Was spent at home. Sorry to dupe you, but when I got pneumonia I had to cancel all my travel plans. So this past week and weekend I would have been in Washington DC. Considering how much I was looking forward to conference in DC, I was surprised that after I canceled everything, I wasn’t all that letdown.

Oh, I had a few moments during the week–Tuesday, the day I would have flown there, the Wednesday autographing, and a tea party  I was supposed to attend, but otherwise, I really didn’t give the entire affair much thought. I was just … Read more »

Here is the problem:  I come up with an idea for a new series, propose it, Avon loves it, and I start writing. Of course, the last book in the previous series is well into production, somewhere off doing what books do once they leave the safety of the author’s nest. And then it comes out when I am already into something new, and you all discover some couple in that book, go gaga over them and hound me about writing their book. (Okay, I really don’t mind all that, but come on, I can only write so fast . … Read more »

If you have emailed me in the last, say, three months, you know that I am a little behind on the answering part. My email usually gets busy when a book comes out, but this year, with the two, the response was overwhelming and then, of course, I got sick, so nothing got answered, so now I have a HUGE backlog of email. So if you have written, please be patient with me–I am making an effort to get caught up now that my next book is done, the revisions (just a bit of tweaking per my editor) are in, … Read more »

The. End. Typed in that exact order at the bottom of a manuscript.… Read more »

Down to the wire putting the finishing touches on a book, but I knew that a number of you (and thank you for your emails) were worried that I’d dropped out of sight again. So no worries, I am good. The fatigue is getting less and less, and I am working every hour I can function (without getting overly tired–that is for my Mom and Dad, just in case they are reading–or my Aunt Sue or my Aunt Dar, either of whom would rat me out in a NY minute) to get this book tidied up and ready to make … Read more »

Or as the rest of the world says, pneumonia. But for now, P-nome-e-ah is how it is pronounced in our house.  Because that is the way one of the kids pronounces it and because it has caused pandemonium in our lives.

Yes, after another bout of sickness, my third in three weeks, the doctor did a chest x-ray and discovered I have a rather nasty case of pneumonia. It’s rather like having a guest who won’t leave. The one who abandons wet towels on the hardwood floors and eats you out of house and home. And then leaves all their … Read more »

I’ve had to cancel and reschedule so many things of late and one of them was the radio interview on Romance Radio with Avon. But I am happy to say that is has been rescheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, May 14 at 2:00 pm eastern. I’ll be chatting about Confessions and Memoirs, as well as talking about what I am working on next. If you can, call in and ask questions or just give it a listen. You never know what I might say!

But just in case you can’t call in, what questions would you like answered?… Read more »

I’ve got way too much going on right now. A deadline in two weeks. Memoirs of a Scandalous Red Dress coming out next week. Everyone still excited and writing about Confessions of a Little Black Gown. And, if all that isn’t enough, another round of events. Just call me the girl who can’t say no.

So in case you need to plug a few things into your social calendar, so you can get on this crazy merry go round as well, here is the Cliff Note version of what is coming up:

• Two Internet radio interviews
• Two booksignings

I have to say the number one thing that struck me about Wichita. The people are really, really nice. I mean, really nice. Polite, helpful, friendly, always ready to help and pitch in. Traveling with Niki Burnham, who hails from the Boston part of the country, and me coming from the West Coast, we met in the middle–and discovered where all the good manners have gone too. Now I am not saying there are no good manners on the coasts, but when you are just struck dumb by how kind people are, then you realize what is missing back … Read more »

So you all just cracked me up this week. Here I thought I’d posted a good blog on “what makes a great romance,” and then the discussion turns to focus on my poor decrepit RITA. So I feel I should offer both a defense and some thoughts for anyone who might gain one in the future.

RITAs are delicate creatures. Swanlike in their grace, they also have their quirks. Take the pen. Most winners will tell you, that through no fault of their own, the pen has snapped off. Mine lasted for about seven years, then one day snap, … Read more »