OperationAuction is a fundraiser for the family of a member of the romance community whose husband was murdered in a workplace shooting. The donated items are being auctioned, and you can bid on a signed copy of The Bride and the Buccaneer here Loads of great items were donated, from signed books to critiques, and it's all for a good cause. Check it out and get your bids in while you can.
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I love doing the research for my novels because sometimes I run across gems like this: "The degree of commitment to Jacobitism has indeed become the Loch Ness Monster of eighteenth-century history. The true believers are convinced not only that it existed but that it was huge...they relate the equivalent of alleged sightings, out-of-focus photographs and sonic soundings." From A Conscise History of Britain 1707-1975 by W.A. Speck
Jack unclenched his jaw far enough to say, "You're taking my money and my horse? You are nothing but a common thief!" "Sir, I protest! You are nothing but a common thief. I am an uncommon thief!" He played the last card of a desperate hand. "You can't do this! You're just a little girl!" "Are you angry someone my size was able to overcome you? I did lie about one thing. I am twenty years old, not a girl of sixteen. Here is a final lesson then for you to think about this evening--because it looks like you will have a great deal of time to reflect on your sins--treachery wins out over size and muscle almost every time, Sir Highwayman." With that she mockingly saluted him, and without another word turned on her heel and left. He yelled impotently at her to return and untie him, but as he heard his faithless ma...
"Early in their journey this morning they passed a burnt-out homestead, its brick chimney all that remained of a family’s dreams. Vines were already encroaching and moving in, but there had been a gardenia bush in bloom near what must have once been the front door, and Sophia paused to snip off a bloom. The lush fragrance filled her senses, but it was also a reminder of the dangers lurking in paradise." --The Bride and the Buccaneer Spring has arrived in North Florida, though I understand other parts of the country are still suffering. I'm sympathetic. We're not so far south that we don't see the seasons change, so we get that whiff of new beginnings each March, along with a ton of pollen dropping from on high. I should, in fact, have wiped down all the horizontal surfaces on my porch today since I can't plop myself down without a cloud of yellow pollen poofing up. Instead I went out and repotted a couple of rose bushes because the roses are do...
BOSKONE 48 or "How I Spent My Winter Vacation" I arrived in Boston a couple days before the convention to spend time with my son, who's in grad school in Cambridge. We had a lovely visit, even though my credit cards were smokin' and begging for mercy by the time I kissed him goodbye and headed to the Westin Waterfront. I didn't have any program items Friday afternoon so it was an opportunity for me to see some old friends, many of whom were working the convention, and get unpacked and ready for the festivities. The weather in Boston through Friday had been more than tolerable--highs in the 60s, and lots of slush and melting ice. That all changed Friday night. We were walking back from supper and about four blocks from the hotel a storm hit us sideways. It was a combination of winds clocked at over 40 mph, driving sleet and hail. One of our party had her glasses knocked off and blown away, another was a petite woman nearly blown off her feet! ...
“I’ve never been a husband, Mandy. Sharing someone’s life in this manner is all new for me.” “You already know the most important things about being a husband, Morgan. You are protective of me, you provide for my welfare, and you love me. Judith told me of an old proverb: ‘Love is good. Love and noodles is better.’ And that is what there is to being husband and wife.” ---Captain Sinister's Lady Happy 35th Anniversary to my dear husband, who still provides me with love and noodles.
Pompom paused at the sight of a blue-tailed skink sunning itself on a rock, his entire body stiffening. The two humans watched the dog, who was totally focused on the lizard. “If he was only a little larger, Pompom could hunt for us, Dr. Murray.” Alexander started to say something snide about the animal, then stopped himself. “Would he bring us a deer, do you think?” Castaway Dreams c. 2011 (WIP) The bichon in my WIP (work in progress) may not have been able to bring down a deer, but I once had a hound who could. I was pleased this morning to read the news about Westminster Dog Show and see that the Redbone Coonhound is now recognized in the competition. When I was growing up we lived for a time outside Naples, Florida near to the sawgrass and hunting country. One morning we awoke to find a dog on our doorstep, hungry, footsore, gun-shy and pregnant. We couldn't find an owner, and the dog adopted us. She was a huge Redbone hound a...
"If you give me your heart, I can give you mine, and I will be as true to you as the needle to the pole, darlin'."--Smuggler's Bride Today is Valentine's Day. It's a day to celebrate love and healthy relationships. Be sure to hug your sweetie, and if you don't currently have a human sweetie, maybe you can do something special like donate or help out at your local pet shelter. Love comes in all forms, and nothing says "I love you!" quite like wet doggy kisses or a cat purring in your lap.
My Boskone 48 Schedule, Part Deux: Here's the updated schedule with program item descriptions and moderators: Saturday 12noon Southern Vampire Mystery Woman -- The Charlaine Harris Interview Charlaine Harris Darlene Marshall She's the prize-winning, internationally best-selling author of almost thirty mystery novels. What's she doing at a science fiction convention? We suspect it starts with the day Charlaine Harris asked herself, "What kind of person would date a vampire?" and kept thinking until she had created Sookie Stackhouse. But we've got plenty of other questions about the resulting Southern Vampire Mystery series (running on TV as the acclaimed /True Blood/ HBO series) -- as well as about her Harper Connelly "grave reader" books, her 20-plus-years-in-the-making overnight success, and how she manages to write like the hilariously dark daughter of Anne Rice and Connie Willis. Saturday 3:30pm Reading: Darlene Marshall (0.5 hrs) Dar...
Over the weekend I learned what my heroine's dark secret is. Now that I know it (and it's not what the hero or I expected!) I'm back at work. I must say, this new information has made writing today much more fun. I wish she'd revealed this information to me sooner. And if this all sounds a little like you should be calling the boys in white coats to take me away, don't worry. It's a writer thing. I see fake people, and they talk to me. Sometimes it takes a while before they really open up. But I'll have my revenge before I'm done, and then she'll learn what happens to characters who withhold information from me! Bwahahahahaha!
My Boskone 48 Preliminary Schedule Saturday12noon Southern Vampire Mystery Woman -- The Charlaine Harris Interview Charlaine Harris Darlene Marshall Sunday 10am The Spirit of the Place Laird Barron Charlaine Harris Alexander Jablokov Darlene Marshall Margaret Ronald Consider when scenery is so much a part of the fabric of the story that it almost becomes ...
“I find that singing makes the time pass, Doctor. Not gloomy songs, but cheerful ones. Don’t you know any songs? Isn’t there some Scotsman named Brown, or Bowen who wrote some songs?” He stopped cleaning the fish and looked at her with an expression of deep pain. “Might you be referring to Rabbie Burns, the bard of Scotland?” Daphne thought about it for a moment. “That sounds right. He wrote a song about a red rose, and one about a hag.” Her brow scrunched. “Though why someone would want to write a song about a hag is beyond me.” Dr. Murray closed his eyes, then opened them and looked at her. “Not a hag, Miss Farnham, a haggis. A haggis is a dish enjoyed by the people of Scotland.” “Really? What is it?” Dr. Murray described, with loving detail, the inner workings ...
Rand opened the cabin door and spied Julia up on the center of the table, skirt hiked up in her hand, a shapely pair of ankles distracting him from what she was saying. "Snake!" she whispered, pointing with her shaking free hand to a darkened corner of the cabin. Rand dropped his bag and fetched the lamp and the broom. When he raised the lamp and peered into the corner, there was a faint susurrus--a sound like sand falling on the floor. He looked closer, set down the lamp and broom and said, "C'mon outta there, fella." He crouched down and waved his fingers in front of the snake, and when it coiled to leap he grabbed it behind its head. The snake wrapped itself around his arm and gave it a good squeeze, but Rand didn't let go of the snake's head. He straightened and turned to Julia, the snake clinging to his arm, tongue darting in and out in agitation. "This ain't nothin' but a corn snake, darlin'. He's likely more scared of you ...
The sun came out midway through my walk this afternoon, which was a delight, as was the walk itself. I worked out a couple sticky plot points for (working title) The Hot Pirate's Secret Baby, realized I needed a name change for one of the characters (thank you, "find & replace") and for the first time felt like I was into the rhythm of my newest work in progress. I often get mental breakthroughs on my daily walk, but this was the first time the WIP and its plot was foremost in my mind. I can't force it. I've tried that and it doesn't work for me, but when I realize that it's happening and the creative brain synapses are firing, it's a good feeling. I returned to the work this afternoon with a renewed sense of commitment, and some excitement at seeing the characters taking shape.
Boskone 48
Thinking about going to Boskone 48? The list of program participants is up (Yay! I made the cut!) and you can read an interview with Special Guest Charlaine Harris, here . It takes a lot to get this Florida gal to fly up to Boston in February, but Boskone always delivers the goods. If you want to attend a regional science fiction and fantasy convention with great programming and hospitable hosts, this is the one. I hope I'll see you there!