The Desert Dreams conference is in Arizona, and it’s one I’ve attended before.  Actually, I consider it my ‘lucky conference’ because it’s where I got my first hug from Vicki Lewis Thompson, went to dinner with my editor for the first time (before she was my editor) and it’s that tipping point event that came just before I sold my first book.  And, well, its really warm and comfy in Arizona *g*  So I’m doubly excited to go again this year.

Since I’m pre-writing this blog post, I’m going to figure that by Saturday when it goes live, I’ll have given the first of 3 workshops I’m doing.  Friday is The Care and Nurturing of the Critique Partner Relationship with my awesome CP, the amazingly talented Beth Andrews.  Saturday I’m doing a workshop with our very own Editor Extraordinaire, Brenda Chin titled All I Needed to Know About Writing I Learned in Category, as well as one on my own called Courting the Muse.  So I’m expecting busy times.  Which seriously inhibits my usual conference habit of ducking out of all workshops, hanging out in the bar or hotel lobby chatting and visiting.  i”m a  horrible workshop slacker, truth be told. But once I’m home, without all the distractions, I listen to the workshop recordings and lap up the information!  Someone once asked me why I even go, then, if I do all of my ‘learning’ afterward.  Because I get energized.  I’m inspired by the people, the stories, the fun.  The energy is incredible, and I get to spend time with wonderful friends that I see maybe once a year.

So how about you?  Do you ever attend functions – be they conferences or scrapbook crops or work events–and skip out on the main focus of the function?  Do you consider it slacking, or simply how you do things?  Whats the one thing you miss most about being away at an event like this (I miss my pillow)?  And whats the one thing you look forward to the most (Me?  The hugs.) 

I’m not as nervous as my dogs about storms. Nor am I as freaked about preparing as my kid. In a way, I really enjoy the power and elemental beauty of the lightening dancing across the sky (I like it better when the dogs hide under the bed instead of my lap, though). I’m a little irked at having to shut down my computer because I do have a lot of writing to do, but don’ think Mother Nature is as worried about my deadline as I am So I guess instead of writing this evening, I’ll be soothing puppies, explaining the effects of hot and cold not sharing the sky well, and watching the show through the back windows.

So what’s your storm comfort zone? Are you totally blase about Mother Nature’s moods? Or do you worry when the weather shifts (btw, if it was snowing, I’d be worrying up my own storm. So my lack of freaking is limited). How’s the weather where you are right now? Is anyone in shorts yet?

Last week, my daughter and I curled up to enjoy one of our favorite movies, The Princes Bride. I had to laugh, because there are points in that movie that I’m mouthing the words along with the characters. Are there movies you’ve watched so often that you have the lines memorized? Rocky Horror Picture Show is another I’ve got memorized, but that’s not so much romantic, nor is it fun without toast *g*. Quite often, those favorite movie lines became a part of the pop culture lexicon -or in my SIL’s case, every day conversation So I thought it’d be fun to make a list of some favorite romantic movie lines, and see how many people can identify.

Here you go…

1. “I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.  I choose a mortal life.” ARWEN, LORD OF THE RINGS
2.  ”We’ll always have Paris.” RICK, CASABLANCA
3. “There are only four questions of value in life.  What is sacred?  Of what is the spirit made of?  What is worth living for?  What is worth dying for?  The answer to each is the same.  Only love.” DON JUAN, DON JUAN DEMARCO
4. “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” HARRY, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
5. “But soft; what light through yonder window breaks? It is my lady! O, it is my love. O that she knew she were.” ROMEO, ROMEO AND JULIET
6. “Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a little while.” WESTLY, THE PRINCESS BRIDE
7. “I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you” BABY, DIRTY DANCING
8. “Listen to me, mister. You’re my knight in shining armor. Don’t forget it.” ETHEL, ON GOLDEN POND
9. “You had me at hello.” DOROTHY, JERRY MAGUIRE
10. “I promise to love you every moment of forever.” EDWARD, ECLIPSE

Do you know who said it, and what movie it’s from? And how about your own favorite romantic movie lines? Did I list any? Do you have others you want to share?

Or, as my children like to call it, my yearly reign as Queen for the Day.

I love being Queen for the Day.  I get to sleep in.  I get to do nothing or anything or everything.  I can have a facial or massage, or go shopping or curl up on the couch and watch movies in my jammies until midnight.  My husband and oldest daughter take the day off work, the youngest has a modified school day and we spend the entire day together doing whatever I want (now, in all fairness, they get their own majestic day on their birthday! I’ll admit, I’m not really looking forward to April and a day at the shooting range, but fair is fair.)   Queendom doesn’t come with omnipotent powers, unfortunately.  I can’t wish up a fortune or wish away a decade of my age (but how cool would that be?)  I have to respect the law of the land, of course.  And no matter how hard I wish or wave my queenly sceptor (or hairbrush, whatever), I haven’t managed to manifest Johnny Depp in person. But I’ve spent many a’year with with the next best thing (refer back to the couch and jammies scenario *g*).

Despite the wonderful power conferred by my queenly status, my plans for the day are actually pretty mellow.  Then again, given the craziness of life, mellow is a major treat.  I have a facial appointment, and am planning a trip to my favorite place – the bookstore! Lots of fun and I get to wear my favorite boots (another important treat to being Queen of the Day, since I don’t actually get a crown, darnit).  Lunch out and a long walk with the dogs, and a big dinner with the entire family. Hubby is barbequing, and he ordered a decadent chocolate ice cream cake to hold all of the candles.  I picked ice cream cake this year because while I like it enough to enjoy a celebrational piece,  its not my favorite so I won’t be tempted to eat more.  I’ll wind up my reign with a cuddle session with my girls while we watch something animated.  I haven’t quite figured out yet if I want to do Tangled or Beauty and the Beast.

If you could be Queen for the Day, what would you do?  And what would your royal meal and dessert consist of? 

My perfect gift idea didn’t pan out.  My preparations got waylaid by deadlines, a sick kid and weirdly infected dogs.  So here it is, the clock running out, and me not done yet.  Hmmm, reminds me of my last deadline.  So what to do when one glances at the calendar and realizes that Valentine’s Day is two days away?

What…  To…  Do..

Okay, I mulled.  I paced a little and fretted.  I considered the offerings in the stores, and cringed.  I debated a few ideas.  And I came up with a plan.

Here it is:  I’d usually get a box of Sees for my hubby, because it’s our absolute favorite.  But Sees is going to be insane today, so instead of the traditional Nuts & Chews, I’m going to make a big ole heart shaped chocolate chip cookie.  Add a little icing and a sweet (sugary sweet, actually) message, and there ya go.  The goody element of the holiday

Cards are actually the easy part for me.  I’m never without scrapbook supplies, so I spent last evening putting together some Valentine’s cards for the hubster and my girls.  And yes, I got a little distracted by a cute photo of my oldest daughter’s first date (Girl Scout Valentine’s Ball) and had to scrapbook it, but I still have some great cards ready to rock.

Whoohoo!  Not bad.  I might be earning the Queen of Procrastinators crown this month, but I’m two-thirds of the way prepared.

Except for the gift.  Oh man, the gift.

I’m stuck.  I need gift ideas.  I can fall back on the Romantic Coupon idea, if I need to.  But I’ve done that a few times in the past, and would love to come up with something new (or let you come up with something new and let me use the idea *g*) So bring ‘em on – any and all ideas.  I’ll entertain any possibility, even new things to add as a coupon offering *ggg*

I’ve been pretty blessed with some fabulous covers for my Blazes.  And just about the time I settle on a favorite, a new cover comes along and makes me rethink my devotion.  It was especially hard to decide which cover I liked best when it came to my Undercover Ops series, because they are all from some of my favorite scenes in their respective books.

So I figured I’d ask you…

Which cover do you like best?  And why? Share in the comments section for a chance to win whichever you claim as your favorite.  (Or if you already have that one, you can pick from my others or my backlist.) 

Another reason I’m attached to this particular story is the cat that’s featured in it.  Dottie is one of our Blaze Authors Pet Project kitties from the Furry Friends shelter.  I was so excited to hear she’d found a family and a loving home.

I loved bringing Dottie into the story. She became an integral character, playing her part in bringing her mistress and the hunky FBI agent together.  Here’s a snippet to show her matchmaking skills:

Tossing his coat on the plump chair in the corner, he stripped off his shirt and draped it over his coat.  Needing to do something to shake off the intense sexual tension pounding through his body, he dropped to the floor to pushups in quick succession.

As he hit ninety, he felt a cool draft.  The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention.  Turning his head, he saw two sets of bare feet standing in the doorway connecting their rooms.  One set had vivid red toenails, with tiny flowers painted in the corners.  The other set was covered in black and white fur.

His gaze traveled upward, taking in the smooth golden skinned legs.  They were about a mile long, cut off mid-thigh by a teeny tiny leopard print satin nighty.  He’d have to wrench his neck to get the rest of the view, so he jackknifed into standing position.

Avoiding looking at her scantily clad body while he was so scantily clad himself, Simon dove for his shirt.  Before he could grab it, though, Maya’s cat padded over and pounced on it.

“No need to stop on my account,” Maya said, her words low and husky.  “I was enjoying the show.”

Simon grimaced, rubbing his hand over the cat’s soft head as a pre-apology before trying to tug his shirt out from under it.  The kitty rubbed her black and white head against his fingers, letting out a soft purring sort of meow.  Then, before he could move her and get his shirt, the cat swatted at him.

“Hey!”

“Sorry.  Dottie’s gets a little snippy sometimes.”

“She almost snipped the tip of my fingers off.”

“What?  A big strong man like you, with all those lovely, lovely muscles…” her words trailed off as she let her eyes trace over his bare chest, shoulders and biceps.  Appreciation glowed in her golden eyes as she wet her bottom lip and sighed.

“Yeah.  A big strong guy like you, I’d say you can hold your own with one tiny little kitty-cat.”

Simon eyed the cat, who was staring at him through pale green eyes that just a second ago had been slitted with pleasure.  Was the feline’s moodiness indicative of her mistress’s personality?

“I’d kinda like my shirt,” he muttered, feeling like an idiot.  Not thinking, he turned to glare at the cat’s owner as if she’d trained her pet to hold clothing captive.

His brain immediately short circuited.

She was gorgeous.

Black curls waved over her shoulders, teasing the tips of her satin, leopard covered breasts.  Her nightgown looked like a slip, with narrow straps holding up the shimmery fabric and a swath of lace highlighting the curves of her breasts.  As a nod to modesty, she wore a robe of sorts.  The same fabric as the nightgown, it had wide lace lapels and draped low, hanging from the edge of her shoulders to the floor as if gravity were trying to torture him.

“I think Dottie would prefer to keep it for herself,” Maya said, laughing a little.  She sent the cat a look of approval.

And that clever kitty was only getting started!!

I know that many of you, like me, have a special place in your heart for pets. In SEX, LIES AND MIDNIGHT,  Maya gives a lot of weight to her cat’s opinion of Simon.  I tend to pay attention, too, to how my pets react to new people.  They often sense things faster than I do. Do you think our pets, or animals in general, are good judges of people?  Are they better than we are sometimes? 

Last month I kicked off my Undercover Operatives series with the release of SEX, LIES AND MISTLETOE, and I shared a peek into the gossipy fun that goes on in the small town of Black Oak as the town’s two Information Matriarchs (much classier than gossips, right?) dished the dirt on the return of bad boy, Caleb Black.   And boy, oh boy is the dirt dishing now that he’s not only back, but engaged.  Just when the ladies are ready to settle back and start rehashing the shocking events of the last month, Black Oak gets another shocking visit.  Not only is Maya Black back, but she’s brought her own sexy entertainment along as well.

Wanna hear what Hazel and Hortense had to say about this newest twist?  It went something like this…

Shifting irritably in her favorite chair, Hazel tapped her spoon impatiently on the side of her teacup.  She wasn’t sure what bothered her more.  That her guest for morning tea was later, or that things had been so exciting lately, morning tea was likely the only bright bit of excitement she had to look forward to for the next little while. 

Before she could take a sip, though, the front door opened and shut with a snap.  Less than a minute later, her neighbor and dear friend–bless her, she’d gained at least five pounds over Christmas–was seated next to her pouring tea.

“I know, I know,” Hortense said waving one pudgy hand before Hazel could issue a complaint.  “I’m late.  But I had to give my grandbabies extra kisses goodbye, didn’t I.  I love the holidays, but it’s so hard to see everyone head home when they are over.” 

Extra time with the grandbabies was a get out of a late-lecture free card.  Her own eyes still burning from the cry she’d had after saying goodbye to her own, Hazel sniffed back her complaints and offered a plate of scones.  “Have a treat, it’ll help distract you from thinking about the children all gone again.” 

“It’s so hard after they leave the nest.  Oh, we have a full life and plenty to do.  But it’s just not the same as having all the loved ones close.”  For a second Hortense looked like she was going to sob on her lemon scone.  Then she took a deep breath and blinked away the melancholy.  The look left in her eyes, pure glee, made Hazel sit a little straighter in her chair.

“I suppose Tobias Black is happy these days, having one of his children moving back to Black Oak,” she said before nibbling the iced corner of her scone. 

“I suppose he is.  Especially with Caleb engaged and ready to settle down here,” Hazel agreed slowly, trying to figure out what Hortense was up to.  That gleam only meant one thing, the other woman thought she had a piece of gossip that would trump Hazel’s gold star for the best gossip of the year.  The gold star she’d scored when she’d brought news of Caleb’s return. 

“I wonder if this means the other two will soon follow.  Wouldn’t Tobias be thrilled to have both Maya and Gabriel back, too?” 

Hazel narrowed her eyes.  What did Hortense think she knew?  Since Caleb’s return, Hazel had taken to checking on the Black doings at least once a day.  If there was news, she’d have it.  Wouldn’t she?

“I’d imagine Tobias would be overjoyed to see any of his children,” she agreed slowly.  “But Gabriel’s exit was even angrier than Caleb’s.  And Maya, well, I don’t know what came between her and Tobias, but it must have been something major.  She was always so devoted to her father, then poof,” Hazel snapped her fingers in emphasis, “She was gone.”

“I’ll bet it was that woman Tobias was dating,” Hortense said with a sage nod.  “None of those three liked her much, did they?”

“Did anyone?”  Hazel thought back to the hard-edged floozy who’d tried to rope Tobias Black.  Luckily he’d kicked her to the curb a few months after Maya’s departure.  “You’d have thought the man had learned his lesson about dating inappropriate women then, wouldn’t you?”

“Obviously not, if he’s dating someone as tacky and obvious as Lilah Gomez.  And her the same age as his own daughter.”

“Poor Maya,” Hazel said with a tutting shake of her head.  “Can you imagine her reaction if she knew that her father was dating her arch-enemy?”

“Actually, I don’t have to imagine.” Hortense set her plate aside and leaned forward.  “I hear we’ll get to see it firsthand.” 

Hazel bobbled her teacup, shock making her immune to both the splash of hot liquid and the stain on her new pink slacks.

“No…?”

“Yes.  I heard it from Ham Bollinger when I was out at Black Oak Manor this morning to say goodbye to my cousin.  Maya booked not one, but two rooms at the Inn.”  Hortense gave a gleeful nod, practically bouncing in her chair.  “Maya Black’s coming back and she’s not coming alone.” 

And she’d been worried after all the recent excitement, things might seem boring?  Not likely in Black Oak.  Hazel leaned back, her grin so wide it made her earrings wiggle.  “Well, this should liven up the New Year, shouldn’t it?”   

Wellll… There you go.  Maya’s home and she’s on a mission.  Not only that, but she’s not alone! The ladies are right.  The New Year is going to be pretty exciting in Black Oak.  And you can, of course, read all about it in SEX, LIES AND MIDNIGHT if you’d like :-D   To make that easier, I’m giving away a signed copy today to one commenter – just let me know what wild plans you have for New Years Eve, and what you want to see happen in the New Year to be entered in the drawing. 

And don’t forget to check out my Holiday Survival Tour as I celebrate the Undercover Operatives series with contests, giveaways and lots of good times. 

In my story, the cats Paulie and Bonnie belong to the heroine, Pandora. They live in her family’s new age store, where they not only get to interact with all of the customers, bask in the positive energy and keep things interesting. Especially when they help solve the case that brought prodigal bad boy, Caleb Black, home. I loved bringing these two cats into the story, not only for the fun pets add to anything, but because I think the way characters interact with animals shows so much about them, adding layers that interacting with people just doesn’t show. I hope readers enjoyed getting to know them, too.

Paulie and Bonnie were both rescues at the Furry Friends Animal Shelter in Barrie, Ontario. Bonnie is a darling black and white 5 year old female with the sweetest habit of tilting her head to one side. She’s sweet and friendly, always willing to share attention. And if people aren’t around to play with, she’s all about taking care of the other cats. Which worked well for Paulie, a super-friendly long-haired black 2 year old male who loves nothing more than lying in doorways, over shoulders, on laps. All while snuggling sweetly.

Obviously, I love pets. Especially this time of year. And not only because I can dress them up in silly elf hats, either! *g* although that is fun. We have 2 dogs (3 if you count my grandpuppy who I babysit 4 days a week), 2 cats and a bird. Like the rest of the family members, our pets all have their own Christmas stockings. The three dogs are getting new tags, a couple of stuffed squeaky toys and homemade treats. This time of year also reminds me that there are a lot of sweet animals out there that don’t have homes. Some, like Paulie, one of the feline stars of SEX, LIES AND MISTLETOE, will get adopted and spend a happy holiday in their new home. Others, like sweet Bonnie, are still at the shelters without a family to love them. So we try to do a little extra for the local shelter by collecting towels and blankets, donating food and toys.

This is last year’s holiday picture of my puppies. Tinkerbell is my baby, a 5yo Rottweiler. Sierra is our rescue, a 7yo Shepherd mix. And here’s my grandpuppy, Betsey, who is 5 mos now.

How about you? Do you enjoy seeing pets in stories? And do you have pets at home? Are they a part of your holiday celebration? And if you’re a dog lover, do you have any wonderful homemade doggie treat recipes to share?

My latest release, SEX, LIES AND MISTLETOE is on the shelves now!! And to celebrate, I thought I’d share a little snippet of what’s happening in Black Oak, where this story takes place…

The small town of Black Oak is nestled in the foothills of California’s Santa Cruz Mountains and filled with colorful characters.  Neighbors for over thirty years, Hazel and Hortense enjoyed a fierce rivalry.  Competing over everything from blue ribbon jam to who’s kids married first to who had the lowest cholesterol count, the ladies loved nothing more than beating the other out.  But their hands down favorite competition, and the one that made them a formidable force in the town of Black Oak, was gossip.  Every morning, at promptly 8:15, they met for tea and their daily attempt outdo each other for the perfect scone, coffeecake or cookie… and the juiciest gossip. 

Hazel settled comfortably into her favorite chair, smug pleasure adding extra sweetness to her morning tea.  She waited for Hortense to take a bite of the coffeecake, sure it was her best recipe yet.  The look of dismay in her dear friend’s eyes told her she was right.  She chalked up another win in her mental scorebook, then leaned forward to make it two for two, best coffeecake and best gossip.

“I hear you got stopped on the highway again,” she said, sipping her tea and giving her friend an arch look.  “What does that make now, Hortense?  Three speeding tickets this year?”

“Well I was in a hurry, wasn’t I?  I’d gone Christmas shopping in Santa Cruz and had to get back to watch the grandkids.  But I didn’t get a ticket,” Hortense denied with a sniff.  “That lovely Sheriff Kendall just wanted to give me a talking to.  He dated my Clarice back in high school, if you recall, and has a soft spot for me.  He even mentioned how much he loved my peanut butter and jelly cookies.”

In other words, she’d bribed him with the promise of sweets to get out of the ticket.  Some women had no pride, Hazel thought, conveniently ignoring the bribe of fried chicken she’d used to get out of her last parking ticket.

“Could be he let you go because of those happy memories,” not likely since Hortense had beat him around the head with her broom when she’d found him swapping spit with her daughter on the back porch, “Or could be he was in a hurry.”

She drew that last word out with a nice lilt at the end.  Just enough to make it clear she knew more than she was saying, but not enough to sound like a nosy old woman.  Gossiping was an art, and Hazel considered herself a master.  Hortense, though, was no slouch.  She didn’t jump at the bait like most would.  Instead she sipped, she nibbled and she calculated.  Probably trying to figure out what local news might involve that cute young sheriff.

Finally…

“I don’t think he was in much of a hurry, since he had plenty of time to reminisce,” she dismissed.

“Maybe he was using his chat with you as an excuse to watch the road into town.”

“Why would he do that?”

Gotcha.  Hazel hid her smile in her teacup.

“Because I hear trouble is back in town. “

“We haven’t had trouble in Black Oak in years.  Tobias Black won’t stand for it.  My youngest son handles the books for Tobias’ motorcycle shop now, you know.  He’s always saying how on the ball and aware Tobias is of everything.” Hortense claimed, as usual tossing out her tenuous connection with the town’s powerhouse.

“Not everything.  There’s been a few things that slipped through Tobias’ fingers over the years,” Hazel pointed out, thrilled at the opening Hortense unwittingly offered.

“Nothing’s ever gotten past Tobias.”

“Not even his children?”

“His children leaving was the only thing I’ve ever seen that slowed Tobias down.”  Hortense nibbled at her cake, too distracted by the topic to pretend it wasn’t delicious.  “First Caleb stormed off, then Gabriel just a week or so afterward.  It was like someone kicked his legs out from under him. When Maya left a year or so after that, you’d have thought she took his heart, too.  I haven’t seen him so upset since his wife died years back.”

Testing to see if Hortense was sufficiently hooked, Hazel offered another slice of coffeecake.  Still focused on the many woes of Tobias Black, the other woman took it with a murmured thanks.

“Bet it’d make his holiday if his kids came home.  One or all, he’d be overjoyed.”

Hortense snorted so hard, cake crumbs sprayed across her lap.

“Not likely.  Don’t you remember Caleb yelling from the town square that he’d never return?  Who knows what he did after he roared out of here on that big, scary motorcycle of his.  He was trouble, I’m telling you.  Never respected authority, always had to do things his way.”  Hortense took a sip of the before offering a saccharine smile.  “Didn’t one of your daughters chase after him for awhile?”

Leave it to Hortense to remember the one detail she’d been hoping to gloss over.

“That’s neither here nor there. What’s important today is the fact that Caleb Black has returned.”

“He hasn’t,” Hortense breathed, setting her tea on the table so she wouldn’t drop it.  “He’s come back to reconcile with his father?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.  I heard from Carl Minsky, whose wife was shopping in that new agey store of Cassiopeia Easton’s that Caleb walked in there yesterday afternoon, bold as brass.”  She waited for the satisfying gasp, then continued.  “He was flirting up a storm with Cassiopeia’s daughter. The girl who’s trying to sex up everyone’s food?  Next thing you know, he turned around and came face to face with Tobias.”

“Then what happened?” Hortense asked breathlessly.

“Then… nothing.  At least, nothing that anyone but the Easton girl knows.  She scooted them into the back room for some privacy.”  Hazel said that like it was a dirty word.  And to her, it was.  “Can you believe the nerve of that girl?”

“You think they came to blows?  Did anyone hear yelling? Oh, this has to be juicy. ”

And that, right there, gave Hazel the big gold star win for the best gossip of the year.  Satisfied, she picked up her cake plate, prepared to revel in her success.

“I guarantee you,” Hazel stated, leaning forward to gesture with her forkful of coffeecake in emphasis, “With Caleb Black back in town, this is going to be one interesting Christmas season.”

Oh yeah… I think things are going to be very, very interesting in Black Oak this December.  What do you think? And if you’ve read the book already, do you think Caleb’s homecoming added a bit of excitement to the Christmas season?  Share your thoughts and I’ll draw one random name from the comments to win a copy of SEX, LIES AND MIDNIGHT to get a jump start on some New Year’s Eve fun.

And don’t forget to check out my Holiday Survival Tour as I celebrate the Undercover Operatives series with contests, giveaways and lots of good times.