Sunday, January 31, 2010

SNOW DAYS


It snowed.
It snowed a lot. Seven inches of white, fluffy stuff.
In need of some serious rest my very special friend and I took full advantage of it.
We slept.
We watched videos.
We ate.
We played.
We slept some more.
We played, again.
We ate snow cream. (It has to be a Southern thing ‘cause we ain’t never had none of that in the North!)
We played some more.
Slept again.
Five or six more snow days and I may actually be able to say I had a vacation.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

STEEPED IN REALITY



I like reality. I’ve always felt like a good dose of the here and now will keep a soul grounded. Although it works well for me, it seems it might not work well for others.

I was reminded recently that romance writing needs to dwell in fantasy, the heroine being promised a whirlwind lifestyle of fancy restaurants, travel to exotic locations, yacht excursions and the like. Romance writing isn’t supposed to be about a regular Joe with a good job sweeping your average Jane off her feet. And don’t even consider the hero who might be struggling, or even worse, unemployed and penniless. Apparently, whether he’s a good guy or not, that’s not a girls dream come true.

I like regular Joes. I know a lot of them. Billionaire playboys, secret agents, deviant athletes, and swash-buckling matadors have yet to cross my path. Most of my heroes have been regular Joes. Only one or two happened to have bank. The others were just standup guys you wouldn’t throw out of bed because they dropped a cookie crumb or two. It seems, I’m told, that women who read romance would throw Joe Regular out of bed, no matter how outstanding his character might be. This is what I’m being told.

I know that a number of young women read my books. Very young women. Although I want them to get caught up in the fantasy, I don’t want them to lose sight of the reality. There are conversations they need to be having in their own lives and so I allow my characters to have those same conversations. Jane might not have anyone else to guide her so if my heroine can lead the way, I’d like for her to go a good job. Personally, I always thought blending the fantasy with the reality is what made my writing good. Now it seems that I really didn’t have a clue.

Or so I’m being told…

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

WEARING OUT MY WELCOME


I have been spending the last week or so with my very special friend but I think I have finally reached the point of wearing out my welcome. He hasn’t yet told me that I need to go home but I can’t help but think that he’s past the point of ready.

My guy and his bachelor lifestyle have been on some serious estrogen overload. Between me and his sister, we have taken over his kitchen, his bathroom, his bedroom and his favorite chair. We’ve been manipulating his leisure time, his laundry and even ate the last brownie he’d thought he’d hidden away from us. Adding insult to injury we kicked his butt playing spades. Twice.

Earlier today he and I maneuvered our way through our favorite store stocking up on supplies. As I dropped twelve rolls of bathroom tissue into the shopping cart, the man shook his head. “Didn’t we just buy that?” he asked, remembering our last shopping spree.

I nodded my head yes. “It’s almost gone.”

“You women need to stock up on some tree leaves,” he chimed, his eyes rolling skyward.

As I cut my eyes in his direction, his serious expression was priceless. “I’m not kidding,” he said. “I’ll give you a rake when we get to the house.”

I can only shake my head and laugh but it might be time to give my guy some quality time with himself.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

The temperature outside is approximately 24 degrees and falling fast. I hate cold weather. I hate it with a passion! Moving to North Carolina was supposed to move me far from cold weather. Obviously I didn't move far enough south.

So, here I lay, curled up in bed, cuddled close to my guy for some serious body heat, wishing I was stranded on some beach paradise in eighty degree weather. There's a full moon shining outside the window and I'd much rather be sitting with sand beneath my butt and a pretty drink with a little umbrella in it in my hand.

SIGH! Baby, it's cold outside and I absolutely despise cold!