'Arthur from my college days. Unless Wikipedia lies, there's some connection there.

2. I'm not sure if I read this book by this author or not, but if I did, it wasn't a favorite. I do, however, have two copies of a slim book he co-authored.

Bookmas clue

2010-12-15T12:15:00.000-05:00

Woof!

Revision Brain

2010-12-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm working on revising my novella--the novella isn't being particularly cooperative--so that's where I am. I'll post a Bookmas clue, if I have one, at 12:15 pm EST.

Bookmas Clue

2010-12-14T12:15:00.000-05:00

Today's clues are brought to you by the letter "W": 1. Watch; 2. Win; 3. Wave; 4. Wings.

Cooking Catastrophes

2010-12-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

A word about my Bookmas clue of yesterday--sadly, I speak from experience.

My husband is an excellent cook, but he has made a mistake or two in the kitchen over the years. This particular time we had my parents over for dinner, and he was making Nigerian Beef-Spinach Stew. He was using the recipe from our American Heart Association Cookbook, but this one seems pretty much the same.

Unfortunately, in the last minute flurry, he grabbed the baking soda instead of the corn starch. He realized something was amiss when his sauce started foaming.

I'm not sure we've had that dish since.

Bookmas Clue

2010-12-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

Don't confuse corn starch with baking soda unless you want to eat and brush your teeth at the same time.

Trying to find the Christmas spirit

2010-12-13T08:00:00.001-05:00

Tis the season and everyone should be happy, right? All should be well with the world. And everyone in my immediate world is well, but...

A woman I knew years ago, the mom of kids that were in some of my kids' classes back in elementary school, died December 4. Her husband died eleven years ago--when the kids were still in grade school--so now the "kids"--ages 21 to 26--are orphans. I became an orphan this year, but I am so much farther along in my life.

And Sunday I found out one of my youngest son's high school classmates--a young man 21 or 22 years old--was in a serious car crash Saturday night. He's injured, but I don't know yet the extent or duration of his injuries.

So I'm thinking today of families that must spend their Christmas at hospitals or funeral homes and of the doctors and nurses and others who will spend the holiday with them. And I'm hoping Christmas peace finds its way to those places and those people, too.

Quantum physics

2010-12-10T12:15:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not going to talk about science, I just thought I should explain, in case my clue yesterday wasn't obvious, what I was referring to: Schrodinger's cat. The link will take you to the Wikipedia article. I don't know enough about it to tell you if the article is correct or not, but it does mention the cat.

How do I, an English major, law school drop out, former regulation writer, current romance novelist, know anything about Schrodinger's cat? Sadly, it's not due to my scholarship or thirst for knowledge. It's because of my kids.

Third son was a physics and computer science major in college, and first son was an aerospace major who started thinking about graduate school in plasma physics around the time he graduated. (I thought there were only three states of matter--the world has changed a lot since I was in school.) So we had what I call the "cat book" in the house--a physics book with a picture of Schrodinger's cat on the cover. Of course I asked about it and of course I didn't understand the answer, but I did remember the cat.

Bookmas Day 7

2010-12-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

Wanted: Cat, dead and alive.

If I say any more, this clue will be too obvious.

Christmas letters

2010-12-09T08:00:00.006-05:00

So I'm working on the annual MacKenzie family Christmas letter. So shoot me.

I've never understood why some people are rabidly against Christmas letters. What could be more in the Christmas spirit than taking some time to review the past year and sharing it with friends and relations? Do people object because the letter isn't written personally to them? But then why is sending a purchased card with only a signature better?

I confess I didn't grow up in a family that did Christmas letters or family pictures for that matter. What I remember is dad bringing home big books of cards. We'd pour through them, and my parents would choose the card they wanted. Then my dad would order them--he worked for the U.S. Senate and I think there was some place to order cards there--which seems like an odd notion now, but I never thought about it then. In some amount of time, he'd bring the cards home, imprinted with my parents' names so they didn't even have to sign them. I do think my mother addressed the envelopes by hand--this was way before word processors.

I turned to the "dark side" when I had young kids. We did the kid Christmas picture, and I tried to write a letter with every card. I had this crazy idea that my friends and relations might actually want to know a little of what was going on in my life. But my life isn't that exciting, and it really isn't that exciting when I'm recounting it for the 10th or 20th or 30th time.

Light bulb moment. Since by then the word processor had been invented, I realized that even though I was a terrible typist, I could write this all once, allowing myself to be more amusing (perhaps) whilst not suffering terminal writer's cramp, and then print it out multiple times.

Yes, I know there are Christmas letters that provoke eye rolling. I've gotten a few. Okay, I may even have sent a few. While most recipients seemed entertained by my efforts, the word did come back through the grapevine that one family member was not a fan. Fine. So I stopped sending this person a letter. No big deal.

And I like getting Christmas letters, even the eye roll ones. I'm extremely disappointed to open a card from a friend to find just a signature. These are people I care about, even if we only correspond once a year. I want to hear what's up in their lives.

Of course, as I'm working on the letter, I just realized that when we replaced the ancient desk top computer, I lost my address list. Hmm. Maybe some lucky folks will escape the MacKenzie family Christmas letter this year.

Bookmas Day 6

2010-12-08T12:15:00.002-05:00

So I didn't get disqualified from giving clues--Jessica just sent the puzzle out late.

If you guys get this one at all, let alone quickly, I'll fall over in a dead faint. Which would be a very bad thing as I might be driving home from the dentist then. This is only for my semi-annual check up, but I still hate it. I won't let the hygienist anywhere near my mouth unless she's got the topical anesthesia at the ready. And as you get older...my husband has to go in tomorrow to get an old filling replaced. Apparently they wear out. What's up with that?

Okay, another lame clue. When my mother was alive, I used to pick her up once a month while the kids were in school and we'd go to the mall for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We didn't have a lot of time--she lived about 20 minutes from my house, assuming traffic wasn't hideous, and I had to be sure to be back to fetch the kids from school. And as she aged, she had trouble walking--and seeing--so she wasn't up for a long day of shopping. We always made time, though, to go Borders and pick out that month's Signet Regencies which we would share. Little did I know I was doing research for my next career.

She hated to take up too much of my time, but as she got older and her glaucoma got worse, she had to give up driving. She loved clothes--she, unlike me, was very stylish--and my father was as bad as my husband is to shop with, so I would often go with her to the clothes stores in the mall. One her favorite stores says on its site that it's known for its "legacy items." (Italics is theirs from the site.)

So here's the clue: one of these two editors could be the son or grandson of the folks who started the store my mother favored, but if he is, he misplaced the "s" at the end of his last name.

Personal Training, Dentists, and Bookmas

2010-12-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

I skipped the gym/exercising for five full days due to the copy edit crunch. I hate to do that. Usually I can manage my schedule without having to resort to such a full court press, but when I'm facing a hard deadline, I don't have much choice. I know, though, that I'll get back to my routine--and having to show up at my weekly personal training session tomorrow (today when you read this) helps.

I do like my routine, though. I'm such a boring person. I even eat the same thing for breakfast and for lunch every day.

But tomorrow (today when you read this) I don't get to follow my routine. After the gym, I have to go to the dentist. I hate going to the dentist.

All this is to say I don't have the Bookmas puzzle yet, and I'm not sure I'll have time to come up with a clue as I'll be running around most of the morning. I'll post something if I can, but if you don't see anything, that's why.

Or maybe my last clue was too easy and I've been banned from further clue giving.

Bookmas Day 5

2010-12-07T12:15:00.002-05:00

Okay, I've given up on having the cleverest clues. I'm aiming for the most long winded, incoherent, odd clues.

As a writer of Regency romances, I have to deal with a certain amount of history. Some Regency writers are history nuts--or, I should say, history enthusiasts. Not me--though in my defense, back when I was in school, history was mostly about white men and battles. Not the interesting stuff, IMHO, of course.

But now that I'm writing books set in 1816-1821 (the novella I'm currently working on is actually set in 1785), I need to think about things like...bathrooms! Did they have anything beyond chamber pots, and if so, what? (But chamber pots are sort of funny--I've used them to bash villains over the head.)

Anyway, if you've been keeping track of me over the last few months and aren't here just to see if I have a decent Bookmas clue (and yes, you might want to move along if that's your goal), you know I went to England in the fall for fun and research. And poor Mr. MacKenzie got dragged along. After we got back home, we--actually, I think it was Mr. MacKenzie's fault--realized we live on the east coast of the US where there are a lot of historic houses built in the time period of my interest. So we visited Homewood House in Baltimore--I blogged about our visit.

The docent was very patient. We were her last tour and I wanted the full show. It was very near closing time, but she seemed to enjoy taking us around--she gave me a high five when I recognized an Argand lamp. Even though Homewood House is on Johns Hopkins' campus, I guess not so many history buffs go through it. And then I was delighted to see a sort of fancy night convenience like one I'd seen in England. After the tour, I had to buy the big illustrated book Homewood House by Catherine Rogers Arthur and Cindy Kelly because I like to look at pictures of objects that my characters might use or see when I'm trying to picture scenes. And then Mr. MacKenzie found Temples of Convenience & Chambers of Delight by Lucinda Lambton that's mostly about bathrooms and I had to have that, too.

So, no, Jessica didn't come up with a series about historical bathrooms of New York City--but, hey, maybe that's an idea! But the title of the series she did develop has something to do with public utilities. My 1785 novella, which I am not setting in London partly because I want to finesse the whole late 18th century Georgian powder and patch thing which has never been a real romantic idea for me, would probably not be able to have this utility in the book; by 1816, yes, probably I could have this as part of the London streets in my stories.

Another video

2010-12-07T08:00:00.002-05:00

So you all probably know what yesterday's Hanukkah video was a take off of. Er, I didn't really. So here's the original song done in an amazing--to me, at least--a cappella way that even shows you how he made the sounds.

Copy edits and Bookmas Day 4

2010-12-06T12:30:00.001-05:00

The copy edits for The Naked King are on their way to NYC, tra la! I now have oatmeal for brains...perhaps that will keep me safe from zombies. Part of the challenge with this book was trying to be sure it was consistent with my novella, "The Naked Prince," which will be out in the anthology An Invitation to Sin in February. I wrote the King before the Prince, but the Prince will be in bookstores before the King. (The King comes out in June.) And I handed the King in almost a year ago...I often feel like I'm in some sort of weird other dimension. A time warp, maybe...and no, I'm not going to sing.

So, I hope I was successful. I'll get another look at the book when page proofs arrive, but those are expensive to change.

And now on to the clue. I am not very good at guessing games, and I think I'm not very good at guessing game clues. What comes to mind at the moment--and remember, I've got oatmeal for brains--is a story about Jane Doe. Jane was born in the "town" I grew up in. I say town in quotes because it was more a postal address--the place was unincorporated and spread out over a good bit of territory. Anyway, I still live not far from this "hometown." I was at church one Sunday, at the donut hour after Mass, when I got talking to a woman whose daughter had been on our neighborhood summer swim team. Since I was the adult volunteer in charge of the team, and did all the data entry work, I knew her name--mostly I knew her daughter's name--and had chatted with her on the pool deck over the years...though I think her daughter was only on the team for a year or two.

Anyway, we got chatting. It was probably around the time I'd sold my first book, The Naked Duke. Somehow we got around to that fact, and my friend said, oh, her cousin wrote romance novels. It turns out her cousin is Jane Doe!

Happy Hanukkah

2010-12-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

When my kids were in nursery school, the school would celebrate all holidays, including Hanukkah. Being Catholic and going through all Catholic schools, I'd never been exposured to the story and customs. And I have to say, it always seemed that the non-Jewish kids, mine included, ate all the latkes. Anyway, I saw this on Facebook and had to share.

Bookmas Day 3

2010-12-03T11:55:00.003-05:00

Coming up with a clue for this one was really hard. The first thing that came to mind was the name of the series rhymes with the last name of a late 18th century writer who wrote a famous biography. Yeah, that's pretty lame, I know.

Romance University

2010-12-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm over at Romance University today with two of my pals, talking about our agent.

At some point I'll post the next Bookmas clue.

And in between this and that, I'll be working on my copy edits.

Bookmas Day 2

2010-12-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm a law school drop out, married to a lawyer (a law school classmate). I'm also the daughter of a lawyer and the mother of a law student. If you haven't seen this video, take a look--it's not 100 % accurate, of course, but it's close enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMvARy0lBLE

Here's the clue: far too many people probably went to law school because of this lawyer. Again, you need to post your answer in the comment section here: http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/