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  Dear Friends, today I'm taking time away from my Roccoco inspired rosewood desk trimmed in gilt to converse with you (while lounging in my silk and marabou wrapper, with matching nightgown)about this business of writing. Between lunching on lobster in New York with editors and agents, and after black tie publisher parties, I do occasionally dicatate a line or two to my personal secretary who jots it all down. While I 'write' books, I never actually write them, that's my secretary's job. I am the artiste, she is the lackey! This dictation usually comes between moutfuls and swallows of the most decadent chocolate truffles you can imagine. Sometimes my words of brilliance arrive while in the tub, soaking in champagne and perfumed oils. This, dear reader, is a small glimpse into my world as a romance writer. And Lord Craven-Moore has just whispered in my ear, 'wake-up darling, you've hit your head'. Indeed, I have. That would be this morning, when I was reefing on the frozen car door, trying to pull it open, when it suddenly gave way and brained me stupid....And the kidlet started laughing as I saw stars and the neighbor dude came running over to see if he could help as I landed in the graceful lithotomy position in a snowbank. Oh,yes, glamorous indeed! Where the hell were my smelling salts when I needed them! Ah, back to lucidity.... The above narrative is just a fantasy about what I once naively thought of as the life of a romance writer. What a git I was! As I write this, I'm wearing jeans, socks that feel too small (I think my feet have grown) and a t-shirt, that I think has dog slobber on the sleeve (two dogs, both very happy to see mummy after dropping off the kidlet to school) I'm downstairs at the computer (not in my study beause that computer doesn't have internet, because I'm supposed to be a good girl and write on that computer, not surf) My teeth are brushed, my hair is in some semblance of acceptable, and I'm sipping away at a Chai latte in a take out cup~my one indulgence for the day. I'm also excessively obsessesing over deadlines that I have, and alternatively vaciallintg from thrill (yeah, more contracts!) to utter terror (oh, no, will they like it? Can I do it? Oh, gaaaaawd!) This, is the life of a romance writer. How very ordinary and mundane. But that's it, folks. You see, the whole 'image' of a romance writer is just imaginary, just like our plots, characters and worlds which we've formed in our minds. I wish I had some magic wand to make it all glamorous, but in fact, it's hard work. Harder than I thought it was going to be, actually. But I love it. And this is what I want to do. For years to come. So, after that diatribe, on to the real reason of my post! I'm currently forming a world for a new series I have coming out with NAL under a different name (that's another post). The world is Annwyn, and it's the Celtic Otherworld where all sorts of lovely and devious creatures live alongside us boring mortals. The series is dark and sexy, with Celtic, Druid, Gothic overtones. Gargoyles, Shadow Wraiths, Sidhe and fallen angels, Annwyn has creatures that will lure and entice you! I'm excited to get started on the series. I'm already in love and lust with the hero of the first book, a night Sidhe who shifts into a raven. He's built (what romance hero isn't) with all kinds of interesting markings over his body, and cool eyes (one pewter colored, the other gold, both rimmed in violet) that can form alchemical magic, not to mention seduce a woman at fifty paces. All is set for the world and the series, but now it comes down to business. Promoting. Reaching readers. Getting a website.....grrrr. So, I thought I'd come to you guys for a little help as I know you're all savvy readers, and you always go to author websites. What draws you there? What do you think of newsletters? Help or hindrance? What do you like in newsletters? Most of all, what do you really hate when you visit an author's website?
For your troubles, I'm offering up a copy of Addicted to the post that tickles Lord Craven-Moore's fancy!!!!As an aside, the pictures are a few of the things that inspried the Annwyn Chronicles, which is the name of the series.
 I just discovered a new hottie yesterday! I caught the last hour or so of the movie P.S. I Love You on cable--and my jaw hit the floor when this guy came onscreen (yeah, imagine that--someone who looked good enough to distract me from Gerard Butler!). Had to do some quick internet searching...at first I thought he was Javier Bardem, but the Irish accent was throwing me. So, a quick trip to IMDB.com , and voila, the hottie had a name! Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Hellooooo, there. Turns out he's American, not even Irish. Huh. But the best part?! I think I *finally* found the inspiration pic for the hero of my NASCAR romance, Damon Tieri, a hedge fund manager who falls hard for a (female!) racecar driver. I might have to go back and give my clean-shaven Damon a beard--or heavy stubble, at least. Anyway, thought I'd share! And now I have catch the beginning of P.S. I Love You at some point, because it seemed like a really sweet movie. Oh, and feel free to caption the pics, if you're so inclined. Who knows, I might decide to part with more prizes!
 First off, you'll have to excuse my recent slew of totally NON historical-related posts--the manuscript I'm currently working on is for the Harlequin NASCAR line, so I'm currently out of 'historical mode' and knee-deep in (clean!) NASCAR goodness at present. It's been an interesting shift, since the last manuscript I completed was an erotic historical novella for Harlequin SPICE--lots of explicit sex, frank language, etc. But the Harlequin NASCAR line is the polar opposite, at the 'sweet' level, with all the love scenes taking place 'off stage.' It's been an interesting challenge to create sufficient sexual tension between my characters while keeping the 'physicality' to kisses. However, by next week I'll be immersed back in the world of Edwardian England, so I promise to get all 'hot historical' on you again real soon! In the meantime, anyone besides me catch the Golden Globes last night? I promised myself I wouldn't watch--I really needed to be writing, not sitting in front of the television for hours. But ultimately, the lure was just too much for me, and I turned it on about 20 min. into the show. I confess--I LOVE awards shows. I love to see the dresses, to check out the current trends (clearly velvet is the au courant thing for men right now--I bet Lord Craven-Moore just *loves* velvet!). And the Golden Globes are particularly fun, mostly because they encompass both TV and film, but also because of the casual nature of the format. I love watching the celebs during breaks, chatting away with one another. For some weird reason, I really like to watch celebs interact with one another. My picks for best dressed woman? Salma Hayek. Megan Fox. Kate Winslet. A lot of people didn't like Jenna Fischer's dress, but I loved it. Olivia Wilde. Evan Rachel Wood. Oh, and Miley Cyrus--I *loved* her dress. I would totally wear it. Best dressed man? Colin Farrell. He *rocked* his tux--I loved the plaid waistcoat (and thanks to the Colin Farrell Fansite for the above picture!). I also really liked Tracy Morgan's white dinner jacket. And I confess, the beard and dark hair didn't do it for me, but I actually liked Sting's interesting ensemble. Best acceptance speeches? Again, Colin Farrell, and yeah, I admit my prejudice, because I *love* him (so talented, so wicked and naughty!), but his acceptance speech for "Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical" (for the brilliant IN BRUGES) was so endearing, so cute and funny and just plain *sweet* that I have to give him major props (I loved his crack about the votes being counted in Florida, LOL!). Kate Winslet's speech for "Best Actress in a Drama" for RESERVATION ROAD was definitely a bit too rambling and over the top (was she really *that* surprised?! I knew she was going to win!), but it seemed so heartfelt and sincere that it made me cry, especially when she showed her love to Leo. Tina Fey cracked me up. And Mickey Rourke....well, what can you say?? I don't think I've ever heard anyone use the word "balls" so many times in an acceptance speech (and he used it fondly, too!). I'm still totally shocked that that huge, bulking scary looking guy is the *same* man as the hottie from 9 1/2 weeks....but from what I've heard about THE WRESTLER, he totally deserved that win, so Go Mickey!! So...anyone else watch? If so, who gets your best dressed nods? Any favorite moments?*Edited to add a link to Moviefone's "Best/Worst Dressed" slideshow!* *Edited again to add a link to video of Colin's cute acceptance speech!*  I'm not a Miley fan, but I really want that dress!
Just some Wednesday eye candy for you...to make it fun, let's play 'caption the pic.' So...what's he's thinking, while striking this soulful pose? (It's Rob Pattinson, by the way. My current obsession!).  Let's try another...  I'll leave you with this last one, Rob with his Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart. Hate to break the spell and include one with a girl--but I just love this photo. It's SO romantic! Wait, are we allowed to be romantic on Wicked Wednesday?!  Now send us those captions (you can caption just one, or all three) in the comments! I'll allow Lord Craven-Moore to help me choose the most clever one, and I'll send the winner a prize pack--a signed copy of TO LOVE A SCOUNDREL and a coverflat for my upcoming February release, LORDS OF DESIRE, and maybe some other fun stuff, too. Good luck!***WINNERS ANNOUNCED: Lana and Sarabelle! Please see comments for instructions on claiming your prizes!***
 Well, it's that time again. The decorations have been taken down and put away, the resolutions have been made (and partially kept) and it is now officially the bleak winter. I happen to like winter. Listening to the wind whip around the house and watching the snow fly on a black night is so inspiring to me...well, once Mr. Featherstone stops grumbling about it. There's something about the winter that makes me feel all nostalgic. This is usually when I dive into my keeper shelf and look at those special books while reorganizing them by importance. I usually pick a few and read them. They feel like old friends, and I immediately know why they are on my keeper shelf as soon as I start reading. They give me the warm cozies, and bring me back to the time when I could spend hours and hours reading and wishing that I would one day get my book published. Now, I am published, and those hours of reading have been traded for writing, revising and researching. But I still find time to find some new favorites to add to that all important keeper shelf. Almost all of Lisa Kleypas' books are on my shelf. So too is More Than a Mistress by Mary Balogh. I have some of Laura Lee Gurhke (I hope I haven't butchered her name) as well as JR Ward and Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series, and of course, Karin's hunky Norman Knights, The Bloodswords. What is more interesting to me, is not the authors on my keeper shelf, but the themes contained in the books. Besides sexy books that a dark and emotional, I love certain themes. I even try new authors because of themes. I like the ugly duckling turned beautiful swan in the eyes of the hero, I like the friends for a lifetime but have hidden their love. I like plump heroines, and tortured heroes. I like the longing from afar, especially if its the hero doing the pining. So, that got to me thinking. Do you pick out books by themes? If so, what are your favorites? What are your least favorites?
 Happy 2009, everyone! Had to share the picture above--it's my Christmas present from my husband (a beautiful tapestry!). I can't tell you how much I love it--it's perfect, right down to the rod. Definitely a nice surprise! We finally got it hung today, and I can't stop walking by to admire it. Just goes to show how well my hubby knows me! On another topic, I'm looking forward to a far more productive 2009 than 2008--my number one resolution this year is to write more, every day. I really need to force myself to 'go to work' every day once my kids leave for school, stay off the 'net, and write regularly during 'school hours.' My number two resolution is to get back to exercising. I joined a gym last summer and have been exactly once since. Not good. I was actually diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis this past fall, and it's been a struggle. Most days, all I wanted to do was climb back into bed and sleep the day away. And that's pretty much exactly what I did. But I've been on medication to treat the RA for a little over a month now, and I think I'm finally starting to feel the effects--my joints definitely hurt less (though my fingers remain clumsy--drives me nuts!), and I think the overwhelming exhaustion is beginning to lessen. Thus making it possible for me to work toward those resolutions. Hopefully. How about you? Any resolutions this year?Even the dog likes to check out the new tapestry! 
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