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Tomorrow, Sat, Feb 28, I'll be hosting Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical author Renee Ryan over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance. Renee tells us her fascinating story of rejection, publication and more rejection. She then lists 10 positive action steps for “staying the course” in the face of rejection. Renee will be joining us from sunny Nebraska to encourage you and answer your questions while I head 4 hrs north to my monthly writer's meeting, weather permitting. You can check out Renee's blog at http://www.reneeryan.com/ and if you like games, she even has a jigsaw puzzle of the book cover featured here. So please give a big prairie welcome to Renee so she won't feel like I've invited her to the party and then deserted her. Okay, so maybe I have , but I just don't want her to feel like that, okay?

I’m blogging about using Google Earth as a writing tool today over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance. Google Earth is a free geographical download that’ll give you a whol e new outlook on the world you live in. I use can even spot my mom’s car in her parking lot. They just released a Google Earth 5 (Beta) and I'm boggled by the implications this can have on my historical writing: See global changes with decades of historic imagery If you've ever wondered how your neighborhood has changed throughout time, Google Earth now gives you access to the past. With a simple click, check out suburban sprawl, melting ice caps, coastal erosion, and more. Can you imagine being able to see what your chosen setting location really looked like way back when? I can't wait to use this writing tool. So come on over to http://prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/ and answer these questions: - Have you ever used Google Earth? (for anything) - Have you set your novel in a location you've neve...

Anita Mae took all these photos within the last week. This is our driveway. You're looking east. The front of our house faces south. Hubby put a metal roof on last year so the snow will slide off easier. One of these days the snow will slide off the roof onto the back of our necks! This was taken last Friday as I headed west to the City of Regina. It was 5 pm and the sun makes it look darker than it actually was This is really how it looked. And just think that 2 months ago, it was dark at this time. This is my garden and I'm looking NorthEast. Frost on my kitchen window looking like tiny angels.

The Valentine Bride (The Brides of Bella Lucia) by Liz Fielding HR 3932 Feb 07 This book was so good it’s going on my Top 10 list. The author first introduced Louise in Book 4 ‘Wanted: Outback Wife’ when we found out she was adopted. The next time we ran into her was in Book 6 ‘Crazy About the Boss’ when, in a state of rebellion, she appeared at the family Christmas party in a red mini-skirt, white angora crop top and flashing belly button ring with an Aussie hunk hanging on her arm. Her cousin Max looked like he wanted to shake her. And I couldn’t wait for their story. When The Valentine Bride starts, it’s only a few weeks past the infamous Christmas party and Louise is over her public display of rebellion. Still reeling from her parent’s recent disclosure of her adoption, Louise has broken from the family and submerged herself in the work of her PR company. But her mind is filled with thoughts of Max Valentine. Raised as cousins, Louise and Max have fought a physical attraction since...

Something woke me at 0525 Sunday morning. Perhaps I heard the door closing as hubby left our bedroom to go to work. But whatever it was, I lay there in the dark listening to a thumping sound for several seconds before realizing my heart was pounding against my rib cage. My first thought was to run for my blood pressure meds. My second thought was of the dream I’d been having just before I awoke. Vivid in its reality, I’d been running through an airport with a ‘bad guy’ just steps behind. I remember running through the concourse, swerving around people of all ages and carts piled with luggage. I needed somewhere to hide, but where? A restroom door appeared before me and I plunged through it, ran a few steps turned right, punched through a stall door, slammed the lock in place, shoved my pants down and dropped onto the toilet seat. Footsteps were right behind me. As I sat there trying to breath as normally as possible, a man bobbed past my stall, trying to peer between cracks in the door...

I’m thrilled to welcome Harlequin Historical and Silhouette Desire author Charlene Sands to my group blog at http://prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/ Leave a comment or ask a question and Charlene will pick someone to win a book from her backlist. The winner will be announced at Prairie Chicks on Sunday afternoon. And if you haven’t seen her scrumptious backlist, look here: http://www.charlenesands.com/books.html So, come on over and join us.

The Nanny and the Sheikh (The Brides of Bella Lucia) by Barbara McMahon HR 3928 Jan 07 After not reading a ‘sheikh’ romance for years, this book was a great one to show what I’ve been missing. A sweet romance, it’s a modern version of those Harlequins I used to read as a teen but much better. Very believable. You could say Melissa Fox is the latest ‘acquisition’ to the Valentine family since her mum has just become Wife #4 (Her father did divorce the others first.). In between jobs as a professional nanny, Melissa has a couple months before her new nanny job starts in Boston, so she accepts a job as assistant to her new step-brother who’s in charge of the Bella Lucia restaurant chain. The business is expanding into a French speaking Arabic country on the Persian gulf and Melissa’s job entails translating the French documents into English. As a treat for a job well done, her boss/step-brother invites her to accompany him to the small country of Qu’Arim while he checks out the site of th...

Just over a year ago I attended my first on-line chat session during the eHarlequin open house. It was very hectic yet exciting. So many authors and readers but they were all talking at the same time. You had to read fast and type faster or your response would get swallowed up in the rest of the responses. A year ago I didn’t know how to IM and yet a couple months ago, the 4 other Prairie Chicks and myself conducted our first IM conference call. It really worked well. What I like about it is that MSN has set it up so that you can always see who is typing something. If someone is going to ask you a question, you wait for it then answer. Very civilized. Also, if you go away from the screen to work on a word document for example, as soon as you have a response, you’ll receive an amber flashing at the bottom of the screen. It’s a nice feature which means you’re not sitting and waiting especially if you have a slow typist at the other end. Facebook also has IM chat but it’s not as efficient...

I'm blogging over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance today. My topic is 'Striving for Perfection' and a lot of the post is messages that passed between Love Inspired author Missy Tippens and myself over the last few months while she wrote her Christmas release. It's all about how we tend to hang onto our work until the last possible minute, tweaking it as we strive for perfection. But is that really the reason? Please join our discussion at http://prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/

Crazy About the Boss (The Brides of Bella Lucia) by Teresa Southwick HR 3924 Dec 06 This great book is your typical employee falls for the boss book with a twist. So what’s the twist? Well, after 2 years of working together, the boss is put into an emotionally threatening situation and his employee’s suppressed feelings for him surface when she realizes he’s not so shallow after all. But is he really vindictive enough to allow his family to fall into financial ruin just because he can? You see, Jack Valentine walked away from the famous Valentines of the Bella Lucia restaurants when he was only 18 after a dispute with his father and he’s never gone back. And now, 12 yrs later, he still doesn’t want to got back but, his younger sister is pleading with him to make a Christmas appearance. The family is in financial trouble and they need Jack and his money to bail them out. Jack doesn’t want to bail them out but with some perverse sense of showing off, he decides to attend the Christmas ga...

Married Under the Mistletoe (The Brides of Bella Lucia) by Linda Goodnight HR 3920 Nov 2006 Any book by Linda Goodnight is an auto-buy for me and this excellent book did not disappoint. It’s going straight to my Top 10 list. Horrid fascination is probably the best way to describe this story. You know realities like this exist but you don’t really want to know about them. As the manager, Stephanie Ellison lives above one of the famous Bella Lucia restaurants. It’s a large, luxurious living area for one person. So when the boss’s son comes for a visit and has nowhere to stay, Stephanie allows him to become her new roomie but past scars inhibit her from getting too close to him. In fact, she’s terrified to have him there and almost changes her mind when she sees how big and strong he is. Plus, she has a secret she can't bear anyone to discover. Daniel Stephens never knew his father while growing up and to be told as an adult that his father wants to get to know him now after all this ...

Wanted: Outback Wife (The Brides of Bella Lucia) by Ally Blake HR 3916 Oct 2006 I just love stories set in Australia. Although this book is about the family that owns the famous Bella Lucia restaurants in London, the story is about Jodie - the sister to Louise who suddenly learns she’s adopted. (Louise’s story is the final book in the series.) Both girls are visiting Australia but as Jodie’s visa gets closer to it’s expiry date, Jodie decides she doesn’t want to go back to England and her clingy, emotionally disturbed mother. The only way Jodie is guaranteed to stay in Australia is to marry an Aussie, but how can she find a husband in a month? Her flat mates start up a website at www.ahusbandinahurry.com and start lining up the candidates. After watching the losers stream past, Jodie practically falls out of her chair when big, blonde Heath volunteers for the position. Heath Jameson is a rich farmer from the outback who wants a life change. After his sister-in-laws funeral, he decides ...

The Rebel Prince (The Brides of Bella Lucia) by Raye Morgan HR 3912 Sep 06 This was a great fairytale story of a common modern girl falling for the crown prince knowing she has no hope of having her dreams fulfilled. Or does she? I like the way the author handled the question of responsibilities thrust upon a person who never expected it. In this case, the prince. There’s always the question of whether he wants the best for his people or just himself. We first met Chef Emma Valentine in the previous Bride of Bella Lucia story. At that time, we knew Emma was going to the Kingdom of Meridia to preside over the prince’s coronation feast. This book starts off with Emma in the pool area and getting knocked unconscious by a wayward water polo ball thrown by the crown prince himself. When she comes to, Emma doesn’t realize that the man hovering over her is Prince Sebastian of Meridia. Born into royalty as the second son, Sebastian was never expected to assume the throne but when his father di...

I haven’t got much time here, but I wanted to let you know how I spent my Friday. Last night was the Valentine Dessert Auction Fundraiser for Youth at our church and I needed to make some goodies. This is what I made: Chocolate Marshmallow Hearts It’s really easy to make the crème although they don’t look as good as I wanted because I beat the marshmallow crème until it was stiff. I should have stopped when it was still in the pourable stage. The mold is just the back of a chocolate mold pressed into flour. Since the creme didn't set properly, I had to dip my pizza shears into hot water and cut the marshmallows into heart shapes. Still, they tasted yummy. I packaged them in a red cardboard heart. I also made Oatmeal Heart Cookies. They are oatmeal cookies with chopped walnuts, coconut and corn flakes but instead of rolling in a ball and flattening, I rolled it out and used a cookie cutter. Since I already had my chocolate melting for the marshmallow hearts, I dipped one half of ea...

Today, I’m blogging over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance. Since I’ve been working on revisions for my contest entry, I decided to write my post on the different ways judges critique the entries. I’ve posted some examples from my novel Charley’s Saint , and given a select amount of actual comments from some judges. My hope is that anyone interested in entering the contests will see that a comment from a judge is just a matter of opinion. The writer has the choice whether to accept the suggestion or ignore it. In case you don’t go over, I’d say this again: Thank you to all those people who expend their own time and effort to judge these contests without monetary compensation. I truly appreciate it. Now, for the rest of you, come on over and join in the discussion at http://www.prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/ See you there...

If you’re wondering why I’m hiding out, I’m working on revisions to my Linda Howard Award of Excellence contest entry. One of the judges gave me a near perfect score and the 2nd judge was about 37 marks below that! So, it went to a 3rd judge. Why the 3rd judge? Because in this contest, any score difference over 35 marks goes to another judge and the lowest score is dropped. I’m truly blessed because not only did the 3rd judge like it, but she’s given me a wonderful critique filled with insights and comments to improve my story. That’s why it’s taking me so long to revise. Plus, I had this fantastic idea to thicken the conflict between Hannah and Bobby and now I have to weave it into the plot. It’s working, but it’s taking time. I’m on a time limit, too because I have to have it in Alabama by Feb 20th by snail mail or I forfeit and even Canada’s ExpressPost will only guarantee 6 business days. Eeps! I better get busy...

Having the Frenchman’s Baby (The Brides of Bella Lucia) by Rebecca Winters HR 3904 Aug 06 I enjoyed reading this book set in the vineyards of France. It’s the story of a woman who’s been busy with her career while waiting for the perfect man. And, it’s the story of a man who uses everything in his power to try to assuage his guilt. When these 2 people meet, they see themselves and their lives as if a curtain has been opened. Rachel Valentine is a wine buyer for the exclusive Bella Lucia restaurants in London. She has an estranged twin in the US, a dying grandfather in England, and a father she can’t please. Her family is bogged down in strife. Add to that, the guilt she feels because she couldn’t make it back to the States in time to say a final farewell to her dying mother. But, even with all this going on, Rachel looks the picture of perfection. When she reaches the province of Alsace with its terraced vineyards, Rachel feels like she’s come home. Add to that her physical reaction to...

Forsaken Canyon (Heart of the Amazon Book 3) by Margaret Daley Love Inspired Suspense #119 - Oct 08 Once again, Margaret Daley has written an intriguing archaeological mystery set in the remote desolate canyons of New Mexico. This final book in the Heart of the Amazon series had me looking over my shoulder at the oddest times since the author gave us the POV of the ‘Guardian’ who is on constant, silent vigil of our heroine. I thought I knew who the Guardian was, but then the author threw a red herring in the path, only to be followed by another, and another until I was getting dizzy second guessing myself. And yet, when I reached the end and discovered who the Guardian actually was, everything fell into place and I realized, the clues had been right before my eyes. Of course, Kit Sinclair doesn’t know she has a secret Guardian. A history professor at the Albuquerque City College, Kit is under pressure to publish something if she wants to make tenure and stay on the faculty. She’s not a...

I'm happy dancing! If you read my post a couple days ago, you'd see that I've been w aiting on the results from the Linda Howard contest and I rec'd them late last night: 'When You Least Expect It' is a finalist!!! Wow! I'm so excited! In the next few days I'll receive my entry back along with the judges' comments and I have a week or so to revise my entry, if I wish, taking their insights into consideration. Then I re-submit and wait for the final judging. I'm not going to tell you who's the final judge, but she's from my target line at SH. Happy dancing...

I’m blogging over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance today. My post is about my iPod Touch, Google Alerts, and contest divas and believe it or not, they all tie in together. Come on over and tell me if you have a Touch or read eBooks on a similar eReader device. I’d also like to know if you subscribe to Google Alerts. And if enter writing contests. Please join us here: http://www.prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/

The last contest I entered is announcing the finalists sometime this week and I’m getting antsy. I’m not expecting to win but I’m hoping, you know? I don’t want to get my hopes up, yet I know I’ll be disappointed if I’m not a finalist. But if I were, they would have notified me by now, no? I’ve just written my post for the Thurs Prairie Chicks blog and you’ll know I’ve been thinking about contests because that’s what my topic is there, too. It’s been almost a year (March) since I entered my first contest and I’ve come a long way in that time. I’ve read the critiques and judges’ comments and applied them to my wips. I know my writing has improved because of this. The entries I put in this latest contest will show me how well I’ve learned my lesson because they were the first 2 novels I wrote. I took them down, dusted them off, and applied what I had learned. We’ll see if I was successful. I’ll let you know.

Nelson’s Brand by Diana Palmer Silhouette Desire 618 - Jan 91 This is my first Diana Palmer book and although it’s almost a decade old and Gene used a high-handedness he wouldn’t be able to get away with today, there was still enough mystery and spice to keep me thoroughly engulfed in the story. Gene Nelson had the world in his hand. Everything was going his way and then the unthinkable happened. His father died and left a letter behind that ripped apart Gene’s world. Suddenly, Gene is spinning out of control. He’s trying to drink himself into oblivion. Emotionally lost and confused, he’s hitting out at anything and everything including women. If they want to bed him that’s fine with him – just don’t expect him to acknowledge them in the morning. For months, Gene is adrift in a sea of despair. Then one night, he’s sitting at the bar when he notices a woman. Not just any women, but his half-brother’s fiancee’s best friend. He doesn’t know why and he doesn’t stop to think about it, but w...

Nobody’s Child by Ann Major Silhouette Desire 1105 – Nov 97 Reading this book was like riding a roller coaster. It was exceptional when it was good but at least three times, I had the urge to put it away and quit reading. And I think that was because it was so repetitive. I might have a bad memory but I don’t need to be reminded of that time on the island every few pages. Business magnate, Cutter Lord, went to a secluded island to ‘deal’ with his brother’s girlfriend. Cutter was determined to show her up for the gold-digger she was but instead, he fell under her spell and claimed her for his own. A couple days later, he disappeared. Cheyenne Rose didn’t know where he went but he didn’t return her calls and put himself out of her reach. When she found herself pregnant with his child, she agreed to marry Cutter’s brother after all. Flash forward 7 yrs. Cutter’s brother has been murdered and his widow, Cheyenne, has to auction off their possessions to pay their creditors. Enter Cutter who...

Have you been to the Harlequin website lately? You should go on over. Harlequin is celebrating 60 yrs of reading pleasure and is giving away free eBooks as a gift to us, the readers. As long as you have a computer, you should be able to read these eBooks. You can download the eBooks from here: http://www.eharlequin.com/store.html?cid=1316&cmpid=BLSOC200901290002 I rec’d an iPod Touch for Christmas, and I love it. Why? Because I can download eBooks on my Touch and get comfy on my couch or take it to bed with me. Also, on those long drives at night back from the city, I can now read in comfort without having to hold and shine a booklight or small flashlight at what I’m reading. The Touch has its own easy-on-the-eyes backlight. So you know what this means, right? I’m downloading all 16 of the free eBooks! And these aren’t books from the Harlequin archives – no, these are current releases within the past year – and one from every Harlequin line. And if you want more free books, Harlequ...