to…..

Maria Duncan!!!

Maria, you know how this works.  Use the contact button on my site and send me your mailing address–as well as which book you’d like from my backlist–and I’ll get those out to you ASAP.

Thanks for playing, everyone!  Same time next month.  (I found a cool cookie bouquet website….)

Contest! (First)

I know I’m a day late with this, but well…that seems to be par for the course lately.

Anyway, up for grabs this month is important spring items–smell-good soap and smell good lotion to get you all ready for bare-leg season.  Nail polish to jazz up your toes for those cute summer sandals, chocolate (of course) and a book of your choice from my backlist.  (Depending on availability.)

You know how to play.  Put a “Gimme!Gimme!” in the comments section and one of my darling children–who are home from school today–will pick a winner.

Good luck!!!!!!!!! ;-)

 Now for the HELP….

Jen LaBrecque and I are writing connecting books and need some title help.  We’re desperate.  If you come up with a title that our editor approves, we’ll do something nice for you.  An Amazon gift card, maybe? Anyway, something good.  Here’s the pertinent information.  Heroes are brothers.  They’re bad ass bounty hunters.  Set in Memphis, TN.  Last name Stone.  My hero–think Viggo Mortensen–allows my heroine to tag along with him after a skip.  Quite grudgingly and she’s his worst nightmare–a wedding planner.  Jen’s hero is the older brother.  Think Gerard Butler.  He’s after the heroine…in more ways than one.   Our magnificent editor–known to frequent visitors of this blog as Precious–wants hero focused connected titles.

Suggestions welcome.

Squee!!!!!  Wiggle!!!!  Squee!!! 

 Thanks to your votes at eHarlequin, I picked up a couple of awards last night.  

I am thrilled.

I love to win things and am particularly proud when my ink-and-paper babies win things.  The Player picked up Favorite Audio Book and Sexiest Hero on a Cover.  And he was, if I do say so myself.  Mercy, that’s a beautiful cover. 

Anyway, for the next several days I will float along on a cloud of happiness and hope it sees me through to the end of this book.

So…what makes your day and puts a smile on your face?

Dear House,

      Could you miraculously get bigger?  Without any effort or cost on my part?  Please?  I’ve cleared out as much junk as I can, put things into Space Bags and hidden them in ingenious places, stored things in old suitcases, rearranged shelves and office equipment until my eyes are as crossed as the mass of wires hiding behind my desk…and yet there isn’t enough room!

     Whah!!!!

     I am not a pack rat.  If something doesn’t have an immediate purpose, it goes into the garbage or to Good Will.  But even this ruthless system is failing.  And 90 percent of the problem is occurring in my office.  I have too many books–other people’s books and my own backlist–neither of which I am going to budge on.  I need books!  But I also need more room.  My original plan was to wait out the children and commandeer one of their rooms when they went to college, but I’m not sure my sanity will survive until that point. 

Hmmm. 

Do we really need a dining room? 

11:00 Friday night, my son and I return from our trip to Washington, DC.  Daughter runs up to me, wraps her arms around me and I think, “Oh, how sweet.  She’s missed me.”  It’s a warm fuzzy moment.  Then she looks up and me and rather plaintively says, “I’m so glad you’re home, Momma.  It’s been so dirty here.”

And she’s right.  Dirty dishes, dirty clothes, dirty floors.  Living room rearranged and there’s a half-put-together PING-PONG TABLE in my floor.  Er…there are so many things wrong with that.  Number one, we can’t play ping-pong in the living room.  Things will get broken.  Number two, once it’s finally put together how in the *&^@! will we get it out of the house?  (No worries, we did.)

Needless to say, things are just now returning to normal and I’ve almost caught the laundry up.  Baby steps, Rhonda.  Baby steps.

You might have noticed that something is wonky with my site.  Sorry!  I’ve contacted my web-genius and she’s going to take care of it for me.  In the mean time, thank you for my Happy Birthday wishes and continuing to hang out here while I was gone.   You guys are the best.

Now, because I am absolutely shameless, I am going to ask you to go out to the eHarlequin boards and vote for me in the 2006 Reader’s Choice Award’s.  I’m up in several categories–which thoroughly tickles me to death–so be sure to lob a vote my way.  Please.  I would be eternally grateful.   If you’re not already a member of the community, they’ll ask you to become one, but it’s not a long process.  A fill-in-the-blank here, a click there, and you’re set!  The Player is up for Sexiest Hero on a Cover.  (And he is gorgeous, if I do say so myself. )  My Men Out of Uniform series is nominated for Favorite New Miniseries or Continuity, and The Player is also up for Best Audio Book.  I would love to win something–anything. 

Today we’re coming home, though it will be late.  We’re supposed to get some free time, in which I hope to go and stare at Thomas Cole’s “The Voyage of Life.”  I tried to upload the images, but have ran out of time, so feel free to google them.  They are *gorgeous.*  I can honestly say that I never “got” art until I visited the National Art Gallery, a place that I am certain will not interest my son, but where he will impatiently stroll around with me all the same.  Because I will make him.  It’ll be good for his soul.

 

Today we’ll be visiting Arlington National Cemetary and observing the changing of the guard.  Though I’ve been to DC a couple oftimes, I’ve never seen this.  I’m told that it’s an awe-inspiring event that every American should see.  I hope that these kids will fully appreciate the loss of life–the blood shed–to keep our country free.

Humbling, isn’t it?

Okay, it’s Wednesday and I’m going to be touring Fort McHenry and wandering around Inner Harbor.  I *love* Inner Harbor.  Big ships, submarines, Crabby Dick’s–home of some of the best crab cakes ever–and, AND a Cheesecake Factory.  To top it off, I’m meeting some family here that I rarely see, so today I have NOTHING to whine about.  Today, even though I’m supposed to whine, I know I’m going to be happy.

Feel free to whine amongst yourselves.   I will symphathize when I get home. 

to Me!!!

I’m not here, but feel free to wish me Happy Birthday and bring cyber presents. ;-)  Yes, I know this is self-serving, but I’m a big proponent of birthday’s.  It’s the only day of the year that all about you, therefore it should be celebrated to the fullest.  Despite the fact that I am not at home to have the proper amount of attention bestowed upon me, I will nonetheless make up for it in other ways.  I think I will buy myself something.   A print from the National Art Gallery maybe?