I’m finishing up my next Blaze and then it’ll be time for movies!  And housecleaning.  But let’s talk movies!  What have I missed?  What should I see?  Any suggestions?

While standing in line during the holiday rush . . . and why is it called “holiday rush” when we spend so much time standing in line?  ANYway, I amused myself by assigning different ringtones to the contact list in my phone.  My hubby got the Angry Birds theme because after years of being all superior because he wasn’t addicted to computer or phone games, guess who I caught playing Angry Birds?  One son got the Harry Potter theme and the other got Chumbawumba’s “Tubthumping” (I Get Knocked Down).  My brother-in-law, the former jazz musician, has “Sing Sing Sing.”  I tried to find the sisters song from the movie White Christmas for my sister, but haven’t yet.  In the meantime, I assigned her a tune called “The Sister Song”.  My mom’s calls are announced by a robotic voice that says, “Your mother is attempting to reach you on your cellular device” over and over again.  Mom doesn’t call my cell phone very often.

My college roomie has the TCU fight song as her ringtone.  I found the Pink Panther theme, but I can’t figure out who should get that one.  I’d give it to myself, but I assigned myself the loudest ringtone I could because the only time I call my phone is when I can’t find it.

Does anyone else play with ringtones?  What are some of the ones you’ve used?

Today is the seventieth anniversary of the attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor which resulted in Franklin D. Roosevelt asking congress to declare war with his famous “a date which will live in infamy” speech.  You can listen to it and read the text here.

It’s short and it’s powerful, especially when he uses the repetition in the middle.  The remarkable thing is that FDR wrote the speech, himself, because his speech writers were out of town.  Others advised him to include more detail, but he wisely kept the speech short and let careful word choice and rhythm deliver an emotional punch.

It’s a good reminder that our words do have power, whether in a blog post, a tweet, a Blaze, a heartfelt thank-you, a note of condolence, a review, shouted in anger, or murmured with love.  Use them wisely.

And with that, I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season.  May Santa bring you lots of books!  Merry Christmas!

Finally, finally, we’ve had a break in the searing, skin-sizzling heat of summer and early fall.  A big break.  This morning, the temperature outside was in the thirties.  Okay, thirty-nine–briefly.  So briefly, that by the time I got my camera to take a picture to illustrate, it was forty.

The point is that it was nippy and my favorite time of year to drink a cup of hot coffee.  I like strong coffee diluted with lots of milk.  In other words, café au lait.  I fill a big mug and step outside onto the patio.  I stand there and shiver for a moment because it’s such a rarity to have shiver weather in Houston.  And then I drink my coffee and enjoy the morning for about thirty seconds because I am not used to shiver weather and my coffee is gone by then, anyway.

On cold, rainy afternoons, I drink tea, also with milk.  Usually, I like Early Grey, but last year, I discovered chai.  And I discovered chai is best with lots of sugar and whole milk.  I’m cutting back on the chai this year, helped by the fact that we’re in a drought and there won’t be so many rainy afternoons.

So how about you?  Coffee?  How do you take it?  Tea?  What kind?  Or are you a hot chocolate drinker?

We all have horror stories of trying to contact companies about a product or service and being caught in endless phone loops, hours of wait time, or talking to phone support reps with unintelligible accents and scripts from which they will not deviate. Or even companies that refuse to honor satisfaction promises printed on their packaging (I’m looking at you, ACE Hardware).

So when I decided to contact behemoth Johnson & Johnson about their Acuvue contact lenses, I had low expectations. I charged up my handset and prepared to dust, unload the dishwasher, and file, which is what I usually do when on hold. But after pressing one of two choices, I was talking to an actual person. She didn’t have to “redirect my call” and was able to answer my questions. She also suggested I speak to one of their nurses and seconds later, I was. I never felt rushed and they reassured me that they stood behind their product. A month later, I had to find out if they really meant what they said when two of the first three lenses I wore chipped. I’m caring for them correctly, so who knows why. Frustrated, I call J&J. Again, within seconds, I’m talking with a rep who takes my info, finds out where I bought the lenses, says, “Oh, good. We have a replacement contract with them. Let me get them on line.” Let me give a shout out to OptiContacts here, because fifteen seconds later, I’m talking to a rep who verifies my address and a couple of days later, my contacts arrive in the mail.

Yes, I know that’s the way it’s supposed to work, but here’s why I’m writing. J&J didn’t just replace the two chipped lenses–they sent a box of six. I know. I was stunned, too, because they’re expensive. But I got to thinking that it was a great move on their part. Of course, the cost to J&J is a lot less. Lenses barely weigh anything, so for them, the shipping and handling expenses were the same, and they know I’m covered in case there are future chips. By investing a few extra dollars, they gained priceless goodwill. I’ve told a lot of people and I’m writing about it here.

Amazon was also great to work with. I got a hold of a real person who upgraded my shipping when she didn’t have to, and another who express shipped a replacement for a damaged order. Easy to contact and quick problem resolution.

Why don’t more companies understand the value of good customer service? Or maybe we just don’t hear about them because people take the time to complain more than praise.

Today let’s give some credit for good customer service. I hope you’ve had some, lately. Who was it and what did they do?

On Facebook recently, I commented that I wanted to live in the Pottery Barn catalog.  The spring and summer wedding and shower season found me shopping at Pottery Barn and now I’m on their mailing list because, apparently, it is impossible to purchase from the gift registry without supplying your name and address.  Since, you know, otherwise the brides wouldn’t know my address.  I suggested that the brides had my address already or I wouldn’t have received all the invitations.  The Pottery Barn computer did not like this answer.  That’s because it was lying and only wanted my address for itself so it could send me gorgeous catalogs filled with lovely things I can only afford to buy for other people.

I don’t even have the Pottery Barn style.  I don’t think I own anything that came from Pottery Barn.  And yet the lushly-staged photographs make me want to step into the pages and lounge on the chicly-neutral, accented-with-pops-of-color-pillowed furniture in the rooms painted with coordinating Benjamin Moore paint.

Half-full beverage glasses are common in the pictures, as though people stepped away for a moment–maybe to mail my invitation to join them in a lifestyle where the sun always casts long shadows in a spice-colored world.

What catalog do you want to live in?

Any Bunco players out there?  I play with a neighborhood group once a month and really enjoy it.  It’s a very simple game–at least the way we play it.  There are tables of four and you play with a partner.  You roll three dice and count sixes.  If you roll a six–you keep rolling until you don’t roll a six.  That’s the end of your turn and you pass the dice to another player.  Each six counts as one point.  If you throw three sixes in a roll, it’s called a bunco and is worth six points to the team that grabs at least two of the three dice.  I’ve seen variations of the rules, but I’ve never seen one that encourages free-for-all fighting for the dice.  I’m thinking of proposing an amendment to the rules prohibiting long fingernails.

One table is designated as the head table and plays until one team reaches twenty-one points.  When that happens, they ring a bell and all play stops.  The winning teams move to the next table and change partners, and the losing teams remain behind.  There have been nights when I’ve stayed for an hour at a single table.

In other versions of the game, you have to keep track of rounds and which number gets points, but that’s too complex for us.  Our group doesn’t want to think.  At the end of the evening, prizes are awarded for most games won, most buncos rolled, second most games, least games, and a roll off for a consolation prize.

Do you play bunco?  If so, what version of the rules do you use?

I’m just back from the Romance Writers’ of America National Conference in New York City.  It was held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.  2200 writers gathered to network and attend workshops–and to have fun.  Most of the time, we’re parked in front of our computers but for a

few days each year, we actually get out and interact with other writers and our editors.  During those few days, we’re Cinderella at the ball.  I went to the top of the Empire State Building, looked out on Times Square from my hotel room, assisted in a workshop on

Victorian underwear (no, I did not model), ate at a cool Scottish restaurant with Cara Summers and my editor, Brenda Chin, and went to see Sister Act with a group of writer friends.  And then there was the Harlequin party at the Starlight Roof of the Waldorf Astoria.  Utterly fabulous!  All good things must end and I arrived home, exhausted, to roses from my hubby!  I almost forgot that I have a book out this month–KEPT IN THE DARK, the last book in the 24 Hours Blackout series.

Now it’s back to work.  But first, who has been to New York?  What did you do and did you like it?

It’s travel time!  The annual Romance Writers’ of America conference is at the end of the month, which means I’m headed to New York.  I don’t travel as much as I used to and I’m out of practice.  I haven’t been on a plane since the new passenger screening rules were put into effect.  Does it take longer to get through security than it used to?  And packing–it took me forever to pack for last year’s conference.  Why?  It’s not like I haven’t done it before.

I learned about those space-saver bags that you can squash your clothes into, but they still weigh the same and I have had to take stuff out of my suitcase and cram it into my purse to get under the 50-pound limit at the baggage check-in counter.  I am not a light traveler.

Who’s going on a trip this summer?  Any travel tips?  Please share!

I was all set to tell you about my misadventures on Facebook, where I keep getting suspended (even though I’m following their directions) and ask you to “like” my new author page and I still want that, but a couple of days ago, I learned that the D.C. Dalgliesh mill, Scotland’s last artisan tartan weaver, was on the verge of going out of business and had been rescued by the owners of Scotweb, the company where I bought my son’s kilt. In an email, Dr. Nick Fiddes, Scotweb’s owner, explains: “My partner, Adele Telford, and I have stepped in with a last minute rescue package to save Scotland’s last surviving traditional tartan weaver, D.C. Dalgliesh, of Selkirk, Scotland. Here’s why: if this mill had gone the way of so many others, then 90% of all family tartans would never be woven again.” Only the most common plaids would ever be produced. He goes on to explain: “D.C. Dalgliesh is the ONLY tartan weaving mill able to produce a short length, just for a single garment like a kilt or skirt. The minimum weaving length at most mills is 30-60 yards. D.C. Dalgliesh will weave just four yards, in single-width tartan. This makes a special weave affordable for almost anyone, so anyone can wear their own family tartan.”

“All D.C. Dalgliesh fabrics are produced on traditional flying shuttle looms, which give the tartan the ‘natural’ or ‘kilting’ selvedge that any proper kilt should have. Most mills have been installing modern high speed computerized looms that need each line of ‘weft’ to be cut at each side, leaving untidy threads that give a thick edge when tucked in, and can fray. D.C. Dalgliesh is the only mill to promise this.” Dr. Fiddes narrates a fascinating video you can watch here.

How many of us have enjoyed Scottish historicals? The castles, the windswept moors, the men swathed in tartan. Can you imagine those rugged Scottish heroes without their kilts? Why, they’d be . . . be . . . naked. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best thing to point out. Stop thinking about naked, Scottish men and concentrate on saving this one mill. If they go out of business, the traditional weaving methods and the ability to reproduce ancient designs will be lost forever. Yes, I know it’s more fun to think about the naked men, and I’m sorry I distracted you. Focus. The Scotweb folks think that the mill ran into trouble because not enough people knew about their unique weaving. What they’re asking is that you spread the word about the mill and “like” them on Facebook. If you’re not on Facebook , you can visit their D.C. Dalgliesh Supporters website.

You can also go play with the tartan designer on the Scotweb site. I designed a Blaze tartan.

Spread the word! Tweet with abandon! Design a tartan! And if you do, tell me about it here and I’ll let one commenter choose a book from my backlist.