Of James Bond, Eileen Cook and Natasha Bedingfield

"Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts." — Coleman Cox

So, yesterday I posted a comment from one of my readers about the romance genre and asked for comments. I have to admit to being surprised that not more of you had something to say! Charity, OTOH, picked up the gauntlet and ran with it... so if you want to read her response to DeeDee and find out how she combined James Bond, knife-wielding LOL cats and Greek billionaires, go check out this blog post.

Charity, I am indebted to you. Again.

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I filled out three interviews, worried about two guest blog posts (one of which I don't even have an idea for--Judy said we needed to find a "Guest Blog Post Subject Generator"...anyone know of one?), worked on the LASR site, managed to read a little, stressed out about the upcoming election results for Super Tuesday, tried to chase down a copy of "Unpredictable" by Eileen Cook that was released yesterday--without success (a POX on all the stores in my area for not carrying it!), played with Dakota and STILL found time to write a little on my mystery.

As I've been reading through it, I remembered how much I enjoyed the story (with any luck everyone else will, too). It's really rather light on the mystery (though people are definitely being murdered... I'm halfway through, and the body count is up to three), but the focus is on the people and the romance. I wonder, then, if this would fit into a more contemporary romance line like Harlequin American? Anyone know if HQ American has ever included a secondary mystery storyline? Trish? Kara?

I'm a little afraid I'm writing something that won't fit anywhere comfortably. Again. Story of my life.

Anyway... just over 200 words again. Yay!

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I really love this song. I love the beat. I love the words and the meaning. I really love it.

I've been singing it all morning. I woke up with it in my head. You must realize this is a bit odd for me, because I mostly listen to country music.

But... it's just a good tune.



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You Are a Light Pink Rose

You represent sweetness and grace. Your vibe: Kind and gentle Falling in love with you: is like falling in love with a best friend

What Color Rose Are You?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Excuse me just a moment while I pick myself up off the floor... Me? Kind and gentle? Sweetness and Grace?

**snort**

So, Tori, gonna be my twin again? *G*

Wednesday Wind-Down...

"The one thing sure about politics is that what goes up comes down and what goes down often comes up." - Richard Nixon

So, I have to say I'm disappointed at the results of yesterday's primaries. Oh well... on to Michigan.

You CAN make a difference with your vote--you can vote for me in the P&E polls for best short romance. "The Christmas Curse" and "Pregnancy Cravings" are both up there. Thanks.

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The weather here was GORGEOUS yesterday. 50-ish and sunny. Snow is melting, flies are springing to life. I think that is amazing... we get one warm day, and the bugs awaken. I don't understand how it happens, to be honest. I looked to see how houseflies overwinter, and apparently it's in their larval stage in a pile o' poo somewhere... But isn't all that poo underneath our three feet of snow? So, why is the front of my house peppered with houseflies? ((scratches head)) It's a mystery.

I worked quite a bit on my edits for "A Change Of Heart" yesterday... I did all the easy stuff first. Now I have to go back to the little comment bubbles where the editor has challenged me to fix some stuff that isn't so easy. Still, I think I might even get it done today! Woot!

Sadly, that is the last thing I have in submission (Bad, Bad me), so I need to get on the ball and get some more stuff out there.

Hey! ... if any of you out there reading this are published with companies other than TWRP and Samhain, I'd really like to hear about your experiences (I've seen work from places like Linden Bay, Black Lyon, Highland Press, Freya's Bower, etc... and have been pretty impressed by the quality).

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Your Daily Dakota -- she LOVES her toys!



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You Are More Yin

Feminine Devoted Forgiving Fall Winter Afternoon Moon Time Passive Metal Honey

Are You More Yin or Yang?

Um... NO. I HATE Fall and Winter... I am NOT passive, nor am I terribly forgiving (one of my worst faults). I fall asleep in the afternoons... Oh well...

Crazy Days in NH

“A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy but won't cross the street to vote in a national election.” -- Bill Vaughn

Can I tell you how glad I am that the NH Presidential Primary is finally here? Fact is, I know who I'm voting for, and have known for some time... so the ELEVEN phone calls I got yesterday from various candidates aren't changing my mind. Okay, I'll be honest -- two of those phone calls were surveys. I picked those up and answered them, cuz I like to answer those... except I really hate the question about "What's the most important thing..." (i.e. the economy, immigration, the war in Iraq, values, etc.) because I always want to say "all of the above".

In any case, it will be a relief to not have to hear it all for awhile. It is pretty nifty to be in such a little state where this is all so important. You get to meet the candidates if you want (I was invited to no less than four house parties, and two town halls) and it's made talking about the whole process to DD quite easy since it's always in the forefront. She loves to go vote with me.

Polls open at 6 a.m. in our town, which is good for us--because of DH's hours, if they didn't open that early he wouldn't have been able to vote.

So "GO ((insert name of my candidate here -- and, no, I'm not saying))!!"

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I think my wonderful Samhain cover artist and I have finally decided on a cover for "One Love For Liv". I was hesitant to go with an animated cover, but nothing else seemed to work...so animated it is. She found one that perfectly expresses the sentiment in the book, though I have to admit, I do wish there was a bull mastiff on the front. Oh well, guess you can't have everything!!

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I got what are *probably* the final round of edits for "A Change Of Heart". My editor wants to get this into production by the beginning of February, so I need to get them done ASAP. I'm excited. I like this story... but then, I really rather like all the stories I write.

Note to my regular readers: I don't think this one will make you cry unless you have very sympathetic tear ducts.

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Your Daily Dakota:



Yes, she is a hunting dog... there's a squirrel on the bird feeder -- look at that pose! LOL...

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The Recipe For Marianne

3 parts Savvy 2 parts Happiness 1 part Rebellion Splash of Delight Serve over ice

What's the Recipe for Your Personality?

OOOH.... I like!!