Happy New Year!

Since this will be my last post of 2005, I thought I would write down what my New Year's resolutions are for 2006! I normally shy away from making New Year's resolutions, because I feel in a way I'm setting myself up for failure. But this year, I'm going to call them my New Year's goals, which sounds much more achievalbe you know?

So here goes:

1. Start excercising a bit more. I used to exercise like 4 days a week and now I'm down to 2, so I'd like to add one more day to my exercise routine.

2. Break my filthy Starbucks Chai Latte habit. Really is it necessary for me to spend $4.00 to drink tea?

3. Work on being a better writer. Starting with learning how to plot, write cliff-hanging chapter endings, and work on better characterizations.

4. Finish revising the romantic comedy I wrote at the beginning of the year.

5. Write at least two more books

6. Finish revising the YA that I wrote during NaNoWriMo.

7. Find a boyfriend/life partner. This should really be number one on my list, not number 7 but at least it's on the list this year.

8. Donate books and clothing to charity, and try to find time to volunteer. I used to work on Sundays at the soup kitchen at St. John the Divine. I need to get back to that and stop being so lazy.

9. Start querying agents again.

10. Work on being a more effective and compassionate president of RWA NYC.

11. Stop buying tabloid magazines and claiming that they're for research. They're not. Let's be honest, I buy them because I like reading them.

Well those are my New Year's resolutions. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I keep at least 6 out of the ten.

What about y'all? What are your New Year's resolutions? And how do you feel about making them at all? Good, bad or indifferent?

You must be kidding me!

Okay, Tori Spelling is engaged? She just seperated from her husband like five minutes ago. I can't believe this. How is it that she's already on husband number 2, and I can't even find a decent guy to date, let alone one I'd actually would want to spend time with (not including my sweet Chris from 8 Mile Creek who unfortunately has left these shores).

And he's good looking, and has two kids from a previous marriage! And now he's left his wife for Tori Spelling?

I seriously have to rethink my dating strategy for the New Year.

Too many choices

Well, yesterday I emailed the agent who still has my partial (after six months) and let her know that I was withdrawing the manuscript from consideration. Truthfully, if she hadn't gotten to it after six months, I doubt she was going to. I mean I emailed her three months after I sent it to find out the status, and she said she hadn't gotten to it, then I ran into her at the New Jersey conference and she told me that she was going to get it, and then nothing. It's now the end of December, and I still haven't heard from her, so I decided to just let her know where I was at the moment. I did let her know that I would love to submit to her again, although I don't think her agency does YA.

Now, I'm spending my time today (apart from writing) deliberating about what books/DVD/CD's to order as part of my Amazon gift certificate that I just got from one of my people. I only have $100 and I want to spend it wisely, which means not ordering Meg Cabot's new book because I can easily buy it myself. No, if I'm going to order stuff it has to be things that I've wanted for awhile but couldn't afford.

Of course, I just discovered that you can buy shoes on Amazon, which given my shoe addiction is not a good thing to know. Just clicking on the page, and I've already seen a pair of Michael Kors sling-backs on sale for $53.00! I was seriously tempted to use my gift certificate on the shoes.

Still, I've narrowed it down to getting the companion book to Regency House Party (research for that regency novel I may one day sit down and write), the dual Michael Buble CD/DVD, which leaves me $50 left to spend, but I do qualify for the free shipping!

So the question for the day is this, what would you buy with an Amazon gift certificate?

Crazy in Love!

Is it just me, or are not these the hottest shoes ever? I mean look at them, they've got that 1940's retro feel without actually being shoes that someone wore in the 1940's because that would be weird. And they're a steal at $170.

They would look fabulous with a little black dress with a flirty skirt, or a really cool pair of dark jeans, and a blue shirt that matched the blue in the shoes.

Betsey Johnson, damn you! Now, I'm going to lust after these shoes until I find some way that I can buy them. Please god, let these be on sale!

Whinging Wednesdays

I'm actually not really in the mood to complain today because of the holidays. Actually, I had a post that I was planning to write about how I'd been Scrooged by the people at my job, but they're actually slowing coming through for me slowly but surely. Granted, I'm not getting an envelope full of cash like years past, but a $100 gift certificate to Amazon.com is nothing to sneeze at.

So really the only thing I have to complain about is the second job. For those of you who are regular readers of my blog, you know that I also work for a market research firm where I watch TV shows, and then write pithy questions for a web-site that viewers can access called Reward TV.com where you can all win valuable prizes (although don't email me asking for the answers to any of the questions!). Sounds like a dream job, and in many ways it is, but there are nights like last night and last Friday, when I wonder if the extra money is worth it.

See part of the job is tracking product placements in the shows to see how well the consumer (that would be you) actually takes notice of these things. Normally, if TPTB think a show is going to be particularly IPP heavy, assign two writers as well as a logger to record the IPP (product placements). Well on both Friday and last night, it was just me and the logger, and guess what? Both nights, the shows were heavy on the IPP. Who knew that a show about marriage proposals (the show I watched on Friday) could be so product heavy. And it wasn't like I was tracking the things that you would expect, I was tracking Sea World (which was mentioned three or four times), Chevrolet (3 times, and it's a client so I had to write questions).



Now the way it works at my job is this, if a client is shown or mentioned, we have to write a question. If a product is mentioned, but not shown - no question, unless it's mentioned more than once. Also if a product is shown but not mentioned, it gets a question. So instead of having to write 12 questions for a show, I ended up having to write 16 on Friday, and 15 last night.

But last night took the cake. First of all, the show I was assigned to write was a show on Discovery called 'Dirty Jobs' which is pretty self-explanatory. The host, Mike Rowe, hangs out wtih people who do jobs that no one else really wants to do or would think about doing. Like harvesting worm poop. Or being an exterminator (I won't tell you how large the rat was they caught but it was the size of a chihuahua). Or the trailer that was literally covered in German cockroaches. I get itchy just thinking about it. But the best was the cave that had a floor covered in bat guano also known as bat poop. This stuff was so thick that Mike Rowe got his boot caught in it and couldn't get it unstuck. This stuff was like quicksand. I have no idea what they do with bat guano, nor do I want to know but there's a cave in Texas called Bracken Cave that's covered in it.

So I write up my log and I go to show it the coordinator and it turns out that the logger isn't ready. So I wait and I start writing my questions. The show ended at ten o'clock and finally around say 11:30, I'm told that hey, guess what? The logger who was supposed to do the show couldn't and they forget to assign a new one. So I had to wit for like another hour for the other logger to finish, and she had like twice the number of products I had, so I had to basically write all my questions from scratch, which meant I didn't get home until almost 2:30 in the morning.

I'm functioning write now on about 4 hours of sleep since I didn't wake up until 6:30 this morning (Oops!) and I had to be at work by eight.

Thank god, I'm used to quick changes from being an actress otherwise I would never had made it on time.

So, as anyone had a day that seemed to start out okay and then rapidly hit the skids?

It's the characters, stupid!

I had an epiphany this evening as I was walking through the New York Public Library after work. I had gone to pick up the copy of Libba Bray's Rebel Angels that I had reserved. While I was there, two things hit me. The first was that I have never read a Nicholas Sparks novel, and I have absolutely no desire to do so, despite the fact that I've seen two movies based on his books, and they weren't bad. I think part of the reason I refuse to pick up his books besides disinterest, is he once made a comment to Entertainment Weekly about how men made better romance novelists than women which I thought was the most bone-headed comment I'd ever heard.

The second epiphany that I had was that I've never put down a Nora Roberts novel after I'd finished it, and thought to myself, I wish I had come up with that plot. Not that Nora isn't a great plotter, but that's not what I come away with after I've finished one of her books. It's the characters that stay with me. I've read almost everyone of her J.D. Robb books, not for the mystery, but to find out what's going on with Eve and Roarke, Peabody and McNabb, and whether or not Mavis is ever going to have that baby (it's been like two years now that she's been pregnant).

It's the same with the Stephanie Plum books. If you asked me to name a plot of any of Janet Evanovich's books, I couldn't tell you, but I can tell you about Morelli and Ranger, Lula, Grandma Mazur, Stephanie's parents, her cousin Vincent.

When you're creating a series, the characters have to be compellling, otherwise, why would the reader keep coming back book after book. But the same is true of books that aren't series driven. One of my favorite romance novels is by Lavryle Spencer, called Years. The love story between Teddy and Linnet is what I remember the most. Even Gone With The Wind, we remember Scarlett, Melanie, Rhett, Ashley and Mammy more than we do the actual story.

I've also read every single Mary Higgins Clark book, which are incredibly plot driven page-turners, which keep me up all night reading them. But the next day, I couldn't tell you what the book was about. They're like Chinese food, an hour later and you're still hungry.

Not that plot isn't important, but it's the framework to a novel, and (for me at least) the characters are the bricks and mortar. If you have really great characters, the plot should (hopefully) flow from what the characters would or wouldn't do.

I freely admit I suck at plot. I either have too much or too little. I have the biggest problem ending chapters but characters I can write, dialogue I can write. Every single rejection letter (that hasn't been a form letter) has mentioned how much they like my characters.

Now if I can just get the plot thing going, I'll be cooking with gas.

Which Santa's Reindeer are you?

You Are Dancer

Carefree and fun, you always find reasons to do a happy dance. Why You're Naughty: That dark stint you had as Santa's private dancer. Why You're Nice: You're friendly. Very friendly.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

All I want for Christmas

Dear Santa,

It's me, Elizabeth. I know you get letters from lots of Elizabeths, so I'm the cute one who lives in Hamilton Heights. Yeah, I've been a very good girl this year. I've been a diligent, concientous president of our local RWA chapter, I've managed to pull myself out of the financial hole that I've been in, I've been working hard and not one, but two jobs. Okay, I've kind of fallen down on the patient, always there, easy listening friend side, but I'm getting better at that. I refrained from posting bad reviews about my ex-best friend's books. I've written two books this year, and I've revised one book. I've even made contact with old friends from my past this year. So, I think I deserve a little something, something to make 2006 even better.

1. A new laptop computer. A SONY Viao would be nice, but I'm willing to accept a Compaq.

2. The new Senseo coffee machine so that I can finally make a decent cup of coffee. I mean how hard can it be to put those little disks in the machine?

3. Barnes and Noble membership card. The cashiers ask me if I have one every time I shop there, and I never get around to buying one. So Santa, if you could give me one for Christmas I would be much appreciative.

4. An agent, preferably one of my top five agent choices would be totally cool and awesome, Santa. I would much appreciate.

5. And if you're going to give me an agent, about a book contract? Preferably a two book deal.

6. Enough money so that I can start designing my web-site in anticipation of 5 & 6.

7. A boyfriend. A really nice one who is not a wimp but has a good job, a nice apartment and has his emotional baggage down to a carry-on. No scrubs need apply!

8. The complete Absolutely Fabulous series on DVD.

9. Enough money to travel to the RWA conference in Atlanta, the New England conference, Venice, London, and a few other destinations next year.

10. Any one of the following for number 7:



















or him:


















or him:
















Thanks, Santa! I know you probably can't get me everything on my list, but if you could at least get some of them, I would appreciate it, especially 5, 6, & 10.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth K. Mahon
New York, NY

Merry Chrismahanukwanzakah

This is so wrong!

I just saw this, and i had to post it here. It's so cute, but it's so wrong! It definitely put me back in the holiday spirit. And yeah, the transit strike may be over! Keep your fingers crossed.

Whinging Wednesdays - Strike Out!

Welcome to another addition of Whinging Wednesdays. This week's edition is the Strike edition. Yes, unless you've been living under a rock, New York City is suffering through day 2 of a city wide transit strike.

Somehow I missed or I can't remember the transit strike of 1980. I have a feeling that I was upstate at our house with my parents, so I have absolutely no memory of that strike. I do however have experience of other transit strikes. I was living in London in 1989, temping for various companies thanks to my six-month work permit. For about two or three weeks, once a week the tube would strike. Not the buses, but the tube and I think British Rail in solidarity. Anyway, they would announce the strike like a week in advance, so everyone was prepared for it. Companies arranged for buses to pick up employees, the buses were still running so people were taking those. And the rest of us walked it.

I lived in Earl's Court at the time, and I had to walk to Southwark which is across the river Thames. It took me a good hour to get to work, but it was summer and the weather was beautiful so it actually was a pleasant walk. Being a New Yorker, of course I had my sneakers at the ready, shoes in bag as I headed off with my flatmates for the day. Things didn't slow down in London. I even remember going to the theatre one night during the strike.

Here in New York things are different. Not just the subways are on strike, but also all the buses as well. Cabs are gouging passengers by charging per head, according to zones, instead of for mileage. So a cab ride that should cost me $10 dollars to get to work, would cost me $25 or more, since where I live is not included in a zone which makes no sense but that's the Taxi and Limousine commission for you.

So for the past two days I walked about 100 blocks to get to work and another 100 to get home. Let's just say the only thing I'm going to get out this strike is being physically fit. It's 26 degrees out right now, so by the time I got to work I basically had no feeling in the lower half of my body, and I couldn't even pick up a bagel when I went to get breakfast this morning.

So why am I at work? Well since I'm a temp, if I don't come to work, I don't get paid. So I'm not being a martyr. Trust me, if it were snowing, I would be at home, check or no check.

Right now, I'm a little ticked off not only at the Metropolitan Transit Authority but also the Strikers and my company. Every other major investment bank in this city has hired buses to pick up their employees around the city. Just this morning, I saw vans and buses for Penguin, Citicorp, HBO, Lehman, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Dresdner Kleinwort Wassertstein. But not my company. The most they've come up with is shuttle vans between the three buildings the company has offices. That's it.

The head of the MTA has now gone to court to have the heads of the Transit workers union fined a $1,000 day for every day they're on strike. Plus the union members are also being fined two days of salary for every day they're on strike. Apparently it's illegal for members of a public works to go on strike. The International Transit Workers union doesn't support their local brethern in this strike either. Meanwhile the city is losing up to $100MMM a day. The head of the Transit Workers union is a hardliner. He's not about to cave, and neither is the MTA at this standpoint. Apparently, neither side has heard of the word compromise. Although the MTA was more willing to negotiate than the Transit workers.

Merry f*&$#@ing Christmas!

Tuesday Meme

Megan has tagged me so here goes:

Seven Things To Do Before I Die:

1. Have Children
2. Make a living writing.
3. Travel to India
4. Have sex again
5. Buy a pair of Jimmy Choos
6. Have sex again
7. Eat at Nobu

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Plot
2. Drive
3. 32 Fouettes.
4. Improvise a recipe.
5. Clean my apartment
6. Pay bills on time
7. Admit when I'm wrong

Seven Things That Attract Me To My Spouse (or Significant Other)

Don't have either, would like to though. Add that to the seven things to do before I die.

Seven Things I Say (or Write) Most Often:

1. Call Me Madcap
2. Point Taken
3. Tell me about it
4. Oh crap!
5. Not in this lifetime
6. Cool Beans
7. Darn.

Seven Books (or Series) I love:

1. Ex and the Single Girl by Lanie Diane Rich
2. Charlie All Night by Jennifer Crusie
3. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
4. In Death series by J.D. Robb
5. Jane Eyre byCharlotte Bronte
6. Emma by Jane Austen
7. Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar

Seven Movies I Would Watch Over and Over Again:
1. Persuasion
2. Love Actually
3. All About Eve
4. Sense & Sensibility
5. Lion In Winter
6. Gone with the Wind
7. The Empire Strikes Back

Seven People I Want To Join In (Be Tagged)
1. Vanessa Virtue
2. Kelly C.
3. Gabrielle (Diary of an Adult Runaway)
4. Mary (Bandwagon)
5. Charlie Horse
6. Karen Scott
7. Marianne Mancusi

Monday Interview: Cathy Yardley

Tell us a little bit about your background. What did you do before you became a writer?

I've had a ton of day jobs (and still do, occasionally!) before becoming a dedicated writer. I've worked in advertising, at a design house, at an electronics distributor, a healthcare and insurance company, and a ton of really really weird temp gigs. They all are fodder for the books, though!

When did you realise that you wanted to write books, and who or what inspired you?

I tried to fool myself for years, saying that I didn't really want to be a writer, but I kept being drawn to it. When I joined the Romance Writers of America, Ifinally felt like I wasn't this solitary freak. The women of the Los Angeles Romance Authors inspired me most of all.

How did you get your first book published? Did you have a mentor?

I didn't really have one mentor specifically, although again, several authors from the Los Angeles Romance Authors took time out to give me some pointers and
insights on "the biz." Rebecca Forster was one of them. I also had a kick-butt critique group, all of us unpubs. I dedicated my first book to them!

You started out writing romance, and then you segued into writing Chick-lit. What made you come to the decision to write Chick Lit? What were the ups and downs of such a transition?

I had a novel in mind when I started writing romance, but since it was a coming-of-age story about a woman in L.A., I didn't think my romance publisher would
want anything to do with it. This was just before Chick Lit burst onto the scene. Then, I heard
rumblings about a new "City Girls" line that Harlequin was putting out, and that they were looking for books exactly like what I had in mind. It was pure kismet and it was a very positive experience.

This month, Surf Girl School, your first Signature release, hits shelves. Please tell us about the story and how you came up with such a unique premise. Did you personally take up surfing?

No! I wouldn't take up surfing -- I'm more of a hiking girl than a water person. But my Mom took up surfing at the age of 57, and she absolutely adores it. When I heard about how she learned, and I met some other women who were surfing (which has been a male dominated sport), I started to kick around the idea of a stressed-out woman who decides to surf torelax. I'd wanted to revisit the setting from my first book, THE CINDERELLA SOLUTION, and SURF GIRL SCHOOL has many characters and the same locale as that first book. It was a lot of fun to write.

What kind of promotions are you and your publisher doing around the theme of surfing lifestyle portrayed in Surf Girl School?

There are extras in the book, with a surf glossary and a guide to California. I'm not planning anything elaborate, since the book has a category shelf life of30 days. That is the drawback of writing for seriesromance.

Your last book, Couch World dealt with the world of club life and couch surfing, previous books have involved the world of restaurants. Where do you get your ideas? Which comes first for you, plot or character?

Strangely enough, the first thing that comes to me is usually the title. I started kicking around the title "Couch World" with psychiatry in mind, but then it morphed into the club book based on what I knew about transient living. I get a rough idea of a premise from there, and then I try to flesh out a believable character, so I can develop the plot based on the character's goals and personality.

Do you write full time now? What does a typical day as a writer consist of?

I am in a day job, temping, just for a few months, but it's part time. When I write full time, I get up, log a few hours at the computer, work out, eat lunch, thendo "regular life" stuff in the afternoon... bill paying, promotion, online stuff, house cleaning, dog walking. I spend the evening with my husband, just chilling out.

There has been much discussion about plotting vs. writing by the seat of
your pants, which are you?

I am a die-hard, insane plotter. I've just finished writing a non-fiction book called WILL WRITE FOR SHOES: How to write contemporary women's fiction, that will be out next Fall. In it, I include my insanely compulsive plotting system. I will say this though: compulsive or not, it does work very, very well!

Allison and Sean are opposites, in that Allison is a type A personality, and Sean is more laid-back. Do you prefer to write opposites attract stories? How do you feel about the Alpha Male?

I am not really a big fan of the Alpha Male, although it works sometimes for other authors. I write Beta and Omega men, personally. I think there is nothing sexier than a guy with a great sense of humor. I like to write a certain element of opposites attract, because you've got such a great built-in conflict there. Conflict is always the key to a great story.

What is your ultimate goal when it comes to your writing?

Usually, to get the damned thing done. That's not very inspirational, is it? ;) Actually, I want to
write stories that entertain, and to a certain extent, inspire or reassure readers. I love stories that say"don't worry... you're not as screwed up as you think you are, in fact you're just fine."

Critics have been claiming that chick lit is dead for the past several years now. How had the genre changed from when you first wrote L.A. Woman, and where do you see the genre going?

I don't think chick lit is dead. I think it's glutted, certainly, and it's also tranforming and cross-breeding with other aisles in the bookstore, as it were. I think the genre will still buy, but it'll be harder to break out from the crowd. I also think that romance will take on more chick lit "voice" and sensibilities. I cover the different sub-genres and the future of chick lit in my non-fiction. I'm a poster child for Chick Lit, a walking Infomercial. :)

You also write romance as well first for Duets, then for Harlequin Blaze and now for Signature. What do you like about writing romance? And do you plan to continue?

I think I'll keep writing romance. I am under contract for two more Harlequin categories, one Blaze, one "up in the air." I enjoy love stories and happy endings, and taking what can be a very stale and formulaic genre and twisting it to find a new take. That's a pure creativity rush.

You have a really cool web-site, but I know there aresome authors who
still don't have a web presence. Do you think its possible for new romance
writers to make it without having some kind of presence on the internet?

I think it is possible to "make it" without an internet presence. It's still probably the most cost-effective promotional tool you can use, however, if you're planning on being proactive about your own marketing.

This year, RWA attempted to try to define romance, and it caused a bit of a ruckus among the membership, due to thelimitations of the definitions. What were your thoughts on this, and do you think its possible/necessary to define romance in a way that doesn't exclude other sub-genres?

This is going to sound jaded, but I have learned to ignore RWA-induced furors. Don't get me wrong, I love the RWA. However, I think there are a lot of fragileemotions and high tempers in general in a writing organization, much less one as large as ours is. Ithink that if the RWA is trying to position itself as a heavy hitter like the Mystery Writers or Horror Writers, then yes, they should probably set some boundaries. The other problem, as most Chick Lit authors can tell you, is when you are trying to get romance purists to read "other" subgenres that don't
follow romance's traditional conventions, and worse,trying to GRADE those subgenres in competition, the results are usually disastrous.

You've done workshops across the country, what has it taught you about
being a writer, and do you think that its an effective way of promoting your work?

I love speaking and teaching. If I had more money (and didn't have a husband and kid on the way), I'd speak whereever they let me, barring travel fatigue. I think everyone should write. It's practically my religion. As far as being an effective way of promoting my work, I think it is, although there is a danger of being known more for your speaking than your
novels.

I understand from your bio on the back cover of Surf Girl School that you think that Daria (MTV cartoon) is a positive role model. I loved Daria personally and was sorry they didn't continue it into the college years. Why do you think
she's a role model?

I love Daria! She's that perfect combination of dry intelligence, sardonic humor, tender vulnerability and rock-solid tenacity. She's always her own person, she always speaks her mind and stands up for her principles. Who wouldn't want to be like that?

What was the last movie you saw?

In theaters? I can't even remember! But in general... let's see, I saw "Garden State" on cable.
Beautiful, quirky little movie.

Fav books you've read this year? Why?

William Gibson's PATTERN RECOGNITION. The voice is amazing! It's just... it's so painfully cool, it's ridiculous. And the writing, the detail, is to die for.

You're a native Californian. If you could live anywhere else in the world,
where would you live?

Actually, I'm not a native Californian. My first 11 years were spent in Upstate New York, near
Poughkeepsie. But I do love California. If I could live anywhere else -- FLorence, maybe, or Paris, definitely. Or the Pacific Northwest. I adore all
those trees, and I like rain.

Out of three cities you've lived in CA, which is your favorite and why?

San Francisco... or at least, the SF Bay Area. I have a lot of fond memories, from college, from my early writing days (I'd just moved back up when I got published.) It's beautiful, and the people are stranger.

Name your top five favourite books of all time.

In no particular order... hmmm.
Stephen King's IT,
Jennifer Cruisie's BET ME,
Robert Heinlein's THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS,
Marian Keyes' LAST CHANCE SALOON,
and as I mentioned, William Gibson's PATTERN
RECOGNITION. Of course, this list changes almost hourly. :)

If you could have a one-to-one conversation with a famous historical figure, who would it be with and what would you talk about?

At the moment, I'd say St. Ignatius Loyola, or Vlad the Impaler. I have a paranormal story I've been kicking around, and I'd probably ask lots of questions. :)

What is the number one piece of advice that would you give to aspiring writers out there?

Publishing is not going to give you confidence. Develop, as best you can, a firm, centered sense of
confidence around your own work, one that allows you to take revision and rejection impersonally, and one that motivates you to keep going.

Finally, when's your next book due out, and what's it about?

The next book is probably the non-fiction I mentioned... my next fiction books are a Blaze called
ONE NIGHT STANDARDS due out in Dec '06, and a Red Dress Ink called TURNING JAPANESE out in Jan '07. I'm really excited about that one, particularly -- I got to go to Tokyo to research it, and it's all about manga, those Japanese comics that you see everywhere these days. It's about an American trying to make it as a manga artist. I can't wait for it to come out!

Thanks so much for taking the time out to answer these my very nosy questions!

Well that's all folks for 2005. Coming soon in 2006, hopefully more author interviews. Ciao for now!

Happy Birthday Jane Austen and Noel Coward

Today, we celebrate the birthdays of two literary giants, Jane Austen and Noel Coward. It's amazing how much that both writers have in common. Both born near the end of the previous century, but making their mark in the next. And both were known for writing comedies of manners that are still being read and performed today.

Jane was born in the age of Enlightenment. During her lifetime, she saw her country involved in two long-term wars, one with France, the other with the newly formed United States. She saw the fall of the French monarchy, the creation of the Regency in England.

Favorite Jane Austen: Emma

Least favorite: Mansfield Park

Jane Austen book seriously crying out to be adapted: Northanger Abbey

Favorite adaptation: Persuasion (hands down the best movie version of Jane Austen novel)

Least favorite: Mansfield Park. Fanny Prince in this adaptation had absolutely nothing to do with the character that Jane Austen created.


Noel Coward, actor, writer, composer. Born in the last year of the nineteenth century, he's a creature of the twentieth. Saw two World Wars during his lifetime, his career rise and fall and rise again before he died in 1973.

I've been lucky enough to see many productions of Mr. Coward's work beyond his two most famous plays, Private Lives (with the delicious Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan) and Blithe Spirit.

At his best, his characters are wittier than any mere human as a right to be. At his worst, he's still funnier than most writers. His characters can be seen as brittle, or caricatures. They exist in a time and a place, where men and women dressed up to go get a loaf of bread, they drank cocktails like Manhattans and Old Fashions, and went out to nightclubs every night.

My favorite play is one that is revived the least. Fallen Angels is a frothy little play about two women who discover a shared lover is in town. They proceed to get completely drunk while their husbands are out town, argue and pass out. Tallulah Bankhead starred in the London production.

My least favorite is The Vortex, his first play about a drug-addicted piano player with a Mommy complex. I saw Rupert Everett mumble his way through this play in London many years ago. It was painful.

So Happy Birthday to Noel and Jane. I raise a glass of champagne to the both of you.

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

Well, today I'm in a much better mood. I don't know why, there's a storm a coming, a potential transit strike, and the conference room I booked for my group's off-site didn't have a network cable so that they could all check their emails during the day.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that Liz Smith, the syndicated columnist mentioned little ole me by name. She had mentioned in her columns that she wished that the James Bond novels would be reprinted, and I emailed her to let her know they had been with beautiful vintage covers. So she talked about in her latest column. I'm famous! (Well, not really. Certainly not as famous as Ms. Lani Diane Rich who had the E! News Reporter Kristin Veitch mention in her column that she read all three of Lani's books recently).

Still, I'm feeling the holiday spirit much more than I was recently.

So in honor of the holiday, I'm going to answer yet another holiday quiz courtesy of Vanessa Virtue, where all the good stuff seems to be happening these days (check out her post about the man-dog in Au Bon Pain here.

To pass the time away...

1. What is your favorite Christmas carol? "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

2. What is your favorite fun Christmas song? "Grandma got run over by a reindeer"

3. Who's your favorite reindeer? Rudolph...of course, does anyone remember the names of the other reindeers?

4. What's your favorite Christmas food? Christmas Pudding with brandy hard sauce.

5. What's your favorite "day" of Christmas? Isnt' there one about lords a leaping? Love that one.

6. What's your favorite Christmas special? That's a real toss up. I love the Charlie Brown Christmas, but I also love The Grinch and A Year Without a Santa Claus. I love Heatmeiser and Snow Meiser.

7. What is your favorite Christmas movie? Easy..."Love Actually." Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman all in the same movie. I just love it, particularly Bil Nighy as Billy Mack.

8. Do you prefer Frosty or Rudolph? See question #3...Rudolph. Frosty creeps me out.

9. What's your least favorite Christmas movie? God, any Hallmark/Lifetime cable abomination that we get every year. Don't even get me started. They all just make Christmas depressing.

10. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Christmas Day. Only heathens open them on Christmas Eve.

11. Where's your favorite place to celebrate Christmas? I normally have Christmas with a friend who is also an orphan but if I had my way I'd celebrate Christmas in London.

12. What's your favorite Christmas memory? I don't know if it's my favorite, but the one that stands out for me is the last Christmas I had with my Mom. We spent it in a motel room in Kingston, NY since my dad had just had brain surgery to relieve a blood clot (or hematoma as Dr. McDreamy likes to call it) on his brain before it killed him. We opened our presents in the motel room. It should have been depressing, but since my dad could have died but didn't, it felt hopeful. We then went to visit him and my uncle who was also in the hospital with emphysema, so in a way, it was the first Xmas in awhile that my immediate family spent together.

Okay...have at it and have fun with it....

Next week, on Monday, we'll have an interview with Cathy Yardley.

Whinging Wednesdays

Well, I was hoping that I wouldn't have anything to say this week, what with the holidays coming up and everything.

That was before I discovered I couldn't get a ticket to see Spamalot before Tim Curry leaves, and I wasn't invited to my department Christmas party. Apparently, not being invited was simply 'an oversight.' Hmm! I'm sure it's just an oversight if I don't get their expenses in before the deadline too. Spamalot I'm more bumbed about. When I didn't have money, I could have gotten a ticket. Now that I have money, the damn show is sold out until January! Plus, it's colder than a witches you know what here in New York.

So here we are again, with another edition of Whinging Wednesdays. Today it's just random complaints. Like for instance:

1. Subway cars that smell like feet.

2. Bosses who've been sick for weeks, but still come into work hacking up a lung. Then they proceed to breathe all over the place, infecting you with their germs.

3. People who don't know how to fold their garbage neatly before they put in the tiny waste baskets that we have at work.

4. Teenagers who block traffic in front of the MTV building waiting to get into TRL.

5. Not getting a new episode of Prison Break until March!

6. Bosses who wait until the last minute to ask you to book a room for an off-site.

7. The threat of a transit strike in the middle of the holiday season.

8. Nik being robbed of winning America's Next Top Model

9. The systematic destruction of any strong female character that is not somehow related to or sleeping with Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital.

10. Having to appear at bankruptcy court 4 days before Christmas.

Oh, and note to Shar Jackson, girl get over it and stop blaming Britney for stealing Kevin Federline. Frankly, she did you a favor, otherwise you would be the one supporting his broke-ass, do nothing, spend all your money, wanna be rapper instead of Britney.

What Movie is Your Christmas Most Like?

Your Christmas is Most Like: The Muppet Christmas Carol

You tend to reflect on Christmas past, present, and future... And you also do a little singing.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Bear in a Bar

Okay, a friend sent this to me, and I thought it was funny so I thought I'd pass it along:

A bear walks into a bar in Billings, Montana and sits down. He bangs on the bar with his paw and demands a beer.

The bartender approaches and says, "We don't serve beer to bears in bars in Billings."

The bear, becoming angry, demands again that he be served a beer.

The bartender tells him again, more forcefully,"We don't serve beer to belligerent bears in bars in Billings."

The bear, very angry now, says, "If you don't serve me a beer, I'm going to eat that lady sitting at the end of the bar."

The bartender says,"Sorry, we don't serve beer to belligerent, bully bears in bars in Billings."

The bear goes to the end of the bar, and, as promised, eats the woman. He comes back to his seat and again demands a beer.

The bartender states, "Sorry, we don't serve beer to belligerent, bully bears in bars in Billings who are on drugs."

The bear says, "I'm NOT on drugs."

The bartender says, "You are now. That was a barbitchyouate."

Badda-Bing!

Walk the Line

Went to see Walk the Line yesterday, and fell in love with Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Talk about a classic love story. Two people who fall in love but can't be together because they're both married. Not to mention that the hero is seriously addicted to pills, and is haunted by the death of his big brother.

It's not a perfect film. It took awhile to get going, and at first I wasn't sure about Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny, particularly during the audition for Sun Records, but then something happened. He met Reese Witherspoon's June Carter, and the movie took off.

From the moment backstage when her dress gets caught up in his guitar strings, you see his yearning for this woman that he's admired from childhood. From then on it's like he's a man possessed, driven to prove himself, popping pills like they're M&M's, neglecting his first family, touring all over the country, and in love with a woman he can't have.

Watching Reese and Joaquin perform as Johnny and June, you find it hard to believe that both of them haven't been singing all their lives. They have a naturalness together and a chemistry that can't be faked.

Yes, the movie suffers from biopic disease. I didn't notice that Waylon Jennings was a character in the movie, until towards the end when they're holed up in a motel doing drugs. Carl Perkins kind of got short shrift, and unfortunately Johnny's first wife Vivian comes across as a shrew at times compared to June. You get the feeling that she wished that he had stayed a door-to-door salesman instead of the legend that he became.

They fudge the timeline with June writing Ring of Fire, and then you never get to see her give him the song, he just performs it in concert later in the movie. There's another scene where she gives him a copy of Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, and I would have liked to have seen what that meant to him, if he read it. Also, I would have liked to have seen more about how he got himself off pills the first time but those are just minor quibbles.

Not to knock Ray, which I adored, but there is something to be said for the fact that both Reese and Joaquin sang, instead of lip-synching. It allows the concert scenes a spontaneity that they wouldn't have had otherwise. Reese, more than Joaquin is the revelation in this movie. For once, she gets past the perky, driven persona that she's played in her last several movies. She's more womanly in this film. You can see why Johnny Cash fell in love with her. I do agree with the critics who say that you don't really get to know her apart from her interactions with Johnny apart from a brief scene in a local store. I would have liked to have known more about what it must have been like in such a conservative society to be a twice-divorced woman, and growing up on stage but then again the movie is called Walk the Line. It's Johnny Cash's story.

Even if you're not a Johnny Cash fan, I would recommend that you see this movie, and I can guarantee that you'll want to run out and buy a few CD's afterwards.

Grade: A-

A Sad Day

Sad day today. I had planned on blogging about Donny Osmond being a grandfather or the fact that Brad Pitt was planning on adopting Angelina Jolie's kids but I just read that both Richard Pryor and Senator Eugene McCarthy died.

Richard Pryor was one of the funniest comedians, and one of the first black superstar comedians. Without him, there would be no Dave Chappelle and no Chris Rock. He wasn't just a comedian though. He was an Oscar nominee for his role in Lady Sings the Blues opposite Diana Ross. He survived almost killing himself when he set himself on fire smoking crack only to spend his last few years battling MS.

Senator McCarthy famously lost to Richard Nixon in the 1968 election. If Bobby Kennedy hadn't been shot and killed in June of that year, perhaps we would have been spared Nixon and Watergate. After Bobby's death, McCarthy won the Democratic nomination, but lost to Tricky Dick that fall.

McCarthy served two terms in the U.S. Senate, and before that five terms in the House of Representatives. His political zenith came in 1968. His opposition to the Vietnam War turned into a crusade to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. McCarthy didn't win. But his candidacy, and the 1968 campaign, left lasting imprints on American politics.

McCarthy was one of the first Democrats willing to take on a sitting president. As we've learned from the recent war in Iraq, you risk your career speaking out against a sitting president's policies. At the time, the protestors against the war were students, and what were considered radicals. McCarthy risked his political future to speak out against the war.

So good-bye to men who in both their ways were an influence on our lives.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Well, we've had the first real, honest to goodness, sticking and leaving a big mess snow this morning. When I woke up the streets were covered in white powder. I'm not sure how long it's going to stay, given the heat that tends to melt the snow in mid-town but I'm sure it's pretty in Central Park right now.

This is a picture of Broadway uptown. Streets look nice and slushy don't they? Nothing worse than waiting to cross the street, and you get splashed with a combination of snow and dirty water.

But there are some advantages to the snowy weather. If you're a kid, there's always the possibility of a snow day. We never had snow days at my school when I was growing up, probably because I went to school in the city. I used to listen to the radio in the morning, feeling envious at all the public schools that were closed at the slightest hint of snow. I can only remember by school being closed once in 12 years, and we were closed for three whole days, that's how bad the snow was in New York. Basicall it takes a freaking blizzard for a private school in New York to close.

To make it worse, we weren't allowed to wear pants to school in bad weather. So what most of us did, was wear them under our uniform and then take them off outside school before entering. Doesn't that make a pretty picture?

Since it snowed so rarely in New York what did I do for college? Go to school in the frickin snow belt of New York, Syracuse, NY. It's not like I wasn't warned before I matriculated, but coming from the city I had no idea. I even turned down going to Bard, even though they gave me the most financial aid, because the campus was rural, and I wasn't into buying snow shoes.

I'd never seen as much snow as we had freshman year, I felt like I was drowning in it. Snow everywhere. And to make it worse, it snowed sideways so no matter what you did, you got a face full of snow. When people ask me why I graduated in three years, I tell them 'snow.' Not to mention the cold, get into your bones, fingers feel like they were falling off, cold. It snowed my first year in college from October until May. I'm not kidding you, we were hit with a freak snow storm in May. I remember my father coming to visit at the end of April to take my winter clothes home. As his car drove away back to the city, it started to snow. Thank god, I'd kept my snow boots.

Snow means hot chocolate with whipped cream, sitting in front of a warm fire, and reading a good book or two, or watching some crap TV. I plan on finishing the next 4 episodes of the first season of Popular, a WB show that was cancelled before it's time.

What do you love or not love about snow?

John Lennon: 1940-1980

I can't believe that today is the 25th anniversary of Lennon's death.

The picture is from the Virgin Megastore in London, commemorating the anniversary.

I was in high school here in New York when he was shot. It was a month after my 16th birthday, his latest album Double Fantasy had come out with that cover of him and Yoko Ono had just come out, and the airwaves were filled with his latest single. It seemed as if there was going to be a renaissance of his music. If I remember correctly, he hadn't put an album out for awhile, perferring to stay home and spend time with his son Sean.

I didn't know anything about the lost years, or his leaving Yoko for another woman briefly. I was more interested during that time in Abba, disco, and other pop stars. Lennon and the Beatles seemed old to me.

It was in homeroom when we heard that he'd died. I remember sitting in the classroom with my boyfriend at the time, and feeling just inexplicably sad. Chris kissed me on the cheek as we sat there, it was the closest I'd ever felt to him. Even though the Beatles broke up when I was six, it seemed as if they had always been a part of my life. They came to America a month before I was born in 1964. Everyone used to talk about whether or not there would ever be a Beatles reunion. I used to watch the Saturday afternoon cartoon, I listened to the Beatles compilation albums. Anyone have the Beatles Love Songs?

It was the first rock star that I can remember dying, apart from Elvis, and Elvis' death had a different sadness to it. More the road less traveled kind of thing. It sort of felt like what it must have been like for an earlier generation when the Big Bopper and Richie Valens died in that plane crash. It was sad and inexplicable that someone would just shoot him for no apparent reason. I'd never even heard of the Dakota before Lennon was killed (I led a pretty sheltered life when I was younger).

Now everyone is weighing in on what may or may not have been Lennon's legacy.

The Independent takes a more standard, positive look at Lennon's life. The UK newspaper gathers a few of Lennon's celebrity friends to tell anecdotes of their times with John. Sir Elton John, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carly Simon, David Geffen, and others paint a cheeky, fun-loving portrait of the man.

Geoff Edgers at the Boston Globe laments the commodification of Lennon, writing:
"I miss the human soap opera that Lennon lived, and seemed to thrive on. He was a master manipulator of the press, staging bed-ins as his agit-rock adaptation of the 1960s ''be-in." Rather than make nice, he attacked other musicians. He called Mick Jagger "a joke" and slammed McCartney, his onetime musical brother, in song and print. [In] "How Do You Sleep," [he] taunted Paul with lines like ''The only thing you did was yesterday." Did Tupac ever make Notorious B.I.G. feel so small?"

Where were you when you heard John Lennon had died? What's your favorite John Lennon song?

Whinging Wednesdays - Guilt by Association

It's another edition of Whinging Wednesday's. This week's topic is people who don't take responsibility for their work.

Last Saturday, I showed up for work as usual at my second job after a long day hanging out, and drinking at my chapter's holiday party. I had a fairly easy night at work, checking repeats and writing questions for Saturday Night Live. Since they always assign two people to work on SNL, I knew that I would only have to write 6 questions instead of the usual twelve. Still I knew that since SNL didn't end until 1 a.m., I was probably going to be in the office until at least 2 a.m. At least the company reimburses you for a cab if you stay later than two.

Now, I knew when I took this job, it would mean late hours and most of the time, it's fine. I'm making good money, and it's rare than during the week at least, I'm there until 2 p.m. It's not the most thrilling job, but at least I can say that I'm getting paid for writing.

Well, I was sitting in the back with some of the other writers who were either floating (not assigned a show) or waiting to write their show if it was on late, when one of the writers assigned to write Trading Spaces came into the back to announce that they had just watched the wrong show. Not only that, but he had no intentions of telling anyone that they had watched the wrong show. WTF? Well, he didn't want to spend another two hours at work, watching another show, and writing the questions, despite the fact that he was going to be paid for it and it wasn't his fault he'd watched the wrong show.

The company had been having problems with the cable on Saturday night, so the coordinator simply cued up the wrong show on the Tivo. What made it even more insane, was the fact that the writer had watched Moving Up with me the previous week, so I'm not sure how he didn't know he couldn't figure out he was watching the wrong show until after it was over. Besides, if he'd done his homework by looking up the show on the TLC website, he would have known in seconds if it was the right show or not. The editor that night should also have figured it out because Trading Spaces is one of the most product heavy shows on TV, and for these guys to just say there was only one product placement shouldn't have computed.

But what really annoyed me was the fact that he cavalierly decided not to tell anyone, and to just write up the questions from what he'd watched. I mean, this job has it's faults, but hey it beats working on an assembly line in Detroit, or pushing overpriced lattes at Starbucks. There aren't that many jobs out there where you get paid to watch TV. And it's not like the job is taxing. We write questions not critical essays. It wouldn't have killed him to at least do his job properly.

So now in the backend both Moving Up and Trading Spaces have pretty much the same questions. I'm also annoyed that he told us, because now I feel guilty by association. I sat there thinking should I say anything? Should I just keep my mouth shut? I hated being put in that position. In the end I decided just to say nothing.

Oh, and here's the kicker. Nobody so far has figured it out that Trading Spaces has the wrong questions in the system. So much for cheaters never prosper (I'm not sure if that applies in this case, but you know what I mean).

So what would you have done? Kept your trap shut or told someone in charge?

Holiday roundup

Tis the season...
Since Vanessa Virtue has tagged everybody, I thought I'd wrap up 2005. (Where did the year go?!)

Name Five Bad Things That Happened to You in 2005:

1. My brother died
2. Lost dream job at MTV
3. Filed for personal bankruptcy
4. Chunk of Ceiling in bedroom fell
5. No boyfriend. Again.

Name Five Good Things That Happened to You in 2005:
1. Got two new jobs
2. Finished two new manuscripts
3. First year as President of RWA NYC
4. Won $10 on a scratch ticket.
5. Started this blog and made wonderful cyber friends.

Name Five People Who Have Touched You in a Special Way in 2005:
1. Vanessa C. - who put me in touch with my second job.
2. Monica - the recruiter who got me my day job
3. Susi- who loaned me money when I really needed it, and put up with my bitchin and moanin.
4. Marley - who inspired me to start this blog in the first place.
5. You - fellow writers and readers who return again to read about me - Thanks!

Name Five Things You Achieved in 2005:
1. Finished NaNoWriMo.
2. Added 20 new members to our chapter this year.
3. Paid off my tax debt
4. Paid off my Express card
5. Actually had a full-time job for a few months.

Name Five Things You'd Like to Achieve in 2006:
1. Get a an agent/book contract
2. Find a boyfriend/true love.
3. Add 5 more new members to chapter.
4. Quit one of my jobs.
5. Travel more, although I hate flying.

What is your new year's resolution/what would you like from 2006?

To be happy, healthy, and wise and to find a nice guy to have dinner, a movie and a glass of champagne with. And he needs to have a firm ass, great eyes and nice hands, and know how to use them. Oh yeah, and a job, and kids by only one woman if he has them. Preferably speaking with a British accent but I'm not picky. No smokers or scrubs need apply.

So...who's next? I tag everyone...all of you!

Ready...go!

Author Interview: Anna DePalo

I'm thrilled that the first ever author interview is with my fellow RWA NYC chapter member Anna DePalo, author of the December Silhouette Desire, The Tycoon Takes Revenge. I've known Anna ever since I first joined the chapter, and I was excited when she received the call. Now she's the author of three well reviewed Silhouette Desires, and there are more to come. She's also a first time mom.

About Anna:

While still in her teens, Anna DePalo began her first novel. She wishes she could say that this early manuscript went on to receive numerous accolades and to bring her fame and fortune. Instead, that first attempt—well, all three pages of it—hit the trash heap, and she understood why many authors throughout history have burned their papers for posterity.

Anna went on to live in Italy and England, graduate from Harvard, earn an advanced degree in political science, practice intellectual property law, and marry the man of her dreams. She and her husband settled down in the middle of Manhattan, not far from her lifelong home in Brooklyn and her extended Italian-American family.

One day, Anna decided to give fiction writing another try, believing that having done some more living would help her tell the truth about life in the pages of made-up stories. This time she didn’t stop at three pages—or even ninety-three. Writing during weekends and evenings, after working long days as an attorney, she finally typed her first “The End.” That first finished manuscript, Having the Tycoon’s Baby, soon sold to Silhouette Books, became a best-seller and award-winner, and has been published in nine countries to date.

She's also the winner of the 2003 Romantic Times Reader's Choice Award for Best First Series Romance for Having the Tycoon's Baby.

These days, Anna has happily traded a lawyer’s navy-blue suits for a full-time writer’s blue jeans and is given to toasting new story beginnings while ensconced in front of her home-office computer.

Anna, thanks for agreeign to be the first ever author interveiw here at The Lady Novelist. I have to ask you, where do you get your ideas?

Anna: Anywhere and everywhere. I clip articles on topics that interest me. I also keep an “idea” file on my computer and add to it as thoughts occur. The germ of an idea may come when I’m watching television, seeing a movie, talking with friends or simply lying in bed at night.

You write for Silhouette Desire. What is it about the line that made you want to write for it?

Anna: I started reading Desires back in the 1980s, so I was familiar with the format. More importantly, I enjoyed reading them. It’s hard, if not possible, to write what you don’t read, as most writers will tell you!

How do you feel about the recent editorial changes to the line?

Anna: Actually, my writing is already generally in keeping with the new editorial guidelines for Desire, so I don’t think I’ll need to adjust too much. The books I’ve written so far have been fairly conflict driven, and the conflict is spelled out in the first chapter. However, I’ve tended toward doing roughly a 50/50 split on hero/heroine point of view, whereas now I’ll be concentrating more on the heroine.

I understand that you recently wrote a continuity book for Silhouette. What was it like?

Anna: It was a lot of fun! I liked the challenge of being given a framework and then of being asked to let loose with my imagination. The challenge for me was, how can I make this work? Also, the general story line was one I’d never have come up with myself, so the continuity book (CAUSE FOR SCANDAL, March 2006) forced me to stretch myself as a writer. I had to get into the head of my rock star hero and figure out what made him tick!

Now that you have several category titles under your belt, any desire to write single title?

Anna: One can always dream! Right now, though, I have my plate full writing for Silhouette Desire, which I love doing. I’m under contract for three more books. In January 2007, the last book about the Whittaker siblings (CAPTURING THE TYCOON’S HEART (tentative)) will be out. Matt Whittaker finds out whether a professional matchmaker will be the perfect match—for him! Then, in July 2007, I’ll have another book out that’s part of the upcoming Millionaire of the Month continuity series. I’m excited to be working with Elizabeth Bevarly, Maureen Child, Susan Crosby, Susan Mallery and Christie Ridgway. They’re all authors I admire, and it’s already been fun collaborating with them.

Out of all the books you’ve written, which characters are your favorites?

Anna: There’s something likeable for me in every hero and heroine I’ve written about, otherwise I’d never have had the drive to finish his or her story. That said, I have a particular fondness for Allison Whittaker (UNDER THE TYCOON”S PROTECTION, March 2005). Like me, she’s an attorney, and she has all the outspokenness and spunk I wish I possessed!

Which stories out of all that you’ve written are your favorites?

Anna: All of them! Seriously, though, it helps to love the story I’m currently writing, to think I’m improving and to believe my latest story is my best effort ever. Fortunately, I can say that with every story I’ve written so far.

You’ve lived in England, and Italy, and you speak fluent Italian, any chance that we’ll see books set in Italy from you?

Anna: You know, I haven’t really given it much thought, but since I’m a big believer in writing what you know (at least until you run out of the familiar), I guess it’s possible. No plans at the moment, though.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

Anna: Like most writers, I’m also a big reader. I also enjoy traveling to new places and sampling new restaurants.

You’re a new Mom. What is your schedule like now for writing? And how will that impact your next books?

Anna: Things are in a state of flux because the baby is still, well, a baby, but I’m inspired by the writers I know who also have kids, and I’m lucky to live near family who are able and willing to help out.

Who are your favorite authors?

Anna: There are so many! Just within the romance genre, the authors whose books I enjoy reading span the field from Regency historicals and contemporary romantic comedies to category and chick lit. However, I’d put Jane Austen at or near the top of any list.

Thank's Anna for taking the time out your busy schedule to answer a few questions.

The Tycoon Takes Revenge will be out in December from Silhouette Desire. It received 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times magazine.

Here's a little taste: Clearly gossip columnist Kayla Jones, a.k.a. Ms. Rumor-Has-It, can’t stand Noah Whittaker’s type: old money, charming and rarely without a beauty on his arm. The only thing he’s good for is juicy fodder for her column. But I heard he’s about to get even! He’ll give her the biggest scoop of the season, which could promote her to big-time reporter, if she’ll dig a little deeper and get to know the real him. But can she keep her emotional distance from a man famous for being a master of seduction?

What's in my Netflix Queue

Okay, I know I'm way behind the rest of the country, but I just joined Netflix this week since they had a two week trial period. Since I'm broke 90% of the time, I usually try to take movies out of the library, but for the new flicks, you could end up 350th on the list of reserves. So on impulse on Monday, I went to the Netflix website and signed up, and got my first DVD on Wednesday. I am now officially in love.

The nearest video store from me is 20 blocks away, and it used to be a hassle for me to take the train down to 95th street to get to Blockbuster or over to Columbus Avenue on 86th Street for Hollywood Video, which has a better selection of videos and dvds. Guess what? I'm lazy. So Netflix is a godsend for me.

I now have an official Netflix queue:

1. Entourage Season 1 - Disc 1
2. Footballers Wives Season 2 - Disc 1
3. Footballer's Wives Season 2 - Disc 2
4. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
5. Teen Witch
6. Cursed
7. Monarch of the Glen Season 3 - Disc 1
8. Monarch of the Glen Season 3 - Disc 2
9. Popular Season 1 - Disc 3
10. Popular Season 1 - Disc 4
11. North and South (no not the Patrick Swayze version from the 80's but a BBC series)
12. Love in a Cold Climate

So that's my Netflix queue. Very heavy on TV series, since they cost a fortune to buy. I'll probably end up renting Remington Steele, Season 1, just to drool over how good-looking Pierce Brosnon was when he was younger.

Question of the day, what's in your Netflix queue?

What I learned from NaNoWriMo

And the winner is.......

Yes, me, and a thousands of other people! But I did it, I'm a NaNoWriMo winner. Over 60,000 words in a month. I can't believe it.

What did I learn from this experience. Gosh, so much.

1. If you sit your butt down in a chair, turn off your internal editor, it's possible to write, and write alot. Sure not everything I wrote was wonderful, alot of it was a load of crap, but as Nora Robert says, 'I can't fix a blank page, but I can fix shit.'

2. The act of writing can free up your creativity. I'd had such a hard time over the summer writing, due to my precarious financial situation, and fruitlessly sending out partials of Nearly Famous to unreceptive agents. I lost the spark. I abandoned the chick-lit I was trying to write because it just wasn't jellin' like Magellan. But writing during NaNoWriMo, I was amazed not only at how much I was writing but all the story ideas that were suddenly flowing.

3. It allowed me to try a new genre that I'd never written in before. I've read YA for years now, but I never thought that I had either the voice or that I could think of anything that hadn't been done before. Of course it turned out that my plot had been done before, but I managed to find a funky new way of doing it.

4. I'm actually looking forward to revisions for once, as I try to shape my manuscript into something approaching a book.

5. The 50,000 words, gave me a chance to try and shape a story that wasn't an epic for once. The book topped out at 225 pages. My very first manuscript that I ever wrote was 435. The last draft of Nearly Famous was 502 pages (it's now down to 440 and I still need to get it in under 400).

So, those are the 5 top things that I learned from this experience. Could I have learned the same things from spending the time working out the plot etc. beforehand? Maybe, but maybe not. My mind is not a tidy place. After I finished writing yesterday, I wrote the synopsis for the book which actually was only 3 typed pages, the shortest synopsis I've ever written in my life.

And now I have 4 ideas for YA novels.

Whinging Wednesdays

It's time for another edition of Whinging Wednesday, the one day of the week where I freely complain about anything and everything.

First up, Madonna. Now I love me some Ms. M as she's now called. I even bought Confessions on a Dance Floor, which is a much better CD than her last one. But when did she decide to start dressing like Barney? Everything she's been wearing lately has been purple. Is this some new Kabbalah thing? First she's wearing a purple leotard at the MTV Europe awards, then she shows up at the Harry Potter premiere in London in head to toe purple, looking like an eggplant or as they like to call it over there, an aubergine.

Nick and Jessica. Anyone surprised they split up? I guess they hoped if they announced it on Thanksgiving, no one would care. I heard that Jessica actually broke up with him via email! That's classy. What I'm amazed by is that he put up with her for 3 years. I don't know either one of them personally, but if you've ever seen an episode of Newlyweds, you would know that Jessica Simpson would try the patience of Gandhi!

Prison Break mini season finale - Did anyone else feel ripped off that after all that digging and arguing, and planning, the prisoners discovered that someone had fixed the pipe that Michael had spent weeks getting ready? And what about the idiots who parked right in front of the prison? Good idea, you're waiting for a group of prisoners to break-out and you park right in front. Now we have to wait until March to find out what happens next!

Mr. Slurpie and Mr. Subways - okay these are the two guys that sit next to me at work. Mr. Slurpie has obviously never heard of using a spoon to drink his soup, nor that it's impolite to slurp it. Everyday he has soup for lunch, and it drives me friggin nuts having to hear him slurp it. Then the guy on my right? He must have seen those commercials with Jared too many times, because every day he has subway sandwich for lunch. I'm talking the foot-long sub. Every damn day. And there not that good. The bread totally sucks compared to like Cosi or Au Bon Pain. Yet everyday like clockwork he comes back with a ginormous soda and a foot long sub.

I take being president of our local chapter seriously. It's a huge job, and alot of stress. Not a day goes by that I don't think of resigning and letting someone else take the responsibility. But I don't because I owe it to the people who voted for me and who had the faith that I could do this job. I work 80 hours a week at two jobs, so if I schedule an extra board meeting say, it's not because I don't have anything better to do. Everyone is under alot of stress in their daily lives, but running an organization has to be the most stress ever because you have to manage people. After 6 years on the board of our local chapter, I'm definitely ready to pack it in after my term as president is up.

And finally, after 30 days of writing, 60,000 words, 220 pages, I finally figured out what my plot should be for this YA that I just finished. So starting Monday, it's time to rip it apart, and rewrite from scratch! Yeah!

Books, Books, Books

Many thanks to Destiny's Child for giving me the title of today's post, and to Megan for tagging me.

1. I buy new books from writer friends, and a very few people I want to support in their writing career. I need to either stop making so many new friends, or I need to make more money because I am spending too much on new books despite my best efforts. I buy used books a lot, particularly a writer's backlist and I will frequently read a book if a blogger I read recommends it. It's how I discovered Lisa Valdez's Passion. I also take a great deal of books out of the library.

2. I’m definitely not a spine cracker, although my mother was. My mother used to always remark about the fact that my books looked like they'd never been read.

3. There’s nothing quite like bringing home some really anticipated books. I sometimes just walk through Barnes & Noble looking at all the books that I can't afford to buy, and probably will never get a chance to read, which depresses me.

4. I’ve read one Anita Blake book by Laurell K. Hamilton, and it was fine, but did not inspire me to read more. I also can't stand William Faulkner, and the Russians bore me unless it's Chekhov.

5. I love Katie MacAlister's covers, and some of the other chick-lit covers. I personally don't miss the heaving bosoms from the old historical romance novels in the Fabio days.

6. I re-read books when I have the chance or when I can't find something to read. I 've read Jilly Cooper's Rivals at least 20 times each, J.K. Rowling, not to mention Anya Seton's Katherine, Dragonwyck and Green Darkness. I've also read Forever by Judy Blume alot. I crack up whenever I see Ralph Fiennes name because of it.

7. I always read a couple of books at one time. I'm usually reading at least one non-fiction, one romance, or one chick-lit, a mystery, or a young adult. I take at least one book with me when I travel, but I know, particularly when I go to London, I'm going to buy books there, although since Amazon.co.uk, but suitcase coming back is a lot lighter.

8. I can read on the treadmill at the gym. It takes balance and concentration.

9. I love interspersing romance with other genres--lately, I've discovered the paranormal young adult novels of Libba Bray, which I adore. I'm looking forward to finishing the Ghosts of Albion by Christopher Golden and Amber Benson, and I have several other books on deck.

10. I love authors who can do what I haven't mastered yet: laugh out loud humor that doesn't rely on slapstick like Jennifer Cruise, Lani Diane Rich, Michelle Cunnah, and Eileen Rendahl, not to mention Meg Cabot.

11. I don't mind books with children, but I am super-critical if the kids are just to make a plot point and don't sound like kids. I recently read a book where the kid actually had her own diary sections but they didn't sound like the diary writings of a 7 year old even with a high I.Q.

12. I have read several e-book--Never Love a Naked P.I. in particular--and liked it. It was kind of fun to print out the pages and read it at work when I was bored.

13. I dream of being published in hardcover, although I hate the pricing. But the hardcover conveys the sense that you're arrived, if people are willing to shell out that much money for your book. It's much easier to get a review from mainstream publications like the Times if you're published in Hardcover.

14. I used to force myself to finish a book, even if I didn't like it, but now I don't bother. Although there have been times when I just haven't been in the mood at that particular time, and later on I've picked it up and actually enjoyed it.

15. I took the English AP test in high school, and got a high enough score that Syracuse gave me 6 credits for it, getting me out of freshman english.

16. The Harlequin Presents titles make me cringe everytime I see them. Pregnancy of Revenge? The Italian Tycoon's Virgin Mistress? The Sheik's Bastard Love Child?

If I could be so bold, I would tag Kelly Callihan, Mary and Gabrielle.

Tis the season.....

Is it just me or does it seem like we slam right into Christmas the day after Thanksgiving?

I mean no sooner are we stuffed from Turkey (fish for me), then the whole Christmas rush starts. I received my first Christmas card the day after Thanksgiving. And then when I went to my night job, the whole lobby was already decorated for Christmas, complete with fake tree, and holly, and poinsettia bushes. Not to mention the fact that Starbucks has been selling Christmas CD's and hawking their Christmas blend coffee since the second week of November. And I swear that I saw the Grinch already on television.

I remember the olden days, back in the seventies, when the holidays unfolded naturally. There was no such thing as Thanksgiving cards, and Halloween candy and decorations didn't appear in stores until the end of September not in August the way they appear now.

I don't want to appear like Ms. Scrooge or Scroogette, but I feel like I'm being hammered over the head with the Christmas spirit. Already we're staring with the cute Hallmark holiday specials.

I need sometime to recover from one holiday before I get into the groove for the next. Sort of like editing one book before you start another, although I've been guilty of that.

Anyone else feel as if the holidays are all starting to blend together?

Weekend Eye Candy

We have something a little different this week for Weekend Eye Candy. Feast your eyes on these babies!















Aww, isn't he sweet!


This is Miranda, a chihuahua/beagle mix. What a cutie! Dont' you just want to take her home to your house?

















And finally, we have Polka, a black and white beagle/border collie mix.


All these beautiful babies can be found at Petfinder.com, a service that helps homeless animals.

Just found this one!

Okay, Okay, I know my birthday was three weeks ago, but it's still November, so I can still throw this up.

Your Birthdate: November 2

You're so intuitive, it's like you have a sixth, seventh, and eighth sense. You connect with others freely and easily - and you tend to have many best friends. Warm and caring, it's hard for you to close your heart to anyone. Affection is like air for you - you need to give and receive it to survive. Your strength: Your universal compassion Your weakness: Your unpredictable mood swings Your power color: Mauve Your power symbol: Butterfly Your power month: February

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Harry Potter and Me

So I went to see the new Harry Potter film the other day, number 4 in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have to say I had a really good time. Nothing can beat the books, in fact watching the film made me want to go back and read it again which I may do before the 7th book eventually comes out. I definitely want to read Order of the Phoenix again.

Mike Newell, the director, and Steve Kloves the screenwriter, should be commended for trying to wrestle this book to the ground. Everyone who's read it knows that its almost 800 pages and crammed with stuff, most of which didn't make it in to the film. A particular loss was Hermione's sub-plot where she tries to organize the House-Elves. Given that the movie came in at 2 1/2 hours, there was no way to include it. As it is, parts of the plot seem a bit thin. If you've read the books then you know all the nuances of Voldemort and his followers. I also missed the scenes between Harry and Sirius Black. There's only one in the film and very short.

Still Cedric Diggory was yummy. I adored Hermione showing up at the Yule Ball looking beautiful and both Ron and Harry's amazement at seeing their school chum dressed like a lady. Loved Harry and Cho Chang, who had the most adorable Scottish accent. Dumbledore showing Harry the Pensieve, and the return of Voldemort. Ralph Fiennes is only really in the film for a bit at the end but he manages to be incredibly scary. They even brought back Wormtail for a few scenes. Would have loved to have seen more of Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter, and more of Alan Rickman as Snape who can do more with silence than most actors. There's one particular scene where he says nothing but he's absolutely hysterical as Harry and Ron are talking during his class.

Oh, here's an intersting tidbit from one of the London Papers:

Harry Potter's £23million Pot of GoldAt 16, actor Daniel Radcliffe is worth an estimated £23million ($39.4 million USD), according to the Daily Mail. He is Britain's richest teenager, knocking Charlotte Church soundly off the top of the list. So, for those keeping track...605 days, 11 hours, 44 minutes, and 30 seconds until Daniel Radcliffe's 18th birthday.

Oy, he's already on the most eligible list and the kid has barely started shaving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Whinging Wednesdays

Yes, today is whinging Wednesday, the day I get to complain about whatever.

This week since today is the day before Thanksgiving, where we give thanks for the blessings of our year, I thought it was particularly appropriate.

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that I just passed 50,000 words on my YA Novel. Huzzah! I will be drinking a glass of champagne in celebration later. Probably a Kir Royale.


The bad news? Well, I just discovered that HarperCollins Teen is publishing a book similar to my YA idea in paperback in December. Not only that but some British guy also had the same idea two years ago. None of which I knew before I started writing this book. I just thought I was being incredibly clever. Hopefully, my take on it will be so different to the other two books that I'll get bought. Of course, HarperCollins is completely out of the running. If nothing else, since this is my first attempt at writing YA, I'll learned valuable lessons in terms of voice, plotting etc. Not to mention that it's possible for me to write 190 pages in 22 days.

So that's my whining for the day. Clearly there are no new plots, it's what you do with them that makes the difference. And who knows how this book will change when I start to edit.

My favorite cartoon character

Today's post is going to be very short, since frankly I feel like crap. Yes, the great fall cold has finally hit me. It hasn't helped that the weather has jumped back and forth lately from warm to cold and back again. So, I thought I'd blog today about my all time favorite cartoon character Pepe Le Pew. I'm not sure why Pepe is my favorite character, when you think about it, he's a little bit of a stalker.
He's always falling in love with inappropriate women (mainly cats that he thinks are female skunks). He's persistent, he never takes no for an answer, and he has that cute little bouncy walk that he does, not to mention that french accent. Ooh, la-la.

Maybe it's because Pepe is a hopeless romantic and optimistic to a fault. He truly believes that the woman of his dreams is out there, and he's always up for the challenge. If you believe that a man should be the one to do the chasing, than Pepe is the character for you.

In a way, he reminds me of myself when I was much younger, around 9, when I was completely boy-crazy. See I never went through that stage where I thought boys were yucky. Maybe because I hit adolescence early with a bang. I used to hang out with a group of girls, that used to call ourselves, 'the kissing girls.' Like Pepe we used to run around after school during playgroup, grabbing boys and trying to hold them down long enough to kiss them.

As you can see by the above quote, Pepe also doesn't lack in the confidence area. He truly believes he is the most handsome thing on the planet despite being a skunk. There's a lesson in this, if you believe that you are beautiful or attractive, that's what people will perceive. It's all about being self-confident. Pepe's a prime example of that type of thinking. He reminds of me of the guys who have no problem thinking that models will want to date them, even if they're short, fat and balding.

As the old saying goes 'love is blind.' No?

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Discovering something new

I discovered a new writer, well actually she's been writing for some time, but she's new to me. Alice Hoffman. Of course, I knew who Alice Hoffman is, I'd even seen the movie version of Practical Magic but I'd never actually read her work before. When the movie of Practical Magic came out, I took the book out afterwards out of the library, but one thing led to another and I never actually read it.

So yesterday I was looking through my bookshelves searching desperately for something to read, having my usual book malaise which generally occurs when I've gone on a reading binge of a certain type of book, and I found a copy of The Probable Future that I had borrowed over a year ago from another secretary when I was temping at Morgan Stanley. I flipped through thinking I'd read a little bit. Well two hours later I was still reading the book. I couldn't put it down.

The Probable Future deals with three generations of the Sparrow family, grandmother, mother and granddaughter. Each Sparrow woman develops a particular gift on her thirteen birthday. Elinor, the grandmother, can sense if someone is lying, Jenny can see people's dreams as they are dreaming them, and Stella the granddaughter, can sense when someone is going to die and how. The crux of the book is what happens when Stella tells her father to warn the police about a woman's death, and then he's arrested for the murder after it occurs. Stella sent to live with her grandmother, and Jenny returns as well when her ex-husband gives an interview to a reporter, and a photograph appears in the paper with her building number clearly visible. The three generations have to learn to deal with each other finally.

So what we have is women's fiction with a bit of magical realism thrown in. The book is rich with imagery concerning nature that is just delicious plus the little tidbits of the Sparrow women's history and the house they live in, called the Cake House. The first Sparrow woman Rebecca's gift is that she feels no pain, which back in the days of the Puritans didn't go down very well.

I'm halfway through the novel, but I dont' want the story to end. Now that I've had my appetite whetted for Alice Hoffman, I'm going to go back and give Practical Magic another shot. Also Elinor Lipman, whose book The Pursuit of Alice Thrift I really liked, has a book I also want to read.

Normally I don't read much literary fiction because it's not what I write, but every now again, I need a break from genre fiction. It's like eating too much chocolate, you need to stop and have a piece of licorice or something a little tarter. Not that I would ever abandon reading genre fiction, I love it, but it's nice to explore other writers.

Any authors you've discovered lately?

Weekend Eye Candy

I bet you were expecting pictures of hot men to drool over weren't you! Well not this weekend, we have hot houses instead. Feast your eyes on these babies:

This is Burghley House, which was used as Lady Catherine de Bourgh's estate in the new film of Pride & Prejudice.

Above is Chatsworth, home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, used as Pemberley in the new film of Pride & Prejudice. Just a small weekend cottage of course. Nothing fancy. You cand find more pictures here.

This is Castle Howard in Yorkshire, which is owned by the Howard family. As you can see it looks nothing like a castle, go figure, but it's pretty and large. It was used as the house of the Marchmain family in Brideshead Revisited starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews in the early 80's. There was also an article in Vanity Fair a few years ago, about this chick named Rebecca who had seen the house in a magazine and decided she wanted to live there. She ended up marrying the guy who owns it, and they have twins. Sounds like a chick-lit tale, but she'd probably end up falling for the sexy gardener instead.

And finally, to continue the Pride & Prejudice theme, we have Basildon which played the role of Netherfield, where Mr. Bingley lived. Picture lucky Jane Bennet getting to live here.

I hope you've enjoyed the scenery. I'll be back this weekend with a review of either Harry Potter or Walk the Line.

Sad News

I had planned on blogging today about NaNoWriMo and the third week hump, but I just received the tragic news that my brother died, and I'm just not in the mood to be light and funny today.

I'm the youngest of four children, seperated from my other siblings by over a decade. My oldest brother, who died two years ago from secondary bone cancer, was 26 years older than me. My other brother was the closest in age to me by 17 years. I never really knew him. He disappeared from my life when I was around 3 or 4, and I had no memory of him until he reappeared him my life when I was 11, when my mother informed about his 'unfortunate incarceration.'

Unfortunately, my brother was a troubled figure and we were never able to have a relationship. Circumstances after my mother's death killed that forever.

So while I'm sad that his life is over, I can't mourn. I wish he had been a different person, or I could have been more Christian and turned that other cheek.

It's just my sister and I now, the only ones who are left.

Anyway, I'm signing off now.

Hopefully we'll be back to our regularly scheduled blog in a few days.