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Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Lite Brite mania
Who remembers Lite Brite? I was cleaning out the "game closet" today & found one of those little colored pegs from my old Lite Brite. Oh. My. Gosh. I used to LOVE making pictures on that thing. When I was little, I could sit for hours playing with it. I had separate containers for the different peg colors. I would "Lite Brite" until my thumb turned numb. You know how gamers (especially from the Nintendo era) used to get Nintendo Thumb or Atari-induced Carpel Tunnel? Well, I used to get Lite Brite Thumb. My idea of an awesome Christmas or birthday present was a new pack of those black picture sheets. I swear, I used to want to be a professional Lite Briter when I grew up. Do you think I still can?
I wonder if I can find my actual Lite Bride. I wonder if it will still work. I wonder if all the little colored pegs will be with it. If so, I think I may just sit down & see if I can't Lite Brite myself a picture of a clown or balloon. And if you don't hear from me for a while, don't worry...I'll be in The Lite Brite Zone.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
guess who's going to dinner?
I am, I am! Well, okay, so I was already going, but I just found out dinner is about to get way cooler than I ever could have expected. My editor at Silhouette e'ed today to ask if I'd be willing to switch the evening I'd have dinner with her at the RWA National conference, coming up in Reno, NV, next month. I would have, anyway, but she sweetened the pot by telling me we'd also be eating with Maureen Child (a goddess, as far as I'm concerned), Kelsey Roberts (whom I had dinner with last year--she's a great lady, too), Amy Fetzer (whom I've e'ed with before, but never met in person, so I'm looking forward to that), Cherry Adair (I've never met her, but I love her books--oh my gosh!), & Leanne Banks (another sweetheart). This is going to be the best dinner ever!
Monday, June 27, 2005
Welcome to my blog!
Hello, & welcome to my blog! Now, you might be asking yourself, "Why is Heidi welcoming me to her blog when it's obvious she's been posting for a while?" That would be because even tho I've been blogging on & off since December 2004, my blog only went live today. (Hey, this wouldn't be the first time I've had to admit being behind the curve. :-p)
I hope you'll browse around & read some of my old posts, then come back to read the newer ones. I will try to keep up, tho I know there will be days when I either forget, get too busy to log on, or have nothing to say. And when I get too busy, chances are, the next time I post, it will be to share what tied me up in the first place. :-)
There is also a link after each post for comments, so feel free to respond to whatever I might be blah-ging about that day. But please remember the old adage that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. :-) Most of you will be fine, I'm sure...you've probably been doing this blog thing way longer than I have. But no flames or X-rated stuff. And, please--no ads for penile implants & the like. I don't even have a penis, so I'm really not in the market for that sort of thing. :-P
So once again, welcome to the big, scary--or more likely, boring--world of my blog.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
big scare
I had such plans for yesterday; I was going to get to work on a really big scene in my WIP & hopefully even finish ch2. This is where Murphy's Law steps in & says, "HA! We'll just see about that." I was getting ready to work when I noticed one of my cats (the oldest) wake up & head straight for the litter pan. This was slightly odd in itself, but then, because I was nearby, I noticed that nothing was happening while he was in there. I knew that wasn't good...a cat not being able to pee is never a good sign. So I was worried, but not yet panicked. I kept an eye on him as he walked away, then went back & did it again. Okay, now I know I need to call the vet. And while I was on the phone with them, he did it four or five more times.
The vet wasn't going to be in the office until 5pm, but they wanted me to bring him in right then so the dr. could look at him. I didn't need to be told that if it was that crystallized urine syndrome cats (especially males) can come down with, it was bad, bad, bad. They can die from that, if not treated right away, & even with treatment, they tend to die eventually, anyway. Whaaaa! So I spent the whole day worrying & watching Angel like a hawk, & was at the vet's office a good fifteen minutes early. But just as the dr. was about to start seeing patients, a woman came in with a puppy that had been hit by a car. Oh, the poor thing. It was adorable, but not moving, & the woman was a mess--which I don't blame her for at all. And the next forty minutes were spent with the waiting room filling up while the dr. worked on that dog. (I hope he's all right; when I finally got Angel into the exam room, I asked the dr. if the dog was going to make it & he said, "We still don't know.")
Anyway, when we finally did get in to see the dr., my fears were somewhat relieved. He said that while there probably was some crystallization, it was more likely a bladder infection that could be treated with antibiotics, & the bladder spasms were what caused him to think he had to pee when he really didn't. So I was able to bring him home & he's now on two different medications...one for the infection & one to stop the spasms. And so far, he seems to be doing well. He's peeing again (yay!) & resting much more comfortably. Ironically, this is the same cat that has a bit of a spraying problem & for the last year we've had him on medication to stop him from peeing. Honestly, with one medication to make him pee & one to keep him from peeing, he's going to end up with a split personality. :-P
The dr. also suspects this problem was caused by the new food I'd put the cats on. I hate to say bad things about a brand that's very popular & a lot of people probably use, but it was Meow Mix. For the last couple years, I've had them on Friskies Special Diet (for urinary tract health) to avoid this very thing. (They love it, btw.) But during our last trip for shots, the dr. said I might want to switch them to something much lower in fat for the summer because they were putting on weight & the fat cells can damage their livers. So I ran around checking the fat content of every brand I could find, & Meow Mix was the lowest. They've only been on it about two weeks, but look what happened. And the dr. said he's seen a ton of cats with bladder & urinary tract infections who were eating Meow Mix. So, sorry, but that stuff is going in the garbage...or at least the composte heap. I don't even want to donate it to the SPCA for fear it will harm other animals. (Like those poor, homeless critters need more problems!) Now my cats are on special food that I bought right at the vet's office. More expensive than "over the counter" cat food, yes, but if it keeps them from getting infections like this again, it will be well worth it. And the dr. did say that I only need to have them on it for a couple weeks, until we see how everyone is doing. Then I can maybe switch them to something else. But I have a feeling even then, it will be the same brand, just maybe a different version--like "weight maintenance". :-)
I also won't be leaving the house for a while, as the vet told me I need to keep a very close eye on Angel for the next three or four days. So maybe I'll get chapter 2 finished, after all.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Nora for a day
What a day! Had CARA this afternoon & afterwards ran around to some stores signing & stickering copies of BLAME IT ON THE BLACKOUT. All went well until we reached Waldenbooks in the mall. I was mobbed! LOL The romance expert at this particular store had already told me she was ordering 30 copies of the book because they'd had so many requests for it. When I got there, she was busy at the register, so I simply went back & started signing what was on the shelves, thinking she'd notice me when she was finished. She did, then proceeded to bring about six other people over for me to meeet. Then she brought stacks upon stacks of the June book out from the back room for me to sign. I don't think I've ever seen so many copies of my own books all in one place! Then she brought me a list of people who had ordered BLACKOUT ahead of time & wanted their copies personalized. It was completely overwhelming. And after I'd met the first wave of people, even as I was signing & stickering books, more kept coming over to chat. When I was finished, the friend who was with me said, "Wow! That must be how Nora Roberts feels!" LOL I'm guessing Nora gets mobbed much more often & by way more people, but I have to admit, it was cool. I'm still shaking my head. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before...& probably never will again.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
the rain maker
I've got a confession to make...I can control the weather. Not all aspects of the weather, but definitely rain. It seems that any time I feed the birds, next thing you know, it's raining. It's scary, really. I've even begun saying, "Well, now it's going to rain" every time I come in from filling the feeders. And sure enough, it does nearly 100% of the time. In fact, I think I may have single-handedly put an end to last summer's drought simply by hanging the feeders at all. After a week of stifling heat, I fed the birds about three days ago & it's been raining on & off ever since. Yes, thank you very much, I am the Rain Maker. So how about you? Do you possess any special powers? Been bitten by a spider recently & now you can shoot webs from the palms of your hands? Or maybe you can cause traffic jams simply by being in a hurry to get somewhere.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
good news Tuesday!
What do you get when you mix the Snoopy Dance, Happy Dance, & Hamster Dance? Me, jumping all over the place! Got a call from my agent today--Silhouette is buying three more Desires from me. Yippee! And with the first one, I'll be going back to my western roots...yes, that's right, I'm doing a cowboy hero! Fun, fun. I've been away from those boots & Stetsons way too long, it's time to get back in the saddle. Pun intended.
Second reason to Snoopy Dance: I found out this morning that BLAME IT ON THE BLACKOUT debuted at #2 on the Waldenbooks Series Romance Bestseller List this week. Double yippee!
Monday, June 13, 2005
The Eagles
Band of the Day: The Eagles I walked on the treadmill this morning, then just hopped out of the shower. And I must have music playing while I bathe, so I listened to The Eagles. Did you see their live concert special on NBC not too long ago? Ever since, I've been listening to them every chance I get. They're fabulous. With each song, I think, "This is my favorite!"...until the next one plays, then I think maybe that one is my favorite. It's too hard to choose. I've got "Take it Easy" strumming thru my head right now, but I also love "Desperado," "Take it to the Limit," "Heartache Tonight," "New Kid in Town"...oh, heck, all of them.
Ironically, one of their best-known songs--"Hotel California"--isn't one of my favorites. I like it well enough, I just don't love it as much as some of their other tunes.
All right, enough rattling on about The Eagles. We love them, they're amazing, 'nuff said. Now I'd better get to work while the day is still young.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
it's hot!
Lord almighty, how did it get so hot so fast? I remember February & March, with the bitter cold. I even remember a bit of April & May with all the rain. But then to jump into June with temperatures that feel like the middle of July... What's with that?!? I keep thinking of that Shel Silverstein poem...to paraphrase: It's hot, it's hot--think I'll take off my clothes. It's hot, it's hot--think I'll take off my skin. It's still hot! Yesterday was my mom's birthday, but we did nothing. Bad, bad daughter! In my defense, my mother is very hard to buy for. She doesn't need anything, or if she does, she simply runs out & buys it herself. She doesn't like knick-knacks or cutesy things...nothing that requires dusting. I took her out to eat at the Chinese restaurant she loves last night, which she considered her birthday dinner, & I suspect that if she thinks of anything fun to do, we'll say it's for her birthday, even if it's a week or two later. We're like that...not much for big celebrations, but darned if we can't stretch an occasion & make it last. In fact, it's well known that every year we celebrate The Twelve Days of My Birthday--six days before & six days after. (Hey, if it's good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me.)
Finished reading Jo Leigh's ARM CANDY today, then started Laurell K. Hamilton's A CARESS OF TWILIGHT. I read A KISS OF SHADOWS a while back & am guessing this one will suck me in just as fast...maybe I shouldn't have picked it up while I'm on deadline. But then, I'm always on deadline, so if I went by that, I'd never get anything read.
Friday, June 10, 2005
big honking spider
I think I have to abandon my office & possibly move to a new house entirely. Came downstairs this morning & started opening the blinds, only to have a spider the size of my head crawl out. Ugh! I kid you not, it was huge. Big & hairy & had a white spot on its back. I think it could have eaten me, if given half the chance. (Hey, it could happen! Ever seen ARACHNAPHOBIA? KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS?) I didn't kill it, tho. Oh, no, I would never do that. All creatures are precious & have a right to live, even if they're creepy & crawly & make me want to scream. I just wish spiders would live somewhere else, far away from me. So I caught it into a cup & took it outside--biting back a shriek all the while--but now I itch everywhere & may need to scrub off the first six layers of my skin. However, spiders are supposedly a symbol of creativity, so after finding one that size, I'd better have a big, honking good writing day ahead of me. And while I'm scratching myself raw, can we talk for a moment about the movie THE RING? I realize I'm years behind the curve...I don't get to the movies much & don't even rent them very often. I usually see films when either a friend lends them to me or they come on TV, which is how I finally got to see this one. Have you see THE RING? Am I the only one who was freaked out? I'm glad I didn't see this one in a dark theater or I honestly think I would have wet my pants. It was spooky, & I'm guessing they cut out the really scary or gross stuff for television. So now I have to see the sequel, to find out if a few of my lingering questions get answered. But between the spider & that darn movie, I'm going to have some seriously frightening nightmares tonight.
Okay, time for breakfast. And exfoliating down to the bone.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
write, write, write
Finished the first chapter of my new Desire proposal last night & am now letting it sit for a few days. I'll go back to it maybe tomorrow or Friday for a read-through to make sure it holds together the way I want. Then today, I finally got back to MISTER & MISTRESS, my first continuity for Silhouette. (Please, God, let there be others. :-D) And I have to say, I just love it. It's flowing, I'm rocking, these characters are fabulous. I've been looking forward to working on this story for quite a while, so I feel like Misty & Cullen are more ingrained in me than they might have been earlier. That said, tho, I really need to hustle with this book. I'm behind, as usual, & have about fifteen things on my calendar over the next few months that are bound to intrude on my writing. So I've gotta go while the goin' is good!
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
cats & sharks & snakes--oh, my
Took the cats to the vet today for their annual shots. It was hot, & I came out of there looking like one of the cast members from the musical CATS. But our vet is such a nice guy, & everything went well, so with luck we won't have to cart anyone over there again for at least another year. Then I got sucked into watching DEEP BLUE SEA. I don't care what anyone says, I love that movie! I'm a sucker for "killer whatever" films...killer sharks, killer bees, killer spiders, killer snakes. Ever since I was little, I've loved to be scared witless by the things. Which probably explains why I jump a foot if a fly so much as buzzes past my ear. And with DEEP BLUE SEA, there's the added bonus of getting to watch Thomas Jane swim around in that tight little wet suit. Boy, howdy, he can save me from a wannabe-Jaws any time.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
BLACKOUT sighting
As of today, my mother is officially retired. The party was last night, for her & four other retirees. She told everyone she had to bribe me to attend, which was only about one-fifth true. I didn't want to go because those things are usually about as much fun as having your face eaten off by fire ants (thanks, CSI!), but I always knew I would be going...I just had to whine & complain about it for a while first. Still, when Mom offered to buy me a much-desired Winnie-the-Pooh watch if I would go & pretend to enjoy myself, I said okay. I mean, I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid, right? Got the watch...it's adorable, tho I have yet to wear it. It's not a wearin' watch, it's a savin' watch. :-D
In other news, I think BLAME IT ON THE BLACKOUT is out...or at least heading toward shelves everywhere. Got a phone call today from a reader who works at our local Bi-Lo saying a box of my books had come in. This was actually big news. See, when I was writing historicals, the company that supplies Bi-Lo knew I was local & sent a few copies to the store any time I had a new one out. But now that I'm writing category, they said they couldn't send any of my books unless they also sent all the other Desires (& the same number of each, no special treatment because I'm local) because they come in bundles. I'd have been okay with that, but apparently this particular Bi-Lo carried the Harlequin lines, not the Silhouette ones. Well, Cindy--that's her name--apparently made it her business to corner the poor woman who stocks the book rack each & every time she came in. She'd ask why they didn't have my books, when they were going to get my books, & then started bugging her to bring some. Thank God for diligent fans, that's all I can say. A box of 24 showed up today, so I went in to sign & sticker them all...& paid for Cindy's copy as a thank you. (I'd have given it to her, but I didn't think Bi-Lo would appreciate me playing fast & loose with their wares.) So now I'll be in scanning mode, checking every store to see if BLACKOUT has shown up yet across the board...& signing & stickering them if they have.
I'm working on putting together the June issue of our RWA Chapter's newsletter, CARA Mia, & reading four more books all at the same time...WHOLE LOTTA TROUBLE by Stephanie Bond, IN HIS SIGHTS by Justine Davis (an Intimate Moments), ARM CANDY by Jo Leigh (a Blaze), & MISS PRUITT'S PRIVATE LIFE by Barbara McCauley (a Desire by a sweet lady & favorite author of mine, not to mention a 2005 RITA Finalist!!!!! Whoo-hoo! I'll be in Reno rooting for her, that's for sure!)
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
surprise endings
Just finished a really good book--HUNTING FEAR by Kay Hooper. Kay hooked me with her "Shadows" books about the psychic FBI agents, & even tho I'm behind with the series, I do love it when I get the chance to pick up one of them. I think one of the things I like most about her books is that I never seem to guess the endings. I've been reading, watching television, & going to the movies for a long time...it's hard to pull one over on me anymore. Almost always, I figure out whodunnit long before the last page, or before the ending credits roll. My brother once made me sit & watch THE USUAL SUSPECTS with him. (I say "made me" because he literally would not let me see it on my own; he had to sit right there with me the entire time. He said because I always seem to know whodunit in movies & on TV & he just knew I wouldn't be able to figure out the ending of this movie. For the record, I did, & to this day he just shakes his head & tries to think up new ways to stump me.) But Kay kept me guessing. And you know who else? The writers/directors/producers of the NCIS season finale. Oh. My. Gosh. (SPOILER ALERT!!! If you haven't seen the season ender yet or simply don't want to know what happened in case you someday start watching the series, STOP READING NOW!!!) I knew someone was going to die--hey, I read TV Guide & Entertainment Weekly--I just didn't know who. And the whole episode kept me guessing. Was it going to be Gibbs? Lord, no! He makes the whole show & I'm just starting to work up a second crush on Mark Harmon. Was it going to be Abby? Please, no! She's so cute & quirky...& I love that spider web tattoo on her neck (which I've heard is one of the only face tattoos she sports for the show; the rest are real). McGee? Well, gee, shucks. He seemed like a likely candidate, since he was the last member to join the cast & he is just a probie...but I hoped not. I like him, too. Then there was Kate & Tony...hmm. I just couldn't wrap my mind around either of them biting the dust. I like them both; they're both big parts of the show. And then, the end. I thought for sure McGee was going to buy it once the bullets started flying & he was hiding behind the car. Then when Kate threw herself in front of Gibbs, I thought that was it. But she got up...she'd been wearing a bullet-proof vest & was fine. And then--BOOM! Never, never did I see it coming. Kate takes a bullet from a sharpshooter right between the eyes. Oh, man, there's no coming back from that. You know how sometimes they kill off a character, but in such a way that you think the person may show up again down the road? They drown, but the body could have washed downstream...or a car crashes, but the person could have gotten out before the giant explosion. But a bullet between the eyes? Yeah, there's, um...no coming back from that. So here I sit, a week or so later, still having trouble believing they killed off Kate. And really curious about who will replace her, if anyone, & how they're going to deal with her death next season. Oh, & another whodunit that caught me off-guard recently: the ending of Karen Rose's HAVE YOU SEEN HER? I thought I had it all figured out, but the actual bad guy came as a complete surprise.
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