My favorite “funny” memory was the year I brought my not-yet-my-husband-just started-dating-boyfriend home for the holiday. He was in a master’s program and was sitting in our living room studying while my dad, brother and I went to pick up my grandma Gladys and my mom was in the kitchen cooking. 

Without any warning the well-engineered mooring which held the very tall Christmas tree upright, failed and the Christmas tree came crashing down onto the hardwood floor. (Well, that wasn't so funny.)

The funny memory for me, was arriving home, walking into the living room and seeing my not-yet-my-husband-just started-dating-boyfriend standing there next to the tree, propping it up. Even at his 6’5” height he still had a lot of tree to hold onto. I’m not exactly clear on why he had to hold it up until we got home. I'm sure glad we didn’t run into a detour that afternoon.
I hope you have wonderful memories and may you create special new ones this year. Happy Holidays to you and your family!



* Scrapple, is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then panfried before serving.Scrapple is commonly considered an ethnic food of the Pennsylvania Dutch, including the Mennonites and Amish.  
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 




Note: Originally posted 12/11/11
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You have probably heard the expression Everything Old Is New Again. Usually the first thing that pops into my head is clothing when I hear this adage. For instance, the wide-legged pants we called bell-bottoms or the baby-doll style tops with the fitted bodice and empire waist. I remember wearing similar outfits back in the 70s. Back then I could wear these styles. 

Now I wouldn't wear these styles if my life depended on it. Besides the fact that I don’t have the same figure I did as a teenager, I’d be afraid someone would mistakenly think I was pregnant.

Good. God. No! Been there, done that. And believe me when someone asks if you are expecting when you’re not, it’s AWKWARD.

So as far as I am concerned, old clothes can stay just that, old. 

Don’t judge a book by its cover.

My mother used to say that to me all the time when I was a kid. She would say, “As my old Chinese grandmother used to say…” and some smart idiom or metaphor would follow dispensing wisdom each time. I never understood why she used the “old Chinese grandmother” line. What can I say, her grandmother was Scottish. 

In those days, my mother was expressing her concern that I not be too quick to judge someone by their outward appearance. A lesson I appreciated and hope to live by every day.

But nowadays, because I am a writer in the romance genre I tend to think differently about this phrase. I take the meaning more literally. When I hear “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” I think, oh, yes, indeed.  Do judge a book by its cover.

Admit it, when you are looking through the shelves of romance books in your favorite bookstore, the covers with the sexy, hot men usually jump right out at you and beg, “take me home!”  So when we are talking about an actual book and not a metaphor, judge away. 

As my wise fifteen-year- old son pointed out to me last week, “Mom, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” So when I finally publish my book, I hope my cover makes a good first impression and I will gladly say, “Go ahead and judge my book by its cover.” 



Note: This was originally posted 8/12/11

So I bought this calendar. I figured, I couldn’t go wrong with a calendar featuring good looking men. The title caught my attention immediately since I write romance novels. 

I chuckled and thought how cute. 

But after thinking about it…

Hmm…

Men are like …romance novels. Sexy. Easy to pick up. And they never use a lot of big words.  

Is it simply innocent calendar gobbledygook fodder?

Probably.

However, the idea that romance novels refrain from using large vocabulary is preposterous. I take umbrage to this component of the analogy.  


Note: This was originally posted on 8/19/2011

I recently finished the four books in the Buchanan series by author Susan Mallery. (DELICIOUS, IRRESISTIBLE, SIZZLING AND TEMPTING)   

Call me crazy but I have to read books in sequence. It’s just the way I am. I like to meet characters at the beginning of their collective stories and follow them through until the last book. I love getting to know families and even towns. Note: Each book stands completely on its own. It’s just my thing to read them in order.

So I picked up one of the books about a year ago. I think the title was SIZZLING. When I saw it was book three of a four book series I put off reading it until I could get my hands on the other three. I also had to work through the stack of books by my bed before I was ready to delve into the lives of the Buchanan siblings.

To say I enjoyed these books is an understatement. Each story is heartwarming and poignant in its own way. Of course Mallery has delicious, irresistible, sizzling and tempting heroes in each of the books – who doesn’t enjoy reading about a sexy, hot man. So is it any wonder I fell in love with each of the Buchanan brothers.

But the women in each story are also well worth mentioning – they are feisty and strong and can hold their own with their men.

 Mallery is a master with characterization; her characters jump off the pages. Despite their shortcomings, and I like the fact she didn’t make them perfect, the characters are likable because they are so real. The witty banter that bounces between the couples put a smile on my face and sometimes brought a chuckle.

 I would even catch myself thinking of a character in the middle of my work day and wonder what was going to happen next. I was always anxious to get back to the books.

All four stories deal in one way or another with the concept of parenthood. In the first book, DELICIOUS, Chef Penny Jackson is having a baby on her own through In Vitro. She neglects to tell her ex, Cal Buchanan, this little tidbit of information when he hires her to be the chef at the floundering restaurant owned by his family.

 Cal has a few secrets of his own, including the one that destroyed their marriage. Things get steamed up in and out of the kitchen. But Penny is reluctant to get back together with Cal since she believed he didn’t want children.

Of course since it is a romance, we all know it has a happily ever after. But in getting from the start to finish we learn Cal’s secret in a very touching story. 

In IRRESISTIBLE, Walker Buchanan has returned home after years in the Marines. He is quiet and a loner. Despite the fact that he has two brothers and a sister he harbors secrets that keep him from getting too close to anyone. He isn’t sure what he wants to do with the rest of his life but since he is part of the restaurant dynasty owned by his family he has no money worries. 

His neighbor, Elissa Towers, on the other hand has many. She is a single mom struggling to make ends meet. When Walker does her a favor she is determined to pay him back- by cooking for him. She is trying to stay one step ahead of trouble. She ran away from home when she was just a teenager and now she is back but afraid to reconnect with her parents, who she believed gave up on her. She is a mother herself now, so she understands what it’s like to be a parent. By the way, her daughter is adorable. 

 In the third book, SIZZLING, Reid Buchanan, a womanizing former baseball pitcher is devastated when a tell-all rag headline reads "Good in bed? Not so much." He hides out at his grandmother’s estate. When his grandmother suffers a heart attack and breaks her hip he hires steadfast and energetic home-care nurse Lori Johnson, who's determined to turn Gloria's life around. 

This story is riddled with clever dialogue between Reid and Lori. Even Gloria, the grandmother, gets in on the fun.  An intriguing back-story involving Reid's half-sister Dani’s search for her birth father is introduced in this book. 

And finally TEMPTING is sister Dani Buchanan’s story. When the matriarch of the Buchanan family cruelly (before she became warm and caring – thanks to Lori’s influence) tells Dani she isn’t a Buchanan, rather she is the result of her mother's illicit affair, Dani is shocked. Everything she grew up believing is false. 

 She begins to search for her biological father which leads her to Senator Mark Canfield, a candidate for president of the United States and his son Alex Canfield, who is helping to run his campaign. 

Alex is the oldest of Mark and Katherine Canfield’s large adopted family. 

The media has a field day with news of a surprise love child and Mark seems oblivious to how this news has affected his wife’s insecurities about not being able to bear a child. 

 his theme was especially significant to me because I was adopted as a baby. I am always curious, and sometimes disappointed, with how an author will handle the subject of adoption.  What makes a woman a mother? Is it only through the act of childbirth? 

I am often asked if I have any interest in finding my real parents. My answer is a simple no. My parents are my real parents. I’ve never felt any differently. My mom could not have loved me more if she had given birth to me. My dad was a wonderful father–people used to say I looked like him. This always made me feel especially good.

I’ve often thought, just because you can be a mother, doesn’t make you a mother. (Same goes for fathers.) Any woman, sociopaths included, can get pregnant and give birth thus making them a biological mother.  However, I truly feel that the act of childbirth alone doesn’t make a woman a true MOTHER. There is so much more involved, beginning with an open heart full of love.

Katherine Canfield couldn’t give birth. She seemed to struggle with this fact throughout the story as if she was ashamed of the fact. Towards the end of the book, the character finally let go of what others thought of her or her inability to give birth to a baby.  It bothered me that Katherine Canfield spent so much time and energy worrying about the opinion of others.

However, when I gave it more thought, I remembered my own mom didn’t discuss the fact that she adopted her children. The subject was never brought up. It was a secret in our home. I wonder if my mother was a bit embarrassed or felt like a lesser person for not being able to give birth. It was a different time then - the 60s and I think she was very aware of what others would think about the fact that she didn’t become a mother in the traditional sense.

Getting back to the books, I think the four stories resonated even more with me because of the recurring parenthood and the adoption themes. However, the hot men, sexy scenes, great dialogue and romantic stories were a huge bonus! I highly recommend these books. I hope you read and enjoy them.

If you have any thoughts on the subject of adoption, I would love to hear from you.


Note: This was originally posted on 7/19/11.

Last July at the Romance Writer’s of America national conference in Orlando I did a very embarrassing thing. I haven’t told anyone the story. That is--until now.

On the last night, after the awards ceremony I headed to the hotel bar to get a drink before joining a group of friends. The atmosphere in the small, dimly lit (remember this, it’s important) lounge area was festive and it was teeming with people.

When I approached the bar I noticed a woman sitting on a stool who looked very familiar to me. OMG! It was one of my very favorite authors. In fact,  I had her latest book up in my hotel room.

What was she doing sitting there alone at the bar? Well, other than the obvious. I couldn’t believe my luck.

It didn’t matter that I had spent the week rubbing elbows with authors and getting autographs at the different booksignings…here was a chance to talk to, mingle and bond with an author I strive to emulate in my own writing. Maybe we’d become buddies who would stay in touch long after the conference.

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America highly respected and coveted RITA award. Wow!

So, I smiled, she smiled. Looked promising, right?

About this time I noticed there was a man chatting with her. He smiled. She smiled, I smiled. We all smiled convivially. You get the picture.

Although I must admit the guy seemed to be coming on to her and to have imbibed one too many. There was a moment when I wanted to tell him to back off, after all, I knew she was a happily married woman. 
Okay, just to be clear and put your ‘stalker’ vibes to rest.  This information is not a secret. Any of her ‘friends’ on Facebook know she is married.  

I decided to ignore Mr. Chummy.

I was thrilled to be close enough to hear their conversation. Perhaps I could casually comment on something, like people sometimes do when standing at a bar waiting for their order. Besides I’m a really friendly personso it would have been completely out of character for me -and really hard-to let this opportunity pass without a word.

So there I was biding my time -a second or two- waiting for the perfect place to jump in…when I heard them mention something about sports. Bingo. There’s my chance, I smugly thought.  I just happened to know she really, really likes Derek Jeter. (Again, not a big secret on Facebook.) So I slipped a comment about baseball into the conversation.

Now, I have to ask you. Have you ever been in a situation where you sense something just isn’t right but you can’t quite put your finger on the problem? As soon as I said whatever it was I said - a cute quip, I’m sure- about baseball and Derek Jeter, an uncomfortable feeling began to needle my subconscious.

It may have had something to do with the fact that the woman gave a noncommittal response to the mention of Derek Jeter. And she certainly didn’t act like baseball was of any interest to her.

This wasn’t what I expected at all. No way would she respond this way. I expected at the very least a smile or a sigh. Sort of like my response when I hear someone say, “Gerard Butler.” *Sigh!*

Well by this time my drink had arrived and I had no reason to hang around. Plus, the nagging feeling was… well…nagging me. I decided it was best to call it good and say good night. So I did, and reluctantly walked away lamenting the loss of the lifelong friendship.

Later as I sat in the large lobby area with friends I looked up and saw a woman with a RITA trophy in her hands. There she was. It was Kristan Higgins. WAIT. A. MINUTE. The fact she was not wearing the same outfit she had on just a little while earlier in the bar slowly dawned on me... and that bad feeling came rushing back to me.

OH CRAP.

Later as I was packing I saw a bookmark and business card, I realized who the woman in the bar was and the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

The woman in the bar was Joanne Kennedy, author of a contemporary romance cowboy series and who happens to be nominated for the RITA this year for her novel, One Fine Cowboy.

I think the reason she looked familiar to me was we met briefly on the first night in the lobby as people mingled. So of course she smiled at me in the bar, perhaps because I had a slightly familiar face to her, too.

How embarrassing was all my talk about baseball and Derek Jeter?  She must have thought I was a bit strange at best. I hope she doesn’t remember the encounter and my secret is safe. Shhh.

You know the saying “Everyone has a twin somewhere in the world?” Well, I totally believe it.

What do you think? Do you think there is someone out there in the world who could be mistaken for you? Have you ever had this happen to you; made an embarrassing assumption or been the mistaken identity?


Note: This was originally posted on 6/28/11.