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Travel the World with Diane

This week I’ve asked my dear friend, Diane O’Neal to blog about her life and experiences. She’s a regular reader here and posts quite often, so you might “know” her, but since she lives, what I humbly think of, a most extraordinary life, I wanted all of you to get to know her a little better. We went to Italy last week, now join me as we tour the world with Diane:

Hi, I’m Diane O’Neal and Elizabeth asked me to be a guest blogger and to tell you a little about my life. I’ve never blogged before, but I read lots of them, so here we go.

For the past 15 years I’ve lived in Paraguay, England, the USA, Israel, Holland, Pakistan and in October, I’ll be moving to Canberra, Australia. I am a Foreign Service Secretary, in State Department speak an Office Management Specialist. It’s a great job, I get to travel, save money, and serve my country. I’ve been able to visit about 30 countries including Egypt, Croatia, India, Japan and most, though not all, of the countries in Europe. After I get to Australia I’ll have lived on five of our seven continents (South America, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia). I still have two continents left: Africa and Antarctica, but as we have not diplomatic outposts in the latter I guess I won’t serve there, but after Australia, I want to go to Africa.

It’s beenDiane at the Taj Mahal fantastic, but it also gets lonely and I have to make a strong effort to keep up my friendships with those back home like my extended family, Elizabeth and other Washington state friends, and the friends I’ve made at my postings overseas. It’s very difficult to miss important family events and to spend the holidays alone. Thankfully, email has made it so much easier to keep in touch with people, but I find I miss the envelope in the mail that signifies a letter. I wonder if that is why I tend to internet shop too much, hmm…will have to think on that a bit.

I’ve always read a lot and always bring my old favorites along from post to post — when I get lonely I crack open an old favorite and lose myself. I read mostly genre fiction, romance, mysteries and fantasy. My favorite authors are Elizabeth Boyle, Julia Quinn, Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series, Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series, Jane Austen, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Lindsay Davis‘ Falco series. Two of my favorite books of all time are Restoree by Anne McCaffrey and The Proud Breed by Celeste de Blasis, a close runner-up is Tapestry of Dreams by Roberta Gellis. I’ve read all three of those books too many times to count, particularly over the past 15 years.

I’m Diane and I’m a book addict.

If my shelf is running low I get antsy until I stock it up again — I’m at that point now. I love the military postal system, but sometimes it’s too sloooowww. I just finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni and it was really hard for me to read, but ultimately worthwhile. Next up is the Swan trilogy by Celeste de Blasis.

Life in each of my postings has been very different. In Paraguay I had to speak Spanish to be able to do the daily tasks of life, I rode an old-fashioned steam train and saw the largest waterfalls in the world at Iguazu Falls. In London I actually had visitors for the first time and I loved showing them around, including Elizabeth, I loved going to Bath and walking in Jane Austen’s footsteps. In Tel Aviv I enjoyed seeing the historical sites and going to Akko (I’m still waiting for that book, Elizabeth!) and having an apartment with a slip of a view of the Mediterranean. In Holland it was riding bikes everywhere and the ease of driving around Europe and an apartment with two large picture window views of the North Sea. In Pakistan it’s the nerve-wracking idea that something could happen at any time and does, and buying furniture, shawls and handicrafts and good prices. It’s all been an adventure that I have never regretted and when I finally hand in my diplomatic passport it will be with a lot of sadness, but then I will take out my regular passport and plan my next adventure!

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Gas Pump Buddies

If there has to be a plus to the high price of gas these days, I think I’ve discovered it. Have you noticed how much friendlier folks are at the gas pump these days? Not the poor clerk behind the counter who is taking abuse over prices he has no control over, but your fellow gougee on the other side of the pump. Instead of pumping gas and not making eye contact with anyone, or just staring at the ground until it clicks off, people are talking. They are even laughing. Well, it’s that pained laugh you make when you go to the dentist or someone says, “this is going to hurt just a little bit.” A little bit, my butt. But still, it’s laughter.

Like the conversation I had with a stranger over what we paid for gas when we first started driving (me-37 cents a gallon, I could fill my VW bug for 3 bucks and some change), and then we lamented how this was affecting the working poor. How is someone living on the edge paying for gas to get to work and groceries?! It worries me terribly because I know I’ve been cutting back, but what if you have nothing to cut back? We shook our heads and bonded over the next four minutes, instant best of friends. Sort of economic trench buddies.

Then there were the two guys comparing whose boat took more gas (what is it about guys that it is always a competition?!) and which was better for pulling it, where they were headed and their favorite marinas–before the price of gas nudged over 4 bucks, I doubt they would have done any thing other than want to fill up first so they could beat the other one to the launch at Alki Beach. But the price of gas got them talking and laughing.

As I filled my tank Saturday morning, people around me were sharing politics, hybrid envy, and mileage. Commute agonies and bus routes. All because they need something to do other than watch their hard earned money go ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching into the gas pump.

Boy, I wish I still had my VW bug. And that it only took a latte’s worth of money to fill it up . . .

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Italy Anyone?

My books often get published in other languages, and I have to admit that I love it when my books get published in Italian. The covers are fun, the readers from Italy have to be some of the nicest folks and if they write me in Italian, I actually have neighbors from Italy who are more than happy to translate for me. So it was great fun to get contacted by Elisa Rolle, who has an Italian blog for romance readers, Rosa is for Romance.

She interviews romance writers and translates it all into Italian and her interviews are fun and interesting.  Better still, even if you don’t speak or read Italian, she  has the English there for those us, ahem, language-challenged. (That sentence was a bit challenged.)  Drop by and see an interview with yours truly, and then scroll down a bit if you’ve had enough of me and check out the sidebar to find the other authors she’s featured on her blog.  It’s a veritable who’s who.

Oh, yeah, and you thought your Monday was going to be dull.  Spend your morning in Italy with me and by lunch you’ll be saying, Ciao, baby!

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To Book Expo and Back

I went down to Book Expo last week. Actually, I went to Disneyland with the kids and the DH and snuck out Sunday morning to do Book Expo. Book Expo is the publishing trade show where publishers, book folks, booksellers, librarians and all sorts of book related industries come together to sell, showcase and buy the next big hottest books. I was signing at the RWA booth with my former Avon buddy, Christie Ridgway, who has a new book out this week: How to Knit a Wild Bikini. You know me. It has “knit” in the title. It goes to the top of the TBR pile, after JQ’s The Lost Duke of Wyndham.

Christie is a real great person, having navigated the conference floor of Book Expo like four times, she was my tour guide through the maze of publishing booths. Now if you didn’t know better, you would assume , based on the banners and big posters of covers, that there are like 6, maybe 7 authors in the United States, and most of them are celebrities whose books will be on the remainder table at B&N before Christmas. But there was a lot to see, and people to meet, and free books and bookbags and such to snag. According to an unnamed source, we’ll call her JQ’s sister, the books up for grabs on Friday and Saturday were way better than the pickings on Sunday when I got there.

But when Christie and I got back to the RWA booth for our signing, we were thrilled to find a whole line of people waiting to meet us. We had our celebrity moment, signed bunches and bunches of books as fast as we could and met some really wonderful folks. Ran into Diane Pershing, the President Elect of RWA, and it is always fun to see her. Always with a bright smile and a nice word. A truly lovely lady.

And if that isn’t enough for you, I have to confess, I am still seeing pirates everywhere I go.

Pirates of the Caribbean was on TV the other day and of course, I watched it. I went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. I suppose that counts as an intentional pirate sighting, but when in Disneyland . . . (and if the line promises only a five minute wait.) And then there was this fellow that I happened into at Book Expo. I had Christie take his picture so I had proof this time.

Oh, and I saw the bald guy from Sex in the City. But he wasn’t looking very pirate-ish.

PS.  If you are interested in how the folks from Waxcreative found Book Expo, check out their blog!

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Seeing Pirates

When I came home the other day and told my husband I’d seen a pirate ship parked alongside the road, he suggested that perhaps I was enjoying writing Dash’s story a little too much. You know, spending all day writing about a pirate, then seeing them everywhere. He also said something about being in need of a life, but I ignored that part.

Now anywhere else in the world, I would have probably said the same thing. But I live in Seattle. Have my entire life, and if you are from Seattle, you know that as summer approaches the pirates come out. And I wasn’t seeing things. But I didn’t have my digital camera with me. The one day I don’t have it on me. I usually take it everywhere. I love documenting the kids and life, and you never know when the perfect blog pic is going to turn up parked alongside the street on the way to carpool. Believe me, there really was a pirate ship there. So after dinner that night, I went back up to school to get my pic, but alas the ship was gone. Out plundering, most likely.

You might be wondering why I am so adamantly insisting that there are pirates in Seattle. Well, because there are. Every kid of my generation had three loves growing up here: First and foremost: JP Patches. Then, Brakeman Bill. And finally, The Seafair Pirates. Yes, that’s right, I saw the legendary Moby Duck parked alongside the road, minus her infamous crew. It gave me a shiver and a thrill. As all good pirates should.

What have you seen lately?

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A 3 Day Weekend

The weatherman made a huge mistake and we had a beautiful weekend here in Seattle–despite his dire predictions of rain and cold. So between writing 15 pages (which is what The Plan had me writing over the weekend) I also replanted my deck pots with new annuals,

planted a new rock garden in the front yard,

ignored the rock garden still to be planted,

walked twice with my old critique partner, Darcy Carson, went for a bike ride and out to dinner with the DH for our anniversary (15 years!), swam at the local pool with the kids, helped the DH with his fence project,

sent the DH to the emergency room after a little mishap with a chisel (3 stitches and a tetanus shot later), and finally ended a lovely, busy, restful, delightful weekend with a dinner of Copper River salmon, lemon couscous, and vegies

on the deck watching the last of the weekend sailboats heading back to their respective marinas.

And you?

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Innovating in Other Ways

I will modestly tell you that I recently won a Career Achievement Award for Innovative Historical Romance from Romantic Times last month. It was one of those really surprising moments–the sort of “I won? No way!” stunning shock, and the next moment where you either a) feel you must be really old to have a career that deserves recognition or b) that you actually have a career that someone could point out. Then you get to the real important part: gratitude and appreciation for being recognized by some of the nicest and kindest reviewers out there. I mean you, Kathe Robin!

Now after I got the email, I also received a phone call to ask me if I was coming to the RT Convention in Pittsburgh. And for about a wild half an hour I considered dropping everything and going. Then I did little travel searching online and realized it would cost me about $1823 to go. Yikes. Okay, then there was the second bit of shock. Sticker shock.

Really, truly, a woman of my “apparent career worthy” age can’t deal with too much shock in one day. But there it was. One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Twenty Three Freakin’ Dollars. All to hear a luncheon room full of applause and get my statue. Not even I, in my apparent declining years or state of shock, could justify spending that much money to get a statue. I mean really, who could?

So I didn’t go. Because besides being Innovative, I am also practical and sensible. Darn it.

But then last night I was writing in the cafe at my local B&N and as I went to leave, I wandered by the magazine racks and there was the conference issue of Romantic Times, with the winner’s names all listed, including mine. So of course, for $4.99, I snapped it up. Besides, it had a picture of my statue inside, as you can see from the scan above. Now I tried to get the sales clerk to applaud as I opened the page up and showed it to her, but she looked more inclined to call security over than put her hands together for a local celebrity. If I’d had the real statue in hand she might have been impressed.

So being the “Innovative” sort of gal that I am, I decided to make my own. A scan, some scissors, a little self adhesive lamination later and voila, I have my very own Career Achievement statue. I paraded it around the house and was met with applause wherever I went. Now that was worth it. Thank goodness the hometown crowd always loves you.

But my poor humor aside, Thank You to the reviewers and staff of Romantic Times. It is truly an honor and I do appreciate very much your kind and generous recognition.

Oh, and one last photo. I call this the Big Girl Meets the Man of Her Dreams.

Rita, may I introduce you to Charles Achievement.

Why yes, he does have a very big star, how astute of you to notice.

No, no. Really, no need to thank me. Some applause will do nicely though.

And one other thing, Rita, don’t manhandle him too much, he’s a bit fragile. Rather like your pen that broke off years ago.

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Totally Fun for Monday

Part of this business of writing is promotion. Finding the right promo piece that will be different and yet far reaching. Something that isn’t going to take a pipeline of oil to finance, and in the bargain, will be easy to share with as many people as possible. Just call me brilliant because I think I may have put it together with the always talented help of Emily Cotler of Waxcreative and a few friends who wanted to test the waters of my grand experiment.

So I was surfing blogdom the other day (yes, when I should have been writing, shame on me) but there I was and I came upon this blog where she was highlighting these recipe cards her sister had designed for download. I thought they were great and so easy to have–just click and print and you have some really cute cards to use, plus they showcased the artist’s (Julianna Smith) work in a quick way that a potential client could have and hold. As I sat at my printer admiring these cards, something inside me clicked.

If you could do this with recipe cards, what about bookmarks? How would readers like to be able to have an instant bookmark? Then I thought it would be fun to make it so a reader could have several bookmarks at once, from a variety of authors–well, that’s the green part of me–I hate to waste paper. So why not have four bookmarks to a page all ready for a scissor toting reader? Great for sharing, tucking in that beach book, offering to a friend who you think should be reading Tempted by the Night or The Lost Duke of Wyndham.

As it happened, Emily was in town that week and we sketched out a template and ideas and then sent out invites to Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Laura Lee Guhrke to see if they wanted to try out this grand experiment and I am so pleased to say not only where they game, but it is ready for the test drive and I would like you all, my dedicated blog readers, to have the first shot at these and tell us how they work and what you like and don’t like about them. Just click on the image and you’ll have your very own pdf to print out.


Suggestions, applause or questions are very welcomed. In the meantime, download away.

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The Cat is Out of the Bag

So I really did let it slip in my Monday blog (down below) what it is I am writing. Yes, it is true, I am writing Pippin and Dash’s book. If you can’t recall who Pippin and Dash are, then you haven’t read This Rake of Mine or Love Letters from a Duke. I’m not holding it against you, but really this news is hardly going to be as thrilling to you as it would be if you’d read those books. So if you haven’t, stop here, go read those two books and then come back so you can join in with all the other “Pippin & Dash” fanatics in a collective “huzzah!” We’ll wait for you. Really we will.

Well, of course we won’t really, because I know you P&D folks. You want their story like NOW. Well, it will come out close to now. As close to now as you can get in publishing. Because, here is the real news, Tally’s book and Pippin’s book, (now if you don’t know who Tally is, you really are in trouble, so your only choices are to go read the two aforementioned books or there is always my woefully out of date knitting blog to keep you entertained) so now if you are still with me, Tally’s and Pippin’s stories will be coming out next year back to back.

Yes, you read that correctly. In March of next year you will have Tally’s book (which, have no fear is finished and in NYC), then in April, P&D finally get their story told. No waiting 12 months. No waiting for an age. First one book, then four short weeks later, the next. Phew. And me? I’ll be the one in hand braces from all this furious and frantic typing.

But what if you can’t wait until then for something cool? Then remember, Tempted by the Night comes out August 26th, and if you can’t wait even until then, I have a really cool surprise, a freebie like you’ve never seen before, designed just for you coming out on Monday. At least I am told I will have it by Monday. And since Julia Quinn, Eloisa James and Laura Lee Guhrke are also part of the surprise, doesn’t that make you perk up and take notice. Intrigued? Come back Monday.

Anyhoo, what are you doing reading my blog when you could be reading the sneak peak for Tempted by the Night? Did I forget to mention that? I’ve posted a sneak peak. Right here.

So there it is. Tell all your friends, post it on all the boards. Sneak peak now. Very cool freebie on Monday.

Between now and then? Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ll be writing.

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The Notebook

I was asked recently how I start writing a book. Well, I’ll let you in on a super secret: it all starts with the right notebook. Really.

And it can’t be just any notebook. I like colored ones. I have two that I work between–one that is sort of lime green and the other is bright blue. I like those colors because when my office turns into a bomb scene, either because I am in full writing/research/what the heck did I call that butler mode, my office can get a tad bit messy. So a neon bright notebook stands out and at the very least I can find my working pages.

Here is the one I’ve got started for the book I am calling Pippin & the Pirate. That’s just the working title, so don’t start looking for it.

The first step in getting a notebook together is getting just the right cover sheet. Normally this means a trip over to Candice Hern’s Print Collections where I find just the most perfect fashion plate and, ahem, borrow it for the cover. Sorry for the lopsided photo. I’ve tried for like the last 45 minutes to fix it and I’ve lost patience. But you get the point. Actually this isn’t the right print and I will probably be swapping it out for this one of Lyme Regis when it was hit with a storm last March. Fits the mood of the book better.

Well, you really shouldn’t judge a notebook by its cover, so what’s inside this notebook that makes it work, at least for me? Well, I have it divided into chapters, and then into various reference sections in the back. I like having all the chapters neatly divided because I will go back to make changes while I am writing and with the notebook at my elbow, I just flip it open to the right spot in the book, make a hasty note and go back to the pages on the screen. I never go back and rewrite sections of the book until I am completely done with the manuscript.

Since these characters, Pippin and Dash, have appeared in so many other books, I have copied out their previous scenes so I have them readily at hand. I also keep all the notes I take in my pre-writing stages. I hand write out notes and ideas about chapters before I compose it on the computer and I file these notes away once the chapter is complete because sometimes when I am rewriting, I go back to those initial thoughts as a starting point to see where it was I intended to go with a scene, what happened when I was writing it and if the final sequence is missing something. This is what a note page might look like:

In the research section, I currently have pages I’ve copied from the internet on Turkish Delight. Well, who said hunting recipes on the internet isn’t a good use of your time! I’ll be adding pictures and diagrams of ships, history timelines and fashion plates from the years that the story covers. My notebook is like my security blanket, but also the end of my procrastination and hemming and hawing about getting to work. With a notebook at the ready, there is no excuse but to write.

So you’ll excuse me while I get to work . . .

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