Thirty-nine years ago today I made my debut into the world. Thankfully, my mother was so doped up on drugs she couldn’t name me Daisha Danine (to me this has always sounded like a Baskin Robbins flavor, which in retrospect might have been more appropriate) and my dad took the opportunity to name me Rhonda Raina. And Raina is Renee, not Rain-uh. I weight 5lbs 5oz and was 18 inches long. I was tiny. I also looked remarkably like my dad. Had I had black hair, Mom was going to name me Raven Jade. Is that a romance writer’s name or what? Pity I’m a blonde. To tell you the truth, I have never liked my name all that much, or any of the alternates I might have been. Could I name myself, I think I would choose something like Rhiannon or Elizabeth or Caroline.

Which brings me to my question(s.) Do you like your name? Are you named for someone? If you don’t like your name and could change it, what would you choose? When I start a book, I can’t do anything until I have the characters names. Names, to me, are so important. Once they’re named, then I can figure out what they look like and what it is they do. But the name *has* to come first.

I’ll be MIA today, since it’s my birthday. We’re going down to Tuscaloosa to watch the Alabama vs. Auburn basketball game–and they’re going to hand out the Iron Bowl trophy (ROLL TIDE!!!!)–and then we’re heading over to Dreamland BBQ for ribs. I can’t wait. I don’t watch the football games–unless there’s a lone player streaking down the field with the ball, then I have no idea what’s going on–but I played basketball when I was in school and actually understand that game. I cheer really loud and humiliate my children. Good times.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I know I’m going to enjoy mine.

I currently have no less than one hundred items in my queue and I log in and manage it daily. It’s a sickness. A compulsion. I have to know what’s arriving next, have to make sure that the discs for various series are in order. (I’ve already bungled Foyle’s War by getting the first 2 discs of Series 2 before I’d watched the 3rd and 4th discs of Series 1.) A huge lover of British comedies, I’ve been watching THE VICAR OF DIBLEY, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, ARE YOU BEING SERVED?, KEEPING UP APPEARANCES and WAITING FOR GOD for years. Through Netflix, I have discovered ALL THINGS GREAT AND SMALL, ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES, TO THE MANOR BORN, A FINE ROMANCE and many, many more. And the “play instantly on computer” feature? I wish I’d never found it. I watched the entire first series of THE DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET on it, as well as the entire collection of MONARCH OF THE GLEN. Do you know how many HOURS of television that is? I’m too ashamed to say, but it’s a lot. Too much. And yet I can’t help myself. There’s a whole world of television out there that I have yet to discover and thanks to Netflix, I’m doing my dead-level best to wade through it. When you factor in that I also watch LOST!, THE TUDORS, TRUE BLOOD and SURVIVOR, I’ve got more than my share of television to watch. Anything by Masterpiece Theatre instantly goes in the queue too. (Have adored the new Emma my local PBS station just aired. Next up is Northhanger Abbey. Yay!)

So what about you? Do you Netflix? What are your can’t miss programs?

Around the middle of September last year my husband and I bought a doll house for our niece from Hobby Lobby and decided to put it together for her for Christmas. We would paint it and wire it and stain the hardwood floors. It was going to be a magical bonding experience for the two of us, plus an heirloom piece for Isabella.

Only one of those was right.

What the &*^%@! was I thinking? In the first place, we’d never assembled a doll house from scratch, so planning to do it for a Christmas present in the middle of September when I am married to THE GREAT PROCRASTINATOR wasn’t very bright. When you add in the fact that we both like to be in charge, welll… You can see where this might be a problem. Also, I don’t know if any of the rest of you have ever tackled this sort of project, but good grief…hundreds of pieces. Literally. Nine pieces for each window. Gobs of fretwork that was hard to paint. Eight-hundred shingles that had to be individually stained and painstakingly adhered to the roof. Those of you familiar with roofing will understand what I mean when I say that the shingles around the gables had to be “cut in.” Hubby sliced his hand open with a box cutter doing that. Big fun. I don’t do blood. He even had to pull our kids’ teeth when they were loose. Oh, and did I mention that every single piece had to be primed before it could be painted? It did, and that was my job. But here are the results. Family members furnished the rooms for her, which made it even more special. And this one…

I got a little carried away when decorating. I shrunk down a picture of my niece and added it to the living room. Put a poster of Hannah Montana in the bedroom. Needless to say, she LOVED it. And that made it all worthwhile. And believe it or not, we’re going to do it again next year for our other niece.

What about you? Have you ever undertaken something like this? What were the results?

Well, it’s that time of year again. Food Fest ‘09. There’s dinner with the hubby’s family, dinner with my family, Christmas parties at the church, with my Sunday School class and with my local RWA chapter.

Food, food and more food.

And not just any kind of food. The irresistible kind, like little smokies wrapped in bacon and covered with brown sugar, and peanut butter fudge and Christmas cookies and cheese balls and cheese straws and cheese dip. Chocolate covered pretzels, peanut butter balls and Sister Schubert’s rolls. (The kind with the little sausages baked in and basted with poppyseed dressing and butter. Did you see my eyes just roll back in my head? Because they did.)

Earlier in the year I dropped thirty pounds, gained back twelve over the summer and have since taken off ten of the gain. I’m nine pounds away from my ultimate goal and faced with the most difficult time of the year. How to cope? How do I say no to homemade candies and Watergate salad? Mom is making Belgian Waffles for Christmas brunch. I don’t know how many calories are in the waffles, but I am relatively certain the gooey blueberry syrup I’m going to pour over them is chockful of them. I’m doomed. Doomed, doomed, doomed.

In order to combat a bit of the inevitable weight gain, I have devised a plan. It’s called the Don’t-Eat-Anything-All-Day-So-You-Can-Gorge-At-The-Party Diet. Brilliant, yes?

In all seriousness, I have resolved to eat low-cal when I can, and do small portions of the holiday food. If I try to tell myself that I won’t eat the good stuff, then I’m a.) lying to myself and b.) setting myself up for failure. “In moderation” is going to be my motto this holiday season.

That said, here’s a lovely cheese spread recipe for you all to enjoy in moderation as well. It’s easy, it comes together quickly and it’s a never-fail favorite. I always take the recipe with me because I get asked for it so much.

Raspberry Cheese Spread

Ingredients:
4oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cups shredded mozzarella
8oz shredded cheddar
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup chopped pecans
Seedless raspberry preserves
Crackers

To prepare: In a small mixing bowl beat in the cream cheese and mayonnaise until well-blended. Beat in cheeses and onions. Stir in pecans. Spread into a plastic-lined 9-inch round dish and refrigerate for one hour, or until set. Invert onto serving plate and spread the preserves on top. (Stir this up first so it’s smooth, otherwise it clumps.) Serve with crackers.

To celebrate the season, I’m giving away three copies of BETTER NAUGHTY THAN NICE. To enter, simply share your favorite holiday food. (And if it contains cream cheese and cool whip, then all the better. )

Earlier this month I got together with my plotting partners Jennifer LaBrecque and Vicki Lewis Thompson and the subject of heroes–and what kinds we liked specifically–came up. We each write a very different sort of hero. Jen’s are a bit sophisticated, Vicki’s drawn to the more nerdy sort (and she won’t take offense at that, lol) and I like the rogue. The smooth, funny guy who is unrepentantly male and completely confident in his skin. While we were talking I asked both of them a cool question and wanted to share it here with ya’ll. If a hero could walk right off the pages and right into your life, which guy would you choose? I was asking Jen and Vicki specifically about hero’s they’d written, but wanted to broaden it a bit here.

Though I am married to my hero, if I were to choose a guy I’d written it would have to be Brian Payne from THE SPECIALIST. I adored him. He was cool and smart, charming and sexy, and completely unnerved and in love with the heroine I paired him up with. From the moment he landed in my imagination, I was utterly smitten. As for a hero not of my making, Lord Dain from Loretta Chase’s LORD OF SCOUNDRELS would be my choice. Humina, humina. In many ways he was like my Payne. (And if you’ve never read LORD OF SCOUNDRELS, do. It’s still one of my favorite romances of all time.)

So what about you? Writers, if you could choose a hero from your own work, who would it be and why? Readers, if you could magically conjure a hero from fiction, I’ll ask you the same question. Who would you choose? Inquiring minds…

I’m snagging the title of this post from email I received from a friend a few days ago. We have a Weight Watchers email loop and she was letting all of us know that she was back on the wagon.

Me, too. Sigh…

I wish that I could be one of those people who could eat junk and it never catch up with me or, more importantly, land on my hips. (Or gut, or butt, or belly.) But I’m not. I managed to carve off thirty pounds from January to May–class reunion, need I say more?–but had gained back nine of it over the summer. Too many cook-outs and not enough work-outs. I’ve gotten five of that nine pound gain off, but went to the Smokey Mountains this past weekend and discovered praline fudge. Anyone ever had praline fudge? Because it IS WONDERFUL. Also, I’ll be going to the beach on Thursday, where I will no doubt eat a hot yeast roll from Lambert’s–home of the hot throwed roll–and lots of other things that aren’t exactly Weight Watcher friendly. I’ve doubled up my 5k run to 10k over the next three days and am mentally picturing being pelted in the back with fudge and rolls to keep myself moving when I want to quit. There are benefits to having an active imagination.

Knowing that the holidays are looming–more fudge, pecan pies, stuffing and cheese balls–I’m dreading them because I know myself well enough to know that I will eat more than I should. I love food, and the richer the better. Sweets and breads, they are my eternal downfall. And butter, oh how I miss butter…

Anyway, I think this is why I always write an imperfect heroine with a healthy appetite, because I can totally identify with her. She struggles, she fails, but she never stops trying. That’s admirable. So let’s talk about favorite heroines. Mine is Grace St. John from Linda Howard’s Son of the Morning. She was utterly amazing. So strong, so determined. Her transformation from the beginning of the book to the end is phenomenal. (And if you haven’t read Linda, then you are SO missing out. Son of the Morning is an older title, but it’s my favorite Linda book.)

So who is your favorite heroine and why? These are things I need to know.

I went to the fair on Monday with my family and have to admit that it’s not the atmosphere or the rides or the games of chance that bring me back year after year.

It’s the food.

Fair food. Is there anything else more decadent or sinful? I love the cotton candy and corn dogs, the fried corn and funnel cakes. I managed to restrain myself from getting a turkey leg or chicken on a stick, but couldn’t resist thed deep-fried Snickers bar, a chocolate-dipped frozen banana and I brought a caramel apple (with nuts) home with me. The deep-fried candy bar was a first and I LOVED it. Warm, gooey, powdered-sugared goodness. Yum. And to think it’ll be another year before I get to have it all again. (Which, actually, is probably a good thing. )

So what about you? Any favorite fair food or fair memories? I always loved getting my picture made in the fake jail cell when I was little and have about half a dozen photos to prove it. (Sorry, won’t post them. That was during my “sponge roller” phase and the hair… The hair is nightmarish. Eek…. )

We’re gearing up for another school year here at Casa de Rhonda and I gotta tell ya, I’m not looking forward to it. My baby will be in high school.

Sniff, sniff.

My boy will be a junior and has been driving since February, so I’m not making the double run to school every day–this is a HUGE perk–but just knowing that my baby’s high school career is about to commence somehow makes me sad. I remember watching her run into Kindergarten in her little vintage Dick and Jane print dress. (No doubt the outfit she wears the first day of school this year will be very different.)

Speaking of clothes, my son has finally discovered designer brands. We’ve avoided it for a very long time, but now that it’s hit, it’s hit with a vengeance. (He’s asking for a pair of $160 sunglasses. Er…no.) This year we’ve decided to give the kids money and let them do their own shopping, the reasoning being that if the money is their own instead of ours, they’ll treat it with more respect. (This could backfire, we know, but… )

So what’s happening on the back to school front with ya’ll? Are you still shopping for paste and crayons, or like us, have you graduated to scientific calculators, jump drives and ridiculously expensive sunglasses?

We’re traveling today–one last hurrah before school’s back in. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Ya’ll, I have had WAYYYYY too much to eat this weekend. We kicked off our Fourth of July celebration on Friday with my husband’s family and wrapped things up last night at my brother’s house. Here’s what I had to eat over the weekend:

Pork loin, mashed potatoes, fried squash, baked beans, fresh corn, corn salad, cole slaw, potato salad, steak, grilled chicken, baked potatoes, salad, cheese ball and crackers (not the whole thing, lol) homemade banana ice cream, lemon icebox pie, mudslide brownies, peach cake and pecan pie. I know there is more, but considering the hours I’m going to have to log in on the treadmill this week, I’m probably blocking it from my memory. The food, as always, was divine, largely in part of the fact that I didn’t have to cook it. (Although I did bring the cheese ball and made the banana ice cream.)

I have a wonderful tan from hours playing volleyball in the pool and floating mindlessly on a raft. My kids are equally as brown and were so tired at the end of the night they went straight to bed without incident. Interestingly, this morning I found a cell phone in my purse that didn’t belong to me and can only assume that my twenty-month-old neice helpfully put it in there for me. All in all, our weekend was utterly fabulous. Tell me about yours. What did you do? Any Fourth family traditions? What’s the best thing you ate over the weekend?

I have just spent seven hours–SEVEN–at the ball-field watching my son and his team play baseball.

A double header.

For practice.

He’s going to have many more of these over the summer, as well as two-hour summer work-outs the entire month of June from 7-9am, and various batting practices and the like until school starts.

Because we aren’t a “ball” family and he’s only played once for his high school team, I don’t know precisely when actual practices start and the season commences, but I remember alternately freezing and frying at the games so I’m thinking it’s like March through May.

I don’t remember all these scrimmage games and I have a vague recollection of the workouts, but…is this normal? Do all high school teams do this? I played tennis in high school, but we didn’t do any of this. We practiced a little after school, then went to the games. There was very little pressure. It was a laid back, win-some lose-some kind of attitude. We didn’t prepare like these kids do. Again, normal?

What does this have to do with writing? Other than the fact that I’m not getting any done, nothing. But I was curious about your response. Do any of you out there have any experience with this baseball thing? Tips and pointers? (Like how to get the white pants clean? )

These are things I need to know, and I’ll send a copy of my June release LETTERS FROM HOME for the best advice.