I am a social butterfly.  I love meeting people.  I’ll talk to a guy in an elevator because he might just have a fascinating story to tell me.  Besides, I’m standing in the elevator not doing anything, why not chat with the person standing next to me?  So you might imagine that conferences are like crack to me.  I’m on a social high that lasts me for weeks afterwards.  OMG, I love talking to new people!!!

So why is it that all I seem to do at conferences is EAT?  There’s coffee at Starbucks, because God knows I can’t function without that.  And I’ll have coffee meetings because I’m certainly not the only one who needs the caffeine hit and so that’s usually the first meeting of the day.  Then I go from Starbucks to breakfast, supplied with our conference ticket.  That’s continental breakfast and when I sit down with perfect strangers to talk books.  Heaven!  But I also eat a muffin and another coffee while I’m sitting there.  You can’t chat without something in your hand.

Then there’s the 11:00 meeting with agent or editor or web designer.  Not to mention the video person or PR somebody or the other authors with whom you’re writing a continuity.  Gotta hang with them.  And you can bet someone brings a snack.  It’s always a great time for chocolate or nachos.  Don’t care which.

Then there’s conference lunch to meet more new people.  Afternoon party with hors d’oeuvres, then dinner with friends before evening parties with booze and dessert.  And that’s only the first day.  Can you imagine how huge I feel by the end of a four day conference?  Especially if conference is in a fabulous city like NYC.  I mean, could you possibly go to a Manhattan restaurant with your editor and NOT eat something awesome?  Even though you’ve just come from cookies and coffee with your best friends?

So I end up feeling like I’ve just eaten my way through the conference.  Yes, I have a stack of meeting notes and things I plan to do.  But I’ve also just eaten non-stop for 4 days.  OMG, I feel huge!

Anybody else have this problem?  And while you sit down to tell me all about it, I’ll grab another muffin. Do you eat through all of your travels? (The day this blog goes live, I’ll be traveling to New York and beginning my foodfest. So, please comment but I may be late with mine depending on when the plane lands.)

I have discovered lately that I am a slave to my cat. And (here’s the shocker) perhaps that’s not so bad a thing. Here’s why.

Yesterday, I had a phenomenal writing day. I wrote 17 pages. Why? Not because I was inspired. Heck no! It was because my cat decided to sit on my lap and stretch her chin across my forearm. I thought it was rather endearing and sweet, so I let her stay as I

continued to type. Until that moment when I would usually stop typing and get up to wander about the house, check email, or do something else for a bit. Oops. Can’t do that with a cat on my forearm. And, btw, she has claws, so if I shifted too much, she dug them in. Not deep. She knows better. It was simply an “I’m sleeping, don’t bother me” message.

So I had a choice. I could dislodge her completely or keep writing. I decided to keep writing. This went on for hours and by the end of the day, I had 17 pages. Woo hoo! Thank you cat!

On the not so helpful level, the same thing happened a few nights ago when I was watching tv. Again I was faced with the choice of dislodging her to go to bed or just hanging out and watching more tv. Result: I stayed up way too late watching tv that wasn’t worth my time.

So here is the inescapable conclusion: I am a slave to my cat. If she sleeps on me, I am frozen in place unable to switch gears. This is completely ridiculous, I know. And yet the situation persists. Anyone else out there a slave to your pet? Please tell me I’m not alone! And some lucky commentor will get a copy of my latest Blaze: In Good Hands by Kathy Lyons.

I’m just back from vacation which was wonderful and a much needed break after the Romantic Times convention. (It was fabulous, BTW). But I came home to what I’m going to call Life on Slow. I have a book due, but not for months and months. I’ll get back to it, but I also need to start thinking about my next books. I need to clean the house, find the desk underneath all the papers, and maybe even clean out old clothes from my closet. Frankly, there are piles in my bedroom that I don’t really want to see, but it needs to be sorted out sometime, hopefully by me and not my heirs. I’m writing comic book scripts, so I ought to be thinking about those. It’s a whole other way of thinking, so that will be a challenge. Plus, I’ve got contest entries to read and judge for my local RWA chapter.

Stuff to do. Stuff to throw out. Stuff to finally take care of.

Who wants to do that? What am I really doing? Playing racquetball–my knee is so swollen it no longer fits comfortably inside my pants. Playing pogo.com – I’m up to 24 million tokens (and yeah, they’re relatively useless). And eating crap – do you know how absolutely YUMMY barbecue potato chips are????

Am I getting any cleaning done? Well, I just did the dishes because I ran out of clean bowls for my guacamole dip. Beyond that…no. Am I thinking of new story ideas? Well, always, but none of them in enough detail to do anything with. Am I even reading books? Um, yes. Some. But mostly, I’m just wasting time. Which is…well, a big fat waste.

So, anybody else struggle with life on slow? Because I seem to be at zero or 1000 mph. Life on slow translates to zero with the added minus that I’m not really enjoying myself. I mean, yeah, the potato chips taste great going in, but then I just feel sick. If I’m going to do NOTHING, then at least I ought to do NOTHING in ARUBA. *sigh*

Help me friends! Give me your strategies for getting off my increasingly large ass. One lucky commentor will win In Good Hands by Kathy Lyons!

On the day this blog goes live, I’ll be flying out to California.  I’m going to the Romantic Times convention in Los Angeles, but that won’t start until April 6.   I’m flying out early to visit family including a new nephew!  (I gotta say, I love being an aunt.  I get to bring gifts, be the cool adult, and then give them back when the kids become annoying!  My guess is it’s a lot like being a grandmother!)

Anyway, some of you may know Cindy Dees.  She doesn’t write for Blaze, but she’s in a lot of the other category lines.  She does incredible work.  A lot in military romance (aka Suzanne Brockmann before she went single title) but also a bunch of other stuff.  She even won a Rita last year!  Here’s her latest book, btw.

She and I were talking about RT, and she has decided not to go this year.  There were many factors (time, family, deadline, etc) but we started talking about whether RT was the best conference for category readers.  Certainly there have been times when I’ve thought that RT was dominated by the small press.  Other times I thought the major presses were everywhere!  I’ve been going for ten+ years, so I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years.  Ten years ago, I hadn’t even heard of Ellora’s Cave!

But RT has always (as far as I can remember) had a few workshops on category books.  Carina Press (Harlequin’s e-imprint) was launched at RT.  This year will include “Lights, Camera, Action, the Series Romance Way.”  And let’s not forget that I will be there as Kathy Lyons (not just Jade Lee).

So now here’s my question to you: are you going to RT?  (If you are, make sure to find me!  I have kitch for anyone who tells me they love my work!  And even for those who say they can’t wait to read my work!)  And do you think RT does enough to support us category readers/writers?  One lucky commenter will get a copy of my latest IN GOOD HANDS, by Kathy Lyons.

March is here! March is here! Well okay, so it’s not really here. It’s almost here. But in theworld of publishing, March books are hitting the shelves already. And in the marvelous world of Harlequin Blaze, subscribers have already gotten my March Blaze, In Good Hands by Kathy Lyons. And, to make this month extra knuckle-biting, my latest Jade Lee book, Wicked Seduction hits the shelves too. Now, I have to say, I love Wicked Seduction because I’ve wanted to do a pirate comes home book forever! And the hero is extra yummy (he even got an RT KISS award). But this is a Blaze blog, so I’ll tell you about In Good Hands. And lest you think I’m all about shameless promotion, I’m gonna talk about the reason I wrote the book.

So…why did I write In Good Hands? Because I know this woman. She had a lucrative career as an Orthopaedist. Well respected, did a ton of research, and…well, that research led her into the wild, weird world of energy healing. After decades of more research, she ended up leaving her practice to devote her considerable brain to energy healing work. In her words, Western medicine doesn’t get the whole picture. In some ways, it doesn’t even get close.

Far from being a condemnation of modern medicine, her example gives me great hope. We need more people like her in medical fields, constantly exploring wherever their research takes them. Even if it’s into energy healing. So, since this woman is my inspiration, I ended up writing a book based on that concept.

Now, don’t be afraid. I don’t go deep into medicine or the energy aspects that (incidentally) I have been studying for about a decade. In Good Hands is a romance story and a Blaze. My heroine is a doctor turned energy healer and my hero has a big problem that western medicine hasn’t helped: very high blood pressure. They wander through a variety of different energy healing traditions in search for a cure with hilarious results. It’s funny and it’s hot, and I had a blast writing it!

So, everyone, tell if you’ve experimented in the wacky world of the woo woo! One lucky commentor will get a copy of In Good Hands. (Or a copy of Wicked Seduction if you prefer!) And, btw, if you want to learn more about In Good Hands, here’s a link to my website. And for those who like pirates coming home, here’s the link for Wicked Seduction.

Athletically, I was a late bloomer. Oh sure, I ran around and drove my mother nuts like most kids, but sadly, my Chinese mother thought girls should play violin not basketball. I was told to study math, not the perfect volleyball serve. Sure that helped me pass calculus, but did nothing for my body’s shape which has always tended toward plump.

Then at the ripe age of twenty-two, I discovered racquetball. It’s fast, it’s competitive, and best of all, I never had to go chase a ball anywhere. Since it’s played in an indoor court, the ball always rolls back to me. Oh, and girls can beat boys in racquetball. Maybe not at the pro levels. Men just have so much more power behind their swings than women do. But at my level? At my local fitness center? Heck yes! I could obliterate the guys and swagger off the court with the best of them. In fact, I do that on a regular basis (tee hee)!

So now I’m in my forties, and not at the low end, I might add. I’ve built a successful writing career, my kids are gone from the house, and I’m getting back into my favorite sport. This weekend (long over by the time you read this) I’ll be playing in a Pro racquetball tournament. I’ll be the slow woman with aching knees in the amateur division. The one they usually say has a lot of heart. Some will say grit. I don’t really care what they call me. And frankly, I’m not sure I care if I win. Okay, I do care, but as an older athlete it’s not really about winning. It’s about competing despite that extra 10 or 40 pounds. It’s about playing your hardest against someone else who is sweating and grunting as much as you are. And it’s about hanging out with people who love talking splats and roll outs and recounting that perfect serve.

Anyone else out there discover a sport in their less then prime years? Who plays in age divisions? And who loves beating the guys as much as I do? Tell me if you’re a player or a cheerer and one lucky commentor will win an early copy of my March blaze, IN GOOD HANDS. (And isn’t that a pretty cover!)

We here at the Blaze blog have been talking about our pets. Not necessarily on the blog itself (I’m writing this in advance of the holidays, so I don’t know what other people have done) but certainly behind the scenes. And given that we are smack dab in the middle of the holidays, I’d like to talk about the gifts my cats have given me.

I have two cats, both adopted from the local humane society. One is a lovable, loud, purring mass of male cat called Bandit. Here is a picture of Bandit in his usual habitat. Yes, he’s asleep on my chair taking up all of the chair. His other natural habitat is sitting in front of his food bowl crying for more food. Just because he ate ten minutes ago doesn’t change the fact that he’s hungry now.

What gifts do I typically receive from him? Well, mostly laughs. He’s not the brightest feline on the planet. When my other cat is chasing things, he’s usually about ten minutes behind. Yes, a full ten minutes. He’s the one looking for the mouse underneath the couch when the creature has run past him and into the kitchen and is now lurking behind the refrigerator. But he’s adorable in his stupidity…er, less than brilliance. And his purr never fails to cheer me up.

My other cat is Tali. She’s my huntress. She’s fast, smart, and has a talent for bringing me gifts of another sort. Here’s a picture of her (on my desk) with her most benign kill. That’s a Kathy Lyons keychain lion at her feet there. It has been appropriately killed and gifted to me. Other presents have included all manner of rodent and bird, both living and dead. The most Bandit ever killed was a full box of Q-tips. But he was quite proud of himself. He walked around with one hanging out of his lips like a cigarette.

Suffice it to say that I adore my cats, no matter what they give me. I have been known to tell my husband to be careful because he might disturb the cats when he climbs into our bed. I should note that they’re usually sleeping on his pillow when I say this.

So what presents have your pets brought you this holiday? Hopefully it’s an abundance of love and affection. But there are other joyful things that they bring too. Tell me, tell me! (Or confess that you’re pet free but think my cats are adorable). One lucky commentor will receive a free Kathy Lyons book like Taking Care of Business, my November release.

So a few weeks ago, I bought an iPad.  The reasons (excuses) are myriad and all boil down to this.  I needed (wanted) a tablet-like thing, and even though I’m PC all the way, nothing available beat the iPad.  So I bought one.  And I LOVE it.  My husband, btw, HATES it.  Why?  Well because this is what I do every morning before I even get out of bed.

I wake up and reach for the iPad.  I download my email before I’ve managed to blink four times.  And while I’m in a weak and vulnerable state, all those beautiful ads pop up. 20% off, just touch here!  Sale today!  Shop now!

Easy peezy!  I touch the SHOP button because I really don’t want to face the day.  And instant gratification appears.  All those lovely things I could buy!  Oh how much fun it is!  No more standing in line on Black Friday.  No more combing my hair or getting dressed.  All I have to do is touch a button, and bam, the whole world of internet shopping is available to me while I lounge against my pillows.  And after a Thanksgiving day dinner like I ate this year, believe me when I say I did NOT want to get out of bed for any reason at all!

So tell me what your secret shopping habit is.  Are you a crack of dawn Black Friday shopper?  Or a laze in bed internet binger?  (That would be me, btw).  Tell me, tell me, and one lucky commenter will get a copy of my newest Blaze, Taking Care of Business by Kathy Lyons.

One night years ago, my fiancé had a huge project due at work that required a ton of data entry. Because I loved him, I agreed to help. We finally got it done at 2 a.m. when, flushed with elation, we realized that we were alone in a huge office building. And given that he worked in an electronics firm, my mind quickly danced through a zillion gadget and gizmo fantasies.

I will never tell what exactly happened that night, but suffice it to say that I had much more imagination than stamina. I will also confess that we did not resort to raiding the lab. Turns out there’s a lot you can do in an office that has nothing to do with high end electronics!

So there you have it. My deep, dark secret: I have office fantasies. Thankfully, I was able to put some of them to paper in Taking Care of Business, my November Blaze. It helps that I modeled my hero after my own special geek of a husband, a man with more integrity than sense, more heart than he-man. Hopefully you’ll fall in love with him as quickly as I did.

But before you rush out to buy my very own fantasy put to paper, tell me something naughty you did—or thought about doing—in an office and one lucky winner will get a copy of my earlier Blaze, Under His Spell.

Hey everybody! I’m on a bestseller list! Yup, WHITE TIGRESS has made amazon.com’s top 10 FREE DOWNLOAD list. I’ve sunk into double digits today, but for a while there I was up at number 5! Woo hoo!

Okay, so maybe it’s shouldn’t be so exciting to make a free bestseller list, but I swear I’ve been checking the site every day just because I want to see where my book falls. For those of you who are wary of pirates, first…THANK YOU. And second, this is completely legit. It’s a publisher program to spark interest in the rest of the series. So for a limited time (it ends in a week) you can download WHITE TIGRESS for free onto your laptop or Kindle. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can get the free computer Kindle ap. Then just download whatever books you want.

Oh! You probably want the link. Here it is: WHITE TIGRESS on Amazon.com.

And if you want more information, reviews, etc, about WHITE TIGRESS, here’s the link to my website.

So enjoy! I have to admit, I downloaded a few other books while I was there. (If you want to know the list of free books, just go to www.amazon.com, click on Kindle Store Books. Then hit Kindle Bestsellers. The list on the left is paid. The list on the right is FREE!)

ENJOY!