Archives for April, 2012

I have a florescent light under a cabinet that doesn’t work.  I’ve changed the bulb twice–no easy feat, as they go in a certain way and click in a certain way–but the light won’t come on.  What does this mean for me?  It means I am going to have to call The Guy to come [...]


For Refreshment Only Sundays (FROS) has always believed in the the finest principles of democracy … like equal access to sexy, FROSian men; the freedom of all citizens to ogle; the right to bare arms and abs; and full and enthusiastic participation in the FROS Voting Process. Today, we have two delightful FROS candidates for [...]


Happy Saturday, everyone! Can you believe it is about to be MAY? To celebrate the flowers popping up and the fun that is soon to be had as summer break arrives for the kids, the Goddesses are giving away three books to three random commenters today (one book each) who tell us your favorite thing [...]


Whenever my nephew plays a video game and has to choose a name to go by, he picks “Viper”. When he had the opportunity to design a character (I don’t let him play “Dragon Age”, but I do let him design people on there), he chose a butch haircut, a big Tom Selleck moustache, a [...]


I married Hot Cop about three years ago, but only after dating for six years. That’s right: s-i-x years. I was very, very cautious. Why? Because buried in my past was a Mr. Wrong . . . or two. Or seven. Who’s counting, anyway? Everyone has had a few, and we’re all a little embarrassed [...]


Got your attention, did I? Well, I’ve never played it (my parents were missionaries, remember?). I really wish I’d had a less staid upbringing, because I think Strip Poker would be fun (and don’t suggest doing it with Hubby, because he hates playing cards). In fact, the sexiest game I ever played was Spin the Bottle [...]


As I was reading Susan Mallery’s blog post the other day on A World of Romance, it made me think of some of my various trips and reflect on memories from them. I do love to travel and do so whenever I have the opportunity – the memories for me are such a source of [...]


One of the questions I am often asked by readers is when a favorite secondary character will get his or her own story. Some of the reader requests are a bit surprising. Like six year old Lexie from my first book, Simply Irresistible. I realize she’d be about twenty-two these days, but I still think [...]


A touch of classical music, that is. Last week Miss Sheridan sent me some pictures of a classical cellist. “A cellist?” you say in a distrustful voice, visions of Band Geeks III The Movie racing through your head. “I know,” I reply. “I thought the same thing.” But allow me to introduce you to Sheridan’s [...]


We’ve had some freaky warm weather here in Wisconsin.  Usually at this time of year it’s still in the 30′s and we’re waiting for that spring snowstorm to dump a nice foot of snow on us.  We’ve had one of those as late as May 13th.  But not this year.  This year it was 80 [...]


We have some new babies in the family, and one of them was not sleeping through the night. My mother suggested that they put a little cereal in the two-month old’s bottle at night. That was met with a lot of arched eyebrows and “thank you, Grandma, but we’re only giving the baby breast milk.” [...]


My son is looking into redoing his kitchen, and I have been watching the process with restraint and curiosity.  That means I am managing not to try and take over or offer too much advice. This is hard, as any  mother knows. Anyway, as he has perused various styles of this and that, I noticed [...]


I am a walker.  Boring, right?  It isn’t glamorous or high powered or sexy as exercises go.  I’m not dashing across the finish line of a marathon or a 5K.  I’m not getting my black belt in taekwondo, like my friend Brenda Hiatt. I just love to walk and hike, which is just walking in [...]


I have a confession to make. I have no preferred decorating style when it comes to houses. I like just about every style I see: art deco, Asian, traditional, English country, Mediterranean, Old World, etc. Probably the only styles I’m not that fond of are Modern and Southwestern. Hubby, meanwhile, hates practically everything. If we [...]


This week’s FROS is model, fitness guru, and general all-around hunk, Michael David Barre. And by ‘Barre’, I mean ‘he should be … ALL of the time, too.” Check it, my peeps: In case you didn’t see that, here’s another: Nice mouth, too, hm? And now, the rest of him, just to make certain he’s [...]


Thank you so much to the lovely, talented and awe-inspiring Goddesses for hosting me today. It’s a real honor to be here. My first book is coming out in about ten days and I’m so excited (ahem, a nervous wreck) and thrilled (cough, terrified.)  Okay, so I’m riding a bit of a roller coaster, but [...]


A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a reporter and asked about my opinion on the E.L. James Fifty Shades of Gray books and the proliferation of mommy porn. First, I had not heard of the books, not to mention any sort of proliferation. Usually, I am the last to know anything. Second, I [...]


Yesterday was a heck of a day. One minute I was standing there half asleep, drying my hair with my ancient but familiar hairdryer, and two seconds later there was a pop, a bang, a flash, and flames. Big flames. Flaming flames. The kind you see in movies. As quick as you can spell Rumplestiltzkin [...]


Last week handmaiden Sheridan sent me a scientific article about why the trash compactor in the Death Star from Star Wars wouldn’t have worked. Something about how the Empire wouldn’t care about compacting trash, and if the Dia Noga (the creature with the tentacles) could survive in there, it couldn’t be a very good design. [...]


I was in New York City with Only Girl  just a few days ago and it was a whirlwind two-day, one-night trip that turned out to be an absolutely perfect trip! Here’s what I did: Here I am about to go to the airport. My “luggage” is over my shoulder and looks exactly like a [...]


Whenever I think of Easter, For Refreshment Only Sundays (FROS) always thinks of tiny, cuddly animals. Like this tiny kitty: And this adorable puppy: And this sweet little kitty: And this cutest-ever puppy: Happy cuddly FROS! I hope each and every one of you have the cutest, softest, most adorable week yet!


I am not writing about bunnies today only because tomorrow is Easter and lots of us may be eating them—the chocolate kind, that is. I am also writing about them because it is spring, and they are among the wildlife cavorting outside my window.  We have always had rabbits around here. For years there was [...]


I’m kind of obsessed with tulips, particularly shooting photos of tulips. If asked, I would never say that they were my favorite flower—I am insanely attached to passionate about a rose called Double Delight because the petals are photosensitive and turn colors where the sun hits them, making each flower utterly unique.  They have astonishing [...]


Last week my blog was about the birth of a cover.  This week we will move on to how titles are created, or at least how they are sometimes created.  At least for me. When I begin a novel, I need a title.  Not sure why, but putting Book #56 on something just doesn’t excite [...]


I came late to romance reading, and I remember exactly the day I started. Sometime in about 2004, I wandered into the romance section of my local bookstore. I had never been in the romance section before – after all, it was THAT section, where they sold THOSE books. I looked at the covers, curious [...]