Ready to play?

4 authors included a Scavenger Hunt hint in their posts in the last month (since the 14th of April when we announced the hung). Each hint begins with, you got it, the word HINT: and is contained in the text of the blog.

If you put the 4 hints together, you can answer this month’s question: What are they talking about?

The prize? A canvas Harlequin tote bag!

To win? Email BlazeAuthors@gmail.com with the 4 hints and your answer. The winner will be announced on the 28th!!

Due to the fact I have offspring that are much more athletically talented than I am (a low bar, to be sure), I have been to several junior high cross-country running meets this fall. Watching cross-country is not what you’d call a fantastic spectator sport because the kids all take off running at the starting line, run across the field, and usually disappear into the woods. If you are fast enough, you can sprint diagonally across the field behind them to catch them at a corner, but after that they are out of sight.

Then you chew the fat with the other parents, watch your wristwatch and eventually the first few speed demons erupt from the woods and tear down the chute to the finish line while everyone cheers mightily for their excellence as the kids wipe off dead bugs and mud from their skin. After one race, mine looked like the grill of our car after a long road trip.

The other kids dribble in and get cheered, but there are always a few toward the end who struggle. One race had them running two laps past the spectators, and the winners passed the last girl, going twice as fast.

I am not the sentimental type when it comes to sports. My heart doesn’t beat faster when I hear “Bear Down, Chicago Bears” and I have never painted my face Illini blue-and-orange. And normally I hate the “you’re all winners just for showing up” attitude because I was an extraordinarily competitive girl when I played sports as a kid and thought it stunk if you didn’t win. (actually I still do).

But that one girl last Saturday made me choke up and glad I had sunglasses to hide my watery eyes. She absolutely had to know she was dead last, and after her first lap, I expected her to drop out and I wouldn’t see her again.

But here she came, putting one foot in front of the other. It had taken so long that the spectators had drifted onto the course (one goofball even had his bike in her way) and the coaches had to roust everyone off. And that girl got a huge cheer as she staggered up the hill to the finish.

I thought of Winston Churchill’s quote, “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never–in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in.” And I promised myself that even if I found myself plodding along dead last in whatever I had to do, that I would be as brave as that girl and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Maybe we all can be winners just for keeping going. My September Blaze Her Last Line of Defense deals heavily with bravery and endurance under difficult conditions. Post what you think and you’ll be entered to win a copy of my Green Beret-themed romance.

I am so excited—I am going to my very first Romance Writers of America National Conference in less than three weeks.

I made the decision last year to attend when I realized 2009 was Harlequin’s 60th anniversary year. That was one party I didn’t want to miss. I also have very fond memories of Washington, D.C. When we were kids, my mom found el cheapo plane tickets and said, “We’re going to Washington for Lincoln’s birthday weekend.”

February in D.C. is not the height of the tourist season, to put it mildly, so we had the place almost to ourselves. We hit all the high spots, including the giant pandas, which were the newest thing in the National Zoo, went to Ford’s Theatre, complete with black bunting in the Presidential box, and the First Ladies’ Dress exhibit in the Smithsonian. One of my favorite pictures is my sister Kate and I holding our special treat—a brand new stuffed panda for each of us.

I’m on the left, Kate is on the right.

I did more traveling when I was younger, but family and mortgages have a funny way of cutting into travel money. But this year, I started up an online saving account and dutifully socked away $25 a week and whatever else I could get my hands on. And my sister Kate is always up for a trip, so she signed on to be my roommate. She will be seeing the sights during the day and hanging with me at night.

Shopping for a formal dress for the RITA Awards was another hurdle. Try finding a dress that doesn’t scream either “Senior Prom” or “Mother of the Bride.” Since I have twenty years since the one and hopefully at least another fifteen years before the other, I was stuck. But after some fiddling with alterations and a trip to Nordstrom’s Rack, I have two long dresses and one cocktail dress.

I can’t wait to meet all my fellow Blaze authors whom I’ve only met online and get reacquainted with the ones I’ve met in person. Now all I have to do is figure out how much cash to bring for snacks, drinks—and a new set of stuffed pandas.

Marie
www.mariedonovan.com

P.S. As a fun summer reading giveaway, comment on this blog and I’ll pick one person to win a copy of my latest release, My Sexy Greek Summer. We may not be able to get to Greece this summer, but we can fantasize, can’t we?

Brenda kicked off our month with a fabulous post about Teamwork – and offered the 6 April Blaze books to one poster who ended their comment with Blaze Books are Cool. And the winner is … dum da dum… Sandy Haber. Sandy, drop us an email: Blazeauthors@gmail.com with your shipping info and you’ll be reading those books in no time!!

And for future contests- we’ll be announcing the winners on the sidebar right under News!

Congratulations, Sandy!! And thanks to everyone for agreeing – Blaze Books Are Cool!!!

Welcome to the Blaze Blog! To celebrate the launch of the blog, we’re kicking off with a HUGE contest!
Read the rest of this entry »