Monday, August 24, 2009

IT'S OUT!!!

Well, it was a long time in coming because FASCINATION is one of those books that hit a few bumps in the road on the way to publication, but it's out NOW!!! As of today, you can find my book up on Awe-Struck Publishing. Be sure to get your copy!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Coffee for One?

At last, I got one of THESE little guys! Coffee, as we all know, is one of those writing "tools"--right up there with laptops, the Internet (for researching &, yeah, goofing off) and Alphasmarts, etc. As long as it's enjoyed in moderation, can't live without it, right?


Well, while visiting my cousin Pep and his wife, Marlene, she introduced me to their new coffeemaker...one of those amazing Kreiger thingies. You must've seen them in Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohl's, Walmart's, they sell them everywhere. All you do is load a small container of coffee into them, press a button, and voila! Coffee for one! Marlene's explanation to me as why she put up her 12-cup coffeemaker? "We were wasting so much coffee, I figured I'd keep the other one for times when we have a lot of guests over, but we'd keep this one as the every day coffeemaker." Turns out my sister-in-law, Jackie, has had an "every day" smaller coffee maker, too, for just that very reason. Wasting coffee is a SIN, people!

Nobody was wasting more coffee than I was, especially since my machine *usually* makes great coffee, but the paper filter shifts around inside the filter cup and you get grounds all in the coffee. Yuck. I found a smaller version, a 5-cup Mr. Coffee. Not only does it make good coffee and the filter stays in place (it's small, so it doesn't have much room to shimmy around), but it doesn't take up much space on my counter, either.

Ahhhh, it's the little things that get you excited at this age! ;D

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Refreshed & Revvvvvvvvved!

That's "revved" with a "v". When I first wrote it, it looked like "rewed." Bill would have something to say about that one. LOL!

We actually returned from our too-short vacation up North last week. I'm just now getting around to blogging about it, and I only came out of the woodwork because I surfed onto my publisher's site for the 10,000th time and was pleasantly surprised to find my new cover!

But back to Jersey: Considering we got there on Friday night and headed back on Monday morning, we managed to squeeze in lots of fun & affection that weekend. We spent time with our eldest son, Joey, and his honey, Iris, including a day at the Jersey shore that also included my two best friends, Linda and Lisa, and Linda's daughter, Hailey. Sunday we had breakfast and caught up with my cousins Pep, Marlene & Viki, who's expecting a little girl very soon. After that, we headed off to spend some time in Greenwich Village, which I LOVE (see the Macdougal Street sign on this page!) and then it was back to Jersey for dinner at PF Chang's with our friends, Bill's uncle and aunt Tony & Doreen. You can SORTA see that one on here, too. My only regret was not seeing my other cousins, Soli, Mark & Ashley, and of course, the irrepressible Tia Soledad. Next visit!!!

I loved Cancun, but there's something about getting together with friends and family that you haven't seen in a while. The Internet is a great invention: Thanks to Facebook and Myspace and, of course, email, you can keep in touch with your loved ones. But there's something that can't be matched when you're sitting on a beach or around a table, passing around a dish of guava to spread on a cream cheesed bagel or being the loudest table at a Chinese restaurant because you're all laughing and chatting, that can't really be matched.




That visit also really energized me. I'm ready to get back to work. I've ditched projects over this year, not happy with the way they were coming out. As I get older, I get more finicky with my writing. I have a feeling I'll be moving in other directions, but that's what writing should be--growth. You should grow as a writer, even if that means moving in other areas. As a writer I've always welcomed the chance to be adventurous, even if it's scary at first.

And since I don't write as much as I did in my 30s--life just takes up more of your time, it seems, in your late 40s and 50s--I want to make sure I'm working on something that I & my readers will enjoy, with some touch of surprise as well!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Cover for FASCINATION!

Well, the date for the release has been pushed back, but here's the cover for my newest book, FASCINATION! Isn't that gorgeous? As soon as the release date is, um, released, I'll be sure to post it. FASCINATION is a sweet contemporary romance coming out from Awe-Struck Publishing, my second book for them. It's been kinda hectic, with us spending time up North with Joey, Iris, friends & family, but I'll be back later this week to give a little background on this book. Look for it on Awe-Struck's page!