Woops!

Ever make a completely stupid mistake?

I'd like to say I haven't, but mistakes around here happen frequently and are almost always my fault. I have no excuses. Not good ones anyways.

The latest goof?

My daughter has trumpet lessons on Monday nights. Her teacher's house is a good 25 minutes away. We were about two minutes from his place when we realized we'd forgotten the trumpet.

Oops.

Sure, sure, my daughter could share the blame in this (maybe mistake making is hereditary?). But really, isn't it a mom's job to double check pesky little details like making sure we have possession of the trumpet before we leave the house for trumpet lesson?

Well, long story short, we rescheduled for tonight. Watch, we'll forget the music.

The funny part was this morning as I dropped my daughter off at school: I was reminding her that I'd be picking her up today since she'll (again) be bringing her trumpet home.

She looked at me and said, "No one needs to know what happened last night."

Ah, she's learning fast about post-mistake embarrassment.

I'm hoping she doesn't read this blog...

Question of the Day

A reader on Goodreads reviewed Truly, Madly: "A delightful no-brainer."

My question: should I be happy or insulted?

I'm leaning toward happy, because delightful is well...delightful.

Picture of the Day

Pipkin

He's 18 months old now, ancient in hamster years,

but he's just as cute as ever.

One Week

One week from today is Thanksgiving. Hard to believe it's here already. I'm still trying to understand how a year can go by so fast.

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that's all about tradition. Family, food, fun, fights. What's one without the other? Our tradition usually involves going to my husband's parents' house. We'll all be there: 6 adults and 9 grandkids ranging from 18-2. I'm sure there will be tears (might be from the adults) and lots of laughs.

The feast features the usual suspects: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, gravy, rolls. I'm usually in charge of the pies. Blueberry, apple, pumpkin. Mmm.

And afterward, we'll drag out Twister, because the little cousins love to fight play it. We almost always watch a Christmas Story Thanksgiving night while having a piece of leftover pie.

Very traditional. Lots of fun. I'm looking forward to it. Not only for the yummy food, but for the family. And the memories in the making. I'm just sappy that way.

Do you have traditional plans? Any untraditional plans out there?

Unplugged

My son has a friend, a high school senior, who decided out of the blue, to give up all technology for one month. Just to see if he could. Gone was the cell phone, the Ipod, the video games, the TV, and the computer (supposedly his crops on Farmville are withering away).

He lasted three days without the phone, and claims he now knows how lucky he is to have one. The rest he's still holding strong.

I'm not sure how he's doing it. Lives these days are so tied into technology. Our Internet was down last night and it was panic-time around here. The kids had homework to either check online or send to their teachers (yes, some assignments are now uploaded). No email (twitch, twitch), no nothing. Luckily, it came back up after three and a half hours. Whew. Crisis averted.

Then this morning my daughter's I-touch decided to have a hissy fit and stop working. She uses that little gadget so much it's like a fifth appendage. Arms, legs, I-touch. It would still power on but the touch screen refused to cooperate. I was online (see how much we use it?) at 6:15 this morning looking up fixes on the Apple site. I'm happy to say after an hour of pleading (I'm not proud) with it, it decided to come back to life. My daughter will be very happy when she gets home from school (I refuse to text her during school unless it's an emergency and though this was borderline, it doesn't go quite that far).


I can't imagine going a month without technology. A few days, maybe. But that's it. How about you? What bit of technology would you be lost without?

Under The Surface

Writers are often asked where we get our ideas. And for me one of the biggest sources is the news. Some of that stuff is too good to pass up.

I heard a story today that has my gears turning and will probably end up in a story, somewhere, somehow.

I'm paraphrasing the story because my memory's not so good: Somewhere in the U.S.--not sure where--a pair of burglars broke into a house, tied up two grown men and a fifteen year old boy. During the robbery, a baby in the house started crying. The father of the baby and the fifteen year old begged one of the robbers to untie the teen so he could feed his brother. Not only did the burglar comply, but he also took the time to warm up the baby's bottle. No one was hurt; the robbers have not been caught.

On the surface it's just another tale of bad things happening to good people. But in my head it's a fascinating look at what's under the surface. What makes someone tick. How can a person break into someone's home, no doubt devastating that family for a long time to come, yet take the time to make sure a baby is cared for? It's that kind of dichotomy that I love to mix into my books, into my characters. Not sure how or when I'll use it, but it's there, churning...

~heather

Happiness Is...

It's one of those rare Mondays for me.

The kind where I'm actually optimistic about the week ahead. Life is good. Everything will be all right.

I know. What's going on with me?

I'm not sure. But I think it might have something to do with two things: One, I had a great weekend. It was nice and relaxed with two of the most gorgeous November days I've ever seen. Lots of family hanging out time. Watched a movie, had some ice cream, watched some football, laughed at my son's jokes, laughed at my other son's babysitting tales. And I watched my daughter perform on stage in her school play on Friday and Saturday night, just loving the amazing person she is. Life is really good.

The second is romance author Holly Jacobs. I'm envious of her happy-go-lucky personality and simple joy of life. She's been spreading her charm this month with a Giving Glee contest. I love the thought behind it, and I love the stories that have been coming in. More info here: http://community.eharlequin.com/content/giving-glee-contest

Sometimes it's nice to know the world isn't always about doom and gloom, that news isn't always bad, that life can be good even in some trying times.

This week I'm choosing to look on the bright side. I'm going to give some glee. And I'm going carry my fabulous weekend into a great week.

How about you?

~Heather

Picture of the Day

Photo Credit: Mr. Webber

Question of the Day

Let me ask you this: In Absolutely, Positively I have a character who's hired Lucy to look for her first love (whom she still loves). Turns out he's kinda-sorta wanted by the FBI. He's not dangerous -- just a criminal mastermind (just!).

Put yourself in her shoes. What would your reaction be to that news? Would you still want to find him? Would you just walk away?

A Rant And A Rave Wednesday

Rant

Is it me or do you also hate having to give your whole life's healthy history to a receptionist? Then, to add insult to injury, you spend fifteen minutes filling out paperwork for the doctor and he never even looks at it? Just comes into the room and says, "So what's going on?" Ahem, READ THE PAPERWORK.

:::deep breath:::



Rave

I'm starting some online Christmas shopping and I cannot tell you how much I love free shipping. Because it's the pesky shipping fees that make online shopping a guilty pleasure. I'm really hoping lots of stores will go with this trend over the holiday season. Not that I have any idea what to buy the kids. If you have teens in your life, what's on your list for them? Maybe I can steal some ideas.

SAT Prep, Disney Style

I had the kids (teenagers) in the car this morning on the way to school and for some reason the topic of discussion switched to the previews for next week's Amazing Race. The clip showed one of the contestants hopelessly lost in what looks like a castle, because he doesn't know a word on the clue: Candelabra. He's seen wandering around asking people if they are "Candle-A-Bra" and mumbling, "I don't know what a Candel-A-Bra is."

Now, as this is a contestant I happen to like, I hope he figures it out before he gets the whole "You've been eliminated from the race" from Phil.

As I drove toward the high school the conversation went something like this. I'm paraphrasing. It was too early to think coherently.

Me: I think he's thinking candelabra is a name, like Barbara. That's why he's asking all the women around if they're "Candel-A-Bra." I would think that even if you didn't know what a candelabra was, that the candle part might jump out since you're in a dark castle, though the spelling could easily throw someone off.

Them: Murmurs of agreement (it was early!)

Me (I was chatty this morning): Though, now that I think about it, you two might not know what a candelabra is either. It's not a common term, but the whole candle part of the word when you say it aloud...hopefully you'd put it together

Them: We know what a candelabra is.

Me (astonished): How?

Son (with a hellllooo? look on his face): Beauty and the Beast. The dancing candle guy?

Me: This is going in a blog.

Too funny! Who knew Disney was increasing my children's vocabulary all those times I plopped them in front of a video so I could steal some writing time?

If only that contestant on Amazing Race had seen Lumiere singing "Be Our Guest"... I'll be tuning in Sunday night for sure, and I think it might be time to watch Beauty and the Beast again. It is one of my favorites--and I might learn something while I'm at it.

Take Cover!

Darn those lady bugs. They're everywhere! They're so lucky they're adorable. When they break-in, they are gently saved and put back outside where, ahem, they belong. Not in the house.

Over the weekend, my family was at an outside event in Columbus, and we were under attack. Lady bugs dive-bombing from all directions. Landing on clothes, skin, hair. Anywhere. And no matter how many times they were flicked off, they kept coming back. My daughter was quite the unhappy camper (she's not a fan of bugs, even adorable ones).

What's with all the lady bugs? It seems a little late in the year for them, doesn't it? Could they possibly be those lady bug imposters (some sort of nefarious beetle) that I can never remember the name of or how to tell the two apart. I'm not sure, but even though they're cute, they can go away now. Any time.

I was at the grocery store yesterday and noticed there was a lady bug hitchhiking on a woman's purse. I have visions of lady bugs taking over Kroger, buzzing around the aisles, flitting from produce to dairy without a care in the world. All I have to say is that they better stay away from the chips. Cuteness only goes so far.

Pictures of the Day

Before

After

Supporting Cast

I'm slowly wrapping my brain around the new plot of Absolutely, Positively -- and I'm liking it. My writing voice fits the quirky nature of the story, the characters.

I sent Lucy to a suspect's house yesterday, not really "seeing" in advance the new character. Yet the minute she opened the door (actually, before, when we hear her yelling through the whole house) the character came alive. She's bigger than life, over the top. She's a little bit cliche yet you can see there's more under the surface. For example, she's wearing a trashy spandex tube top in the dead of winter, yet she's making a gourmet dinner from scratch. She has barbed wire tattoos around her biceps but she's listening to classical music. I love when characters make you think about who they really are and reinforce that first impressions aren't always the right ones.

If you've read my previous books you know how much I love secondary characters. To me they make the book come alive. This particular character will be around throughout this whole book, and I'm looking forward to having some fun with her--and trying to figure her out.

~heather

Blog of the Day

Every morning I sign on to the internet, check email (all three accounts), check Facebook, check TMZ.com (don't ask), check the latest headlines, and then I head to my "Favorite Places" and start going through all the blogs I have saved there. I pop in, see what's going on, stay to read for a bit, then head to the next blog. I don't always comment (rarely, actually), but I love to see what everyone's up to.

One of my newest favorite blogs to go to is Mystery Writing is Murder by Elizabeth Spann Craig. Her posts are always insightful and almost always tie what's going on in her life to how she writes her mysteries. She has quite a following, so I know I'm not the only one who enjoys her posts.

Check it out here. http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/

Anyone have any blog recommendations? I'm always up for a little more reading in the morning.

~heather

What's Up, Doc?

Speaking of clunkers...

I have a doctor's appointment today. With a spine specialist. Doesn't that sound daunting? I think so, too! A few weeks ago a lumbar MRI showed I have another herniation in my lower back and something funky is going on with my discs. So, off to the specialist I go to see what's going on. I'm not proud--I'll take all good vibes, good luck, good wishes! I'm hoping he'll have good news. I like to be optimistic that way. :)

PS: That pic isn't of me!

Clunkers

So there I was the other day with my husband talking (re: whining) about my various health issues at the moment when I said, "Sorry, you married a clunker."

To which he then made a joke about the cash for clunkers program.

So I had to gleefully reply he missed his chance with that deal!

Then he went and said something like, "Clunker or not, you're a keeper. I'd never trade you in."

Awww, right?

And it's conversations like those that give a glimpse into why we're celebrating our 19 year wedding anniversary today.

Happy Anniversary, honey.

Next year is the big 2-0. We've decided to try to do something BIG. Just don't know what yet. Anyone have any ideas?

~heather (aka, the clunker)

Picture of the Day

Deadly Divas

The boas are usually solely for table props but once in a while, we Divas will strike a pose.

PS: I'll be drawing the first winner of the You'll Love Lucy contest on Sunday night. If you haven't entered yet, go to www.lucyvalentine.blogspot.com for your chance to win an ARC of Truly, Madly and other fun stuff.

Eek! A Mouse!

We've been very lucky never to have mice in the house. Or, if we have we don't know it and I, quite honestly, prefer it that way. There are some outside, along the foundation. I doubt I'll forget the day I was sitting on the front porch step, looked down into the mulch, and saw two little eyes looking back at me. I'm happy to say I didn't freak out. Since we've had hamsters I'm a lot less squeamish about rodents in general, though rats may be a different story. And yes, I know they make great pets, are highly intelligent, blah, blah, blah. It's the tail. I can't get over that darn tail.

This past weekend I was on a layover in Atlanta, coming home from the Deadly Diva tour in N.C. (pictures on the fan page--of the tour, not the layover). I was at my departure gate, sitting, rereading Sara Rosett's Moving Is Murder (just as good the second time around!) when an older woman rose from her chair in two rows in front of me, grabbed all her belongings and came and sat next to me.

"I had to move," she said.

"Why?" I asked.

"The mice."

Then she pointed. Two little mice (their bodies no bigger than two inches) were scurrying along under the row of chairs, picking up little bits of crushed potato chips and bits of dropped bread (some people are slobs, no?). From where I sat, they were adorable, full of adventure and mischief. But if I'd had the woman's seat, I'd have been out of there faster than you could say "Mickey and Minnie".

Every time someone sat down and were told about their companions, they bounced right back up. The gate was packed--the flight completely full. Those seats were a hot commodity. Finally, one middle aged woman sat down, heard about the mice, and then simply held her legs aloft until boarding was called.

Those two little mice provided so much entertainment that I kind of hope the airport has mercy if they finally catch them (they'd been trying for over a week, apparently). But really, I don't want them to come home with me.

Boo!

I'm in a bit of a tizzy. I realized this morning that Halloween is Saturday. Saturday!! It slipped my mind now that my kids aren't going out this year *sniff*. I haven't had to worry about costumes, and I gave up on carving pumpkins a long time ago--the kids were never into it and I was the one with my arm, elbow deep, inside the pumpkin scooping out the sticky guts.

But I digress.

I'm in a tizzy because I haven't gotten the candy yet! You know what this means. It means that all the good stuff will be gone. I'll be stuck with Dots and taffy and those weird eyeball chocolates that taste like cocoa cardboard. There's not bound to be any Snickers or Almond Joys or Reece's Cups left--the good stuff goes fast. Especially around here where I'm pretty sure the kids outnumber the adults. Or at least it seems that way. We always need 5-6 bags of candy. And if there are leftovers, all the better! Usually.

I'm not that big a fan of Dots.

~heather

PS: The Deadly Diva fan page is up and running. Come on by and become a fan! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Deadly-Divas/160965359116?ref=ts

Catch Up

I'm sitting here wondering where yesterday went. I know the days before that--even though they're kind of a blur: I was in North Carolina, on a book tour with the Deadly Divas. Nine events in four days. Planes, cars, temperamental GPS units. I met some great people, got to catch up with the other Divas, spent lots of time with the incomparable Molly Weston, ate some very good BBQ (Allen's & Sons), was pampered by some very nice librarians, and sold some books. I think a good time was had by all.

But yesterday... Not so sure. I got in after midnight from my trip, so after I took the kids to school, I went back to bed for a bit (ahhhh). Then there was email catch-up, a doctor's visit (my oldest has mono and had a follow up), errands, pick up from school, trumpet lesson (for my daughter, not me), trainer (for my younger son, not me), grocery shopping, dinner (at 9 pm!!!!!!!!) and finally, bed.

But today... Today I'm looking at a blank square on my planner. Yes, there's still the usual pick up, drop off from school going on, but nothing else. I still have some email to catch up on and I'm working on a Deadly Diva Fan page on Facebook (look for it by the end of the week!). Other than that, I need to write. There's nothing like a tour to spark motivation to get the next book done and the next. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I'm headed out of town later this week and to save my sanity and cut down on the TO DO list, I've decided to take the rest of the week off from blogging. I'll be back here next Tuesday with lots of Deadly Diva tour details. If you're in the North Carolina area, I hope you can make one of the events.

See you soon!


Deadly Divas Fall Tour:

Thurs., Oct. 22:

1:00, Jamestown Public Library
Jamestown, NC


6:30, Holly Springs Branch Library
Holly Springs, NC

Friday, Oct. 23:

10:30, Coffee with the Divas,
The Cary Library
Cary, NC

2:00, Tea at the Eva Perry Library
Apex, NC

7:00, The Regulator Bookshop
Durham, NC


Sat., Oct. 24:

11:00, McIntyre's Fearrington Village
Pittsboro, NC


2:00, West Regional Library
Cary, NC

7:30 PM: All Booked Up
104B North Salem Street
Apex, North Carolina 27502



Sunday Oct. 25:

3:00, Friendly Center Barnes & Noble
Greensboro, NC

Picture of the Day

"Thorny"

(click to enlarge)

Book of the Day

I'm completely enchanted with the new book I'm reading: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber. The title really grabbed me and the writing has been fantastic. Lots of layers, lots of depth. Can't wait to get back to it!

What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Hidden in the dark heart of Victorian London, the Romanesque school was dreadfully imposing, a veritable fortress, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met its powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadows, of the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She saw simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gift. This arched stone doorway was a portal to a new life, to an education far from what could be had at a convent-and it was an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death...

You Try To Do A Good Thing...

And not kill a helpless little creature and what happens? It escapes.

It all started this morning when my daughter scurried into my bedroom, her big blue eyes full of fright. There was an enormo spider skulking around her room as she was getting ready for school.

Groggy, I grabbed an empty tumbler, snuck up on said skulker and dropped the cup over him. Trapped! I decided to spare his life and take him outside once I woke up a bit.

Mistake.

When I went back for him, he was gone. Somehow he wiggled his way out from under the cup and made his escape. So now I have to go on a spider hunt or my daughter might never sleep in her room again.

And next time when I find him...

Squish.

Flu Near You?

Everywhere I turn these days I hear about the flu. Doesn't matter which one--it's all people are talking about. With good reason, it seems. Hundreds of kids are sick at local schools. Doctors' offices are packed. Emergency rooms look like something out of a Michael Crichton novel with all the gloves and masks.

A good friend came down H1N1 last week and is still recovering. It started with allergy type symptoms--sniffles, cough and went straight into fever and stomach issues. She said it was like nothing she's ever had before.

News reports are saying it's not IF you get the flu, it's WHEN. Which makes me wonder about all these vaccines. Do they really work? Are they worth it? Or if you're strong and healthy, does it make more sense to just catch the darn flu and get it over with?

I'm not sure. I'm just thanking my lucky stars that no one in the house is sick, and I hope it stays that way! How about where you live? Is the flu all the talk there too?

A New Beginning

I'm finally getting into the swing of things with the revisions for Absolutely, Positively. It hasn't been easy. I had to take it from dark (serial killer, pedophile) to light (bye, bye serial killer, pedophile). I originally wrote that book thinking the Lucy series was going darker, toward thriller territory. But that all changed, and I have to admit I'm glad. I really love writing quirky, light books with tons of characterization and wacky plots.

Part of my problem has been that I've been trying to make what I had work. Tweaking, deleting, editing. Rinse, repeat. It took a while just to admit it wasn't working. The mood of the book kept interfering. Hard to write light when you're immersed in dark. So I've had to start from scratch.

Much, much better. Love the tone, the characters, the story. Not sure when my deadline is for this book. Its tentative release is Feb. 2011, so I think I have some time. Not a lot, but enough. So, here's to hoping that I don't hit anymore snags! And that I won't have to start all over again anytime soon.

Cover of the Day

Deeply, Desperately: A Lucy Valentine Novel

First version.

Who Knew?

My kids are newly obsessed with Farmville on Facebook. I don't play, so I'm not sure why the obsession, but on any given day I hear things like this:

"I went to claim your lost cow but someone already did."

"I sent you three pigs."

"All my strawberries died because I forgot to water them."

"I'm making a ton of money on pineapples!"

"I have to be home at 5:30 to harvest my watermelons."

"I saved her farm from crazy raccoons."

Who knew? Who knew a simple game could give such entertainment and also provide a generalized lesson on farming to kids who've never so much had a veggie patch. As an outsider, it's been fun listening in. I mean, really? Crazy raccoons? That's like a page out of one of my books...

What Would You Do?

So you're at church. You're standing there, singing along to the hymns, trying to focus on readings you can barely hear because the sound system in the church is just horrible and you notice the teen girl in front of you, a complete stranger, still has the long rectangular size sticker on her new pants, highlighting the back of her thigh (size 3, long).

The teen sisters sitting a few seats down notice and giggle but don't say anything to the girl. You know eventually the girl is going to have to walk down to the front of the church for communion...where perhaps dozens of people will notice that sticker on her white pants.

What do you do? Do you tell her and risk embarrassing her? Or do you mind your own business and figure she'll find the sticker eventually?

Me? I went through the whole "Would I want someone to tell me?" thing in my head. Yes. Yes, I'd want someone to point out that I had an enormous sticker on the back of my thigh. And in the same vein, I also want to know when there's something in my teeth, when my tag is sticking out of my shirt, and when I may have sat in something unknowingly (just for future reference, should these things ever happen when I'm around you).

So, I waited until the part of Mass where we shake hands with neighbors and whispered to her about the sticker. And you know what? She was really grateful. I would have been too.

What would you have done?