Teen Crushes

Happy Friday, all!

So I don't know if I mentioned this but times are a changing in the old Shirk household.

My little kiddo now has a celebrity crush.
How in the world did this happen? She was just playing with her Webkinz the other day!

Literally. Just the other day.

Anyhew, the new crush is...Niall Horan from the band One Direction.

Meh.

At least he has a good head of hair. (Actually they all seem to)

So last night as I was tucking her into bed, she asked me who I liked when I was her age.

Well.
For me it was Rick Springfield all the way!

Oh, those little skinny ties he wore!

I started watching General Hospital because of him!
PS. I heard he's back on the show NOW. Along with Frisco!

Of course, when I showed her the picture of him (the picture of him from the 80's), she just shook her head.

Hmph. Excuse me. At least Rick had better music. LOL

Who was your celebrity music crush?
Have you heard of One Direction? What do you think of them?

******Oh, and as a side note, I'm over at Burning Impossibly Bright today.
I'm giving my Top Ten List of Comfy Hero names.
Come on over and tell me yours!

Have a great weekend!

Summer Bash Time!

Happy Monday, everyone!

I spent most--if not ALL--of the weekend at the beach trying to beat the heat. It was a good time but I was torn between two extremes there. It was SOOOOO hot sitting on the beach, but when you went in the ocean your legs turned numb. (Lifeguards said water temp was 68, but I disagree... Felt more like 58!)

We brought PLENTY of water (and other drinks), but maybe other people didn't think ahead. There were quite a few cases of heat exhaustion on the beach, which had the lifeguards busy.

All in all, an interesting beach time. :-)

Anyhew, it's back to editing for me this week. In the meantime, I wanted to let you know all about this:

Come hang out at Romance Author Hotspot and meet the people who help make the
romance industry special! From publishers, book reviewers, book stores, agents,
graphic artists, and of course your favorite authors, take this chance to know
the people behind the books, behind the scenes, and see how they have fun in the
sun!

From July 24th - August 1st, the Summer Bash will be in session! Don't miss out!

http://romanceauthorhotspot.com/

Enter to win a Kindle and many fabulous prizes!

Bring your beach towel, park an umbrella, and grab that cooler! You'll want to
stick around all week! Ask questions/comments, just fulfill your curiosity!

Meet your guests:

Camryn Rhys

Caridad Pineiro

Cindy Spencer Pape

Clarissa Yip

Deb Werksman (Sourcebooks)

Debora Dennis

Decadent Publishing

Deena Remiel

Donna Alward

Entangled Publishing

Fantasia Frog Designs

Gabriella Hewitt

Jennifer Shirk

Jill Marie Landis

Jules Bennett

Karen Duvall

Kate Richards

Lynn Raye Harris

Nina Croft

Olivia Gates

Rebecca Cantrell

Saritza Hernandez (L. Perkins Agency)

Shayne Leighton

Sherri Lee (Breathless Press)

Silke Juppenlatz

The Romance Studio

Victoria Dahl

Virna DePaul

As you can see there will be editors, agents, publishers, and authors posting there all week--including me! There will be prizes given away (I'll be giving away a $10 Amazon GC) and a grand prize drawing of a Kindle too.

So if you have a chance, stop by The Summer Bash, win some prizes, and beat the heat!

For Fun Friday

IN THE NEWS: Man hit by lightning dies 48 years after his father died the same way. Read more HERE. (What are the odds?)

Well, the hubby is playing hooky from work this afternoon (he can do that since he's the boss) and we're heading to the beach!

I deserve the break too. I've been really working hard on my edits this week. Really hard. So hard I feel like my eyes are going crossed.

So if you haven't seen me around much on the blogosphere... um, that's why. :-)

Before I go back to my edits this morning, I'll leave you with a funny I saw in our local paper this week:



Have a great weekend!

Happy Anniversary!

Yes, it's true. I was a June bride. :-)

Today, in fact, is my and my hubby's 16th wedding anniversary!!

To celebrate today, I thought I'd share some little known facts about me and the hub:

1) We met on a blind date. (I was still in college. He had graduated and had a real job already)

2)We got married two years and five months after our first date.

3)The priest who married us couldn't remember our names and kept calling us John and Martha at the rehearsal, which of course threw me into a panic.

4)Hub's only brother was married on the same exact date (six years earlier). My mother-in-law says she can never forget our anniversaries. LOL

Anyhew, we're going away on a little overnight trip to celebrate.

So in keeping with today's theme (and for a chuckle), I give you The Flintstones:

See you Monday!

Do you have an anniversary coming up?

Porch Pics--and a Winner

MOOD STATUS: "Determined". Only 5k more to write and I'll be done my First Draft.


So I finally have all my outside planting and decorating done in the front and back of my house.

<--I have a small front porch, as you can see. But there is a chair there. It just didn't make the cut in the picture. I should have gotten a better shot of my hanging basket but I just bought new cushions for my settee and wanted to make sure I got my pineapple lantern in the picture. (Also a new purchase)

I just ordered a battery operated candle for it which should come in this week. (But isn't it cute?)

Pineapple is the symbol for hospitality, in case you didn't know...


My front door. I actually have another planter on the other side that identical, but I wanted you to see what was in them. This year I decided to mix some pink plants in with the flowers. I thought it came out pretty.


Wait until you see my backyard. This was the first year the rabbits did NOT attack my flowers.
I'm waiting for a few things to bloom then I'll snap a picture.



Anyhew...thanks to everyone who stopped my on Friday to hear about The Character Therapist!
The winner of Jeannie Campbell's download of Creating Rich Back stories is...

Tamika!!

Congrats!! You'll be getting an email from me shortly and I'll let you know what to do to claim your prize.

Thanks and have a great week!

A to Z Blogging Challenge: I is for...

Hey, all!

Today's word is for my favorite TV show.

Did you guess?

I is for Idol! (American Idol)

I started watching Idol about halfway through season two. But I wasn't always such a fan. When it was first aired, I refused to watch. I saw the previews and thought, "Wow, what a dumb idea for a show."

Oh well. What do I know? LOL

I finally decided to tune in just to see what the hub-bub was all about. Then that was it. I was HOOKED. So when season Three rolled around, I had to watch it from the very beginning all the way through and have never stopped since. Season Four is when I decided to go completely nuts and I actually started voting. PS. I totally rooted for Carrie Underwood from day one.

This year I actually almost stopped watching. I figured Simon and some of the other judges had left, so maybe I should get out on a high note too. But I'm so glad I didn't! This year has to be THE most talented year ever. The singing has been amazing! It gives me goose bumps to see the beginnings of so many careers.

Now, I was worried about the show when Simon left. I always appreciated what he had to say (when he wasn't being rude) but this year's judges really are giving the show such a positive spin that you can't help but feel good yourself. And that's what I'm really loving about the show. It's a kindlier, gentler American Idol this year, which makes it much more fun to watch.

What about you? Do you watch American Idol? What do you think about the new judges? (Are you surprised Pia was voted off)

Blog Holiday

No, it's not a new holiday.
But I wouldn't put it past Hallmark to capitalize on this soon enough.

It's just me, taking a break. I'll be back to comment on all your bloggie fun and good news really soon.
Or if you need a definite date... I'll be back this Friday.

In the meantime, check out this very short video I "lifted" from Ally Carter's blog. She was saying on her blog how people often ask her "How do you write a novel?" She says the best advice comes from this clip. All you have to do is substitute "write a book" for "run a marathon" and you've got it.



Have a good run--er, write this week!

Be Happy-- Read a Romance

Hey, all!

I've been busy in my little writing hole these past few days so I'm happy to fnally come out and announce that I've crossed the halfway mark of my WIP with about a month and a half still to go to meet my Book In Three Month Challenge. Woo-hoo!

And you know what else? I was so distracted on Monday that I forgot to announce my book winner. Duh. SORRY. So without further ado...


The winner of The Role of a Lifetime is lucky number 15--er, I mean Courtney! Just let me know whether you'd like the book in print or ebook format and I'll send it out!

Thank you SO much to everyone who came over and entered. It was fun and I really appreciate it. :)

And now for MORE fun!!

One of my favorite authors, Kristan Higgins did a really cute trailer for her new romance coming out, My One and Only, so I have to share it here too. I just think it's brilliant and fun marketing. :)
It's called "English Teacher Busted"




So there. Be happy and read a romance.
(As long as you don't get fired or go to jail or anything)

Have a great weekend!

A BAD Case of the Sillies

MOOD STATUS:
"Happy". Making some serious progress on my WIP. Who wouldn't be happy about that?

Well, at the risk of TMI (too much information), I just have to share with you anyway what’s been going on in my household these past few weeks.

My hubby and I have had a case of the sillies.


No, it’s not life-threatening and I’m sure eventually—like MONO—will pass. But there you have it. We have the sillies. What can I say? We like to laugh.
How did this suddenly happen you might ask? Well, it all started with a couple of boxes of Gleem toothpaste my hubby bought for the family.

Okay, I know I could stop right there, because me using Gleem toothpaste is funny in itself. I mean, who buys Gleem?


Well, apparently we do. It’s very inexpensive. But I digress...

So anyway, the hubby took the toothpaste out of the box and apparently just dropped it into the bathroom trashcan. He did not bend it so it would fit. He did not crush it. NO. There it was sticking up and halfway out of the trashcan like a huge straw. Now I, being the neurotic woman I am, finally couldn’t take looking at it any longer and picked it out, crushed it, and threw it away properly.


I know, hilarious. But stick with me.

Well, the hubby goes into the bathroom and notices that I couldn’t take how he threw out it out and makes a comment about how I mutilated his precious Gleem box. Which had me laughing.
But it goes on.


Unbeknownst to me, he picked the Gleem box out of the trashcan, flattened it, and left it for me to find—under my laptop to be cute.


Well, when I found it, I laughed and decided two can play at his game. So I hid it where he’d find it: his sock drawer.

Then he hid it for me in my makeup bag

Well, I hid it in his shower caddy yesterday. (you can see for yourself the silliness of this nature) The hubby congratulated me on that one, by the way. It really took him by surprise. :)



The beauty of this comedy is that we each find it every couple of days—and just when we’ve completely forgotten about that stupid toothpaste box, it shows up again.


Now, you may be thinking, Jennifer, you need to get more. There's no doubt about that. But I still have to say, it’s the cheap little laughs in life that I enjoy the most. :)


What about you?

Do you think you’re more of a serious person? Or do you get a case of sillies (like me) every once in a while?

Superbowl Food, Bargains, and Blogs

MOOD STATUS: "Thankful". So appreciated all the support and congrats on my new book contract. Thank you ALL again!

Let's see. So much to tell you all...

We hosted a Superbowl party at our house yesterday. Over twenty some odd people. Very fun. Lots of food left over. Hubby made a ROCKIN' chili and I made a great Sloppy Buffalo Joe recipe (with ground chicken).
A lot of people mentioned they wanted the recipe on Twitter the other day, and because I aim to please, here goes:


Sloppy Buffalo Joes
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground chicken or turkey breast
1 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 to 1/3 cup hot sauce (recommended: Frank's Red Hot)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup chicken stock NOTE: I would use half the mount, otherwise it's a little too runny
8 good quality burger rolls, split and toasted
1 cup blue cheese crumbles
2 large dill pickles, chopped
Directions
Heat a large skillet with extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and break it up with wooden spoon, cook 5 to 6 minutes. Add in carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, cook 7 to 8 minutes more. In a bowl combine the vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato sauce and stock. Pour into the pan and stir to combine. Simmer a few minutes more. Pile sloppy Buffalo filling onto buns and top with blue cheese and chopped pickles. (important) :)
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Oh! My first book THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME will be featured on the bargain book blog today. A $3.44 ebook is a real bargain! :)

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Also, Romance is in the air this week at the Coffee Time Romance Blog! Their theme is romance for Valentine's day and yours truly is one of the featured bloggers. I'll be doing some excerpts and an interview and probably a post too, etc...

**The fun will be going on from noon (EST) to 8PM (EST) TODAY. LOTS of prizes going on.

**Also, if you comment on any of my posts, I will be giving away a box of FUDGE from one of my favorite candy places!

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Anyhew, I have to do P90x today (week five starting today! Woo-hoo!) and then I have a doctor's appointment this morning. Nothing serious. I think...

And that's all for me. Whew!

Did you watch the Superbowl or have a Superbowl party? Any good Superbowl recipes you love or would like to share?

Reading in the New Year

IN THE NEWS: Inmate sues the prison officials over rat bitten on his penis. (I'm NOT making this up) Read more HERE.
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS STILL UP: Red Bells hanging on the lights over the garage. (Hopefully they'll come down today)

Well, since it's Martin Luther King Day--and the hubby and kiddo are home staring me down, I'll make this blog post brief. Briefer than usual...

I just wanted to let you all know that I broke a record (my own record, that is) for the amount of books read in a year. Last year, I read....57 books.

Cue the oooooh aaaaaahs...

Yes, I managed to read a lot. (For me.)
Yet, strangely enough, I have NOT picked up a fiction book yet and we're already half way through January. So what am I reading now? The very first book I decided to christen the new year with is: "We Are Not Alone: The Writer's Guide to Social Media" by Kristen Lamb.
I'm only about 2/3 through it but already I'm wondering where this book has been all my life and more importantly when I first entered onto the Internet. Interesting stuff!

I still hope to break my 57 book record this year despite my slow start. After all, you know what Stephen King says: "If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time - or the tools - to write. Simple as that."

Simple as that.

Do you know how many books you read last year? Do you want to read a certain amount this year?

A Little Holiday Extra: I don't know why this video cracks me up, but I never get tired of watching it.

CATS PLAYING PATTY-CAKE

Have a good holiday. :)

Halloween Recap

IN THE NEWS: Oops: Accused Fla. bank robber dropped wallet. Read more HERE.

Halloween was good but...unusual this year. In fact, I think it was one of those rare days where we actually celebrated THREE holidays in one. Yes, it's true. The in-laws are leaving for Florida soon but they wanted to have a big turkey dinner together before they left since they won't be around for Thanksgiving. So we celebrated Thanksgiving on Halloween.

But since it was Halloween and trick-or-treating started at 5PM, my mother-in-law had to have dinner early. Way early. Like...1PM early.

Or what I like to call linner.

The in-laws usually come back for a brief time for Christmas but this year they're not going to do that so they gave each of the grandkids one Christmas gift to open up. Thus, the third holiday was celebrated that day. A new record. :)

The actual Halloween trick-or-treating was great. In my neighborhood all the kids gather for one group picture before they're off. All the dads walk together and chaperone the kids while the moms have candy duty. The kids trick-or-treated for maybe an hour and half but still managed to get a ton of candy. Then they (meaning kids AND dads) were pooped so we all ended up getting together at one of the neighbor's houses and had a impromptu party, which ended at 8PM since it was a school night. Too fun!

Here's a pic of everyone: (my kiddo was Hannah Montana)



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In other news...

I just got a review from Booklist for Georgie on His Mind that totally made my weekend. In case you didn't know, Booklist is the magazine put out by the American Library Association. Here's a brief snippet of what it said:

From Booklist
"It’s the mature way Walt responds to Georgie’s shenanigans that make this romance a standout. Shirk’s novel is as breezy and charming as Georgie’s seaside surroundings, and her sweet love affair with Walt will linger in the reader’s mind long after the tale is told."
--Courtney Jones

*sigh* What a nice surprise!
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Oh and one other minor bright spot this Halloween was the "trading" of the candy that went on between the kids after trick-or-treating was done.

Kudos to my kiddo for making a sweet (no pun intended) trade of a giant Willy Wonkers Laffy Taffy for a giant Twix bar (my personal fav). Good girl!


What's your favorite Halloween candy?

Misc Monday

MOOD STATUS: "Unsure". Got my hair colored--DARK--and I'm not sure I like it. I feel very...goth. But I was assured it would lighten up.

I'm back!

And I only cheated and went to a social networking site once. Okay, twice. But it was really really quick, so it hardly counts. :)

So there.

But while I was away, I got some blog awards.
Why does that happen whenever I'm not around?

Anyhew...here's my blog bling:

I got the "Lovely Blog" award from my new bloggy friend Annie at her blog Dutch Hill News






And my writer friend, Diane Craver was so kind to extend the "Creative Writer" award to me, too!



(I know, I need follow up on the rules with these awards, but give me a break, I just got back online! And I'm a little frazzled about my hair.)




But thank you both so much!!


Today I'm playing catch-up with all my networking buds (that's you), but I wanted to pass along this YouTube video on BOOK SIGNINGS that is hilarious (and true).
(Unless you're Stephen King or Meg Cabot or Mary Higgins Clark, of course.) :)


Check it out!

Birthday for the kiddo

MOOD STATUS: "Tired". Haven't quite caught up from from my spring break frenzy.

I think I mentioned that I threw the kiddo a home birthday party last week. My first "home" party. :)

I ordered cute little tea party invitations through Vistaprint (10 free) and added on the invite to "bring a doll to join you". They all did, so it was really sweet!

Speaking of sweet... here's the chocolate-chocolate cake I baked (From scratch of course--including icing) There was a layer of pink frosting and a layer of purple frosting inside.

Okay. Maybe I won't be on Ace of Cakes, but this cake was delicious. (If I say so myself)
We--meaning I--made chocolate dipped strawberries and sugar cookies. (see below)

This was the take home party favor: their tea cup with goodies (candy and toys) inside.

I got the tea cups at a goodwill store. I was able to get actual sugar cubes at the supermarket and a little sugar cube tongs. The girls LOVED that!

Hmmm... I didn't know my curtains would match the pink and green decor. LOL

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We played a game called "The Mummy Game". The girls were divided into two teams. Each team picked one "mummy". The team who wrapped their mummy in toilet paper first--using the WHOLE roll--wins.

The birthday girl. (below)

(I'm so proud...)

The girls loved that game so much that some of the parents called me the next day to tell me. One little girl said, "Mommy, we HAVE to play the mummy game at my birthday party!"

Who knew it would be such a hit?

We also did two crafts--a door hanger and we painted little ceramic animals. We actually didn't have time for all the games I had planned, which is fine. Better to over plan, in my opinion.

And of course, what little girl party wouldn't be complete without a few boys in the neighborhood ringing the doorbell and running away and of course water balloons thrown at the front door. One little boy got the shock of his life when the girls ran after him. My daughter tackled him and then all the girls sat on him!

(I think he'll think twice before he does anything like THAT again) LOL!

The whole experience was too funny. I had just as good a time as the girls. :)

Have you ever hosted a home birthday party for your child?

What theme did you do?

Book Boyfriend--and Easter Egg Hunt

MOOD STATUS: "Happy". New curtains look fantastic! Pictures coming soon. As soon as I locate my missing camera...

First announcement: The Long and Short of It Reviews is having an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt this week!
Spring is in the air and we invite you to join us on an Easter egg hunt.

Complete info HERE.

There are a total of TEN sets of prizes shared between the sites - and prizes include: $25 Amazon or BN.com Gift Certificate, publisher GCs, eBooks, autographed books, tote bags, Easter baskets filled with goodies, T-Shirts so much more!

It's easy to enter. Each of our author sponsors has hidden an egg on their site -- you earn one entry for every egg you find!

And there are three other ways to enter:

1. If you are not already a member of our Yahoo loop, join now. All Yahoo loop members will earn an entry, just for being a part of our loop.

LASR: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LongAndShortRomanceReviews
WC: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whippedcream2
Aurora: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aurorareviews

2. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter. All subscribers will also be entered into the contest.

http://ymlp.com/signup.php?id=gujhyujgmgs

3. Post about the contest! Email us the link to your post for an additional entry.
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ALSO, I was given a chore last week--er, I mean, I was tagged by my blogger bud Kristin Rae to "build my own book boyfriend".

How do you play?
Fill out the quiz below, post a picture of a sexy man and tag five (5) other book addicts to do the same. Don't forget to pop to their blogs as let them know they have been tagged! Once tagged... you have do do the same, answer the questions, and keep it rolling! But don't forget the picture of the sexy man! It doesn't have to match your fantasy man, just a little eye candy for the rest of us... heheheee!


1- Hair color and style
**I do tend to gravitate toward brown haired men--like below. (Although I did have one hero who is blond in my book that is coming out in October)



This --if you remember--is the man I'm basing my new hero off of. :)














2 - Eye color and facial features

**There's something about dark hair and light eyes. I like that clean shaven yet still "rugged" look. Like Channing Tatem here. :)

Although I did create a hero who had long hair and beard once. (So not my type!)

3 - Height and body type (see interests #7)




4 - Visible age

I do like men my age **cough cough** or older. As in Harrison Ford here. Even with gray hair, he's still got it. :)












5 - Human or other

Um, I do prefer human. Not to be picky or anything, but, well, I don't want to have to sleep with one eye open. :)
But that being said, Hugh Jackman in Wolverine was pretty yummy.
















6 - Paranormal skills
How about Chris Evans as the new Captain America? I think he's a great casting choice!!








7 - Interests
I always loved Normar when he was with the Red Sox. (Remember this picture?)
He and his wife are so in shape. They deserve each other.
Not that I'm bitter...




















8 - Habitat
How about one from my home state...New Jersey?
I think Bruce Willis has the looks and attitude that I find quite attractive.








9 - Special skills

Okay, this is huge for me. I REALLY appreciate a man who can make me LAUGH. Brian Regan (below) is THE funniest man (next to the hubby) that I've ever heard. (And he's kind of cute, too)














Whew! Very eclectic mix, huh?

Hubby was a good sport about this when he saw me perusing various male pictures last night. As I explained to him, it's all "research"--and he knows all my heroes in my writing have little bit him in them. *wink*

So I will now pass this book boyfriend fun to these fellow bloggers--mainly because I think they'll appreciate some blog fodder. :)

Chelle Sandell

Debora Dennis

Stephanie

Joyce Yip

R. M. Gilbert

Happy Monday!

Saying I Love You the Techno Way

MOOD STATUS: "Excited". I have the house to myself. FINALLY!

Well, Valentine's Day is coming up soon! And I have...nothing for my hubby.

Hey, I blame the snow!

PS. He can't use that excuse.

Anyway, I'm a simple gal. I don't ask or expect any extravagant tokens of love. I don't even ask for flowers. (Although that would be appreciated, honey) A nice card and a box of...say...chocolate covered pretzels would make me happy. See? Simple gal.

But alas, some of you out there may not be like me. Luckily, last week on the news I saw some really cool gadgets for Valentine's day (thanks to Clayton Morris) that I will now share with you and you can share with your significant other:

1) Say I Love with Music: Buy an Ipod shuffle (they come in so many pretty colors!) and download love songs on it for your honey bunny.

Isn't that sweet?

2) Say I Love You with Books: E-readers are all the rage now. Somewhat. And now those pocket readers are pretty reasonable. Somewhat. So...buy your honey bunny one (they even come in purple and pink and red) and download some romance novels on it!

Brilliant idea!

3)Say I Love You with Pictures: (My hubby actually did this for me as part of my Mother's day gift last year) You can create a personalized book of photos. Hardcover--almost looks like a yearbook. Download your pictures to a site like Snapfish, Shutterfly, or Picaboo and create a very nice keepsake...for your honey bunny.

I love mine!

Personally, I'm hoping for some sushi on Sunday. Maybe a card. I know, shameful being a romance author and all.
My hubby treats me special all year so Valentine's day isn't really that big of a holiday for me.
But again, I'm a simple gal. :)

What about you?
Do any of these tokens of affection interest you?
Are you doing anything special for Valentine's Day?

Kissing Day Blogfest!!

MOOD STATUS: "Happy". Christmas is a few days away and I am totally together and non stressed. :) It's a blessing in itself!

RECENT IPOD DOWNLOAD: "Party in the USA" by Myley Cyrus.
(Don't judge me)


It's Monday, December 21st and you know what that means! Yes , but besides it being four days away from Christmas, it's
the Official Kissing Day Blogfest!

Curious? Confused? Want to know more? Check out Sherrinda's blog for details.
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I confess, it took me forever to decide on a kissing scene, because quite frankly...I thought they all stunk. LOL! And I also realized my characters don't kiss much.

But this kissing scene is from my future Avalon romance Georgie on His Mind.
(Keep in mind this is unedited)

Here's the set-up: My heroine Georgie is finding living with her overprotective brother Brad a bit stifling. In this scene she is out at dinner with her brother's best friend Walt (also our hero) where she drops an unsettling "bomb" which eventually leads to a kiss. :)

Kissing Scene:
Georgie’s shoulders slumped as she thought about Walt’s statement. She knew she was lucky to have such a great brother. With her parents gone, she would always have someone looking out for her, caring about her. But weren’t there limits to how stifling love could be?

Walt let out a laugh. “You don’t look as though you feel very lucky.”

She blinked up at him. “Oh, no, I know I’m lucky. Really. It’s just that Mom and Dad always watched over me because I was the baby in the family, and, well, now Brad has been treating me as though I haven’t shed the infant clothes. I think I need a little break from all this love I’ve been given. A little breathing room.”

“Oh?” Walt picked up his coffee and casually took another sip. “What do you mean by breathing room?”

“Well, I want to be free to do what I want. See who I want to see. At this point in my life I’m not interested in marriage—or dating someone who’s ‘good for me’ as Brad would say. I just want to have a little fun. You know, maybe have a fling, or something.”

Walt’s expression suddenly sobered. “A fling? You want a fling?”

Walt’s tone stirred up her defensiveness. She already knew where this conversation was headed—he obviously didn’t approve. Maybe “fling” wasn’t the best noun choice, but just the thought of forming any serious attachment made her stomach muscles tense.

“Yeah. That’s right.” She thrust her chin up and looked him square in the eye. “A fling. What do you think about that?”

He didn’t answer right away. His jaw clenched as he took out his wallet and tossed a handful of twenties on the table. “I think we should go before I say something that’ll spoil this evening. That’s what I think.” He stood and without sparing her another glance, stormed toward the front door.

Georgie snatched up her purse and waved a good-bye across the restaurant to Kendall and Dee as she scurried after him. “Wait!” she called once she got outside, but he continued to stomp out into the parking lot, heading straight for his car. “Wait! I knew it. I knew you’d think like Brad. But you don’t understand.”

Walt finally stopped beside his black SUV and whipped around, the expression on his face looking stonier than Mount Rushmore. “Oh, I understand all right. I understand perfectly. You want a no strings attached relationship instead of trying to find a nice man to get married and have babies with. Well, let me tell you this: women like you aren’t supposed to want flings. It’s wrong. It’s not supposed to be in your nature. So just—” He looked up at the night sky and raked his hands through his spiky hair. “I can’t believe I’m even having a conversation like this with you! Just what kind of woman are you?”

She drew herself up straight. “I’m a perfectly normal modern woman. Welcome to the twenty-first century. A simple fling is all I’m looking for at this point in my life. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Oh, is that right?” Walt took a menacing step toward her, his face suddenly inches from hers. She felt her breath being sucked from her lungs as she looked up and saw his eyes lit with a frightening combination of anger and frustration and… desire.

He put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. “Well, all right,” he said, low and husky, “if you’re looking for a fling, then maybe you should go and have yourself one.”

Before her mind could wrap around what was happening, his mouth came down on hers. And it was bliss. Her purse slipped through her hands and she went limp, allowing her body to melt into his. His chest was hard and warm, and felt so good against the contrast of the cool evening night surrounding them. She had wanted to kiss him like this, wanted to know what it would be like, but never in a million years had she thought kissing Walt Somers would be this good.

She smelled the piney scent of his cologne and felt the beating of his heart. She slid her arms around his neck and played with the ends of his fine hair as she explored more of his mouth, enjoying its unique taste and the softness of his lips. Then suddenly, Walt jerked his head back, holding her at arms length.
* * *

And that's all, folks. :)

Now pass the mistletoe!

Are you posting a scene, too?

Halloween Recap

IN THE NEWS: NH restaurant sets meatball record. Read more HERE.

Don't ask me why I had let myself get roped into to trick-or-treating. I just... did. But this is how it happened:

Weeks ago, my daughter decided to be Daphne from Scooby Doo. Well, then she talked her neighbors into being Scooby and Freddy. Then we talked another neighbor into being Shaggy. And well, we just couldn't talk my daughter's five year friend into being Velma. So...

Before I knew it, I was agreeing to "take one for the team" and be Velma.

Of course this was decided two hours before trick-or-treating was to start!

My crafty neighbor had all the kids help paint and make The Mystery Machine, which she then attached to a wagon that we pulled around with us.


That HUGE Velma is me with my little 'Daphne'. My costume is really lame. My friend brought over a wig, which I cut. I had the glasses and found an orange top. I couldn't find orange knee-high socks, so I had to use my hubby's black ones. I think it did the job.


What do you think of it?

Did you dress up for Halloween?

Just a Quickie

MOOD STATUS: "Worried". Still trying to finish up my work in progress.

This is going to be quick because
A) I have writing to do (don't we all?) and
B) I need to go the gym so I can claim a treadmill before they're all taken up.

I had a nice weekend--but tiring. And you know what? I forgot to mention that I went and saw the band Survivor on Friday.

Yes, seriously.

But before you judge me on my musical preferences, let me first say that the concert was for a fundraiser for our school. They were...interesting. They sounded pretty good but perhaps the three hour guitar solo could have been trimmed down a tad. (Slight embellishment--but only SLIGHT)
"Eye of the Tiger" rocked, at least.

Nuff on that subject.
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Went to a child's birthday party on Sunday. That was really fun! The kids did the bobbing for apples thing. Or what my friend and I called "bobbing for swine flu". LOL!

Sorry! I know, I know. I shouldn't joke about that. But you get a little punchy at these things.
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I'm trying to plan a trip right now, too. More on this at a later post...

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That's it for me. So I'll leave you with what my child and her friend did yesterday while I wrote: They painted pumpkins in the garage.


Do you honestly know any Survivor song other than "Eye of the Tiger"?

I thought I didn't, but then I was surprised when I recognized a few more. :)

Being Green

MOOD STATUS: "Thoughtful". Doing some plotting and thinking today.
Recent IPod download: "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas


The kiddo and I got our nails done the other day.

I had this really cool coral color picked out for myself. The kiddo picked out green for herself. Well, the kiddos nails looked so cute, I changed mine to her color and...


Voila!

I have green nails now. (And that cute little flower)

Don't ask me why I decided to do green nails--actually OPI Greenwich Village green to be exact--but they've been matching almost every summer outfit I've been wearing.

I'm really diggin' them. It's like having a summer pick-me-up. :)

What color are your toenails now?