Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Very Rewarding Experiences

Okay, so Nadine Dajani tagged me (on a Wednesday, I must point out) to participate in a Top Ten Tuesday blog... I hoped that meant I could think about it until next Tuesday... But then thought, hey, why not post it early on a Thursday instead. (I'm nothing if not a rule-breaker.)

So, Top Ten Very Rewarding Experiences...

1. Finishing my first book. Actually, finishing the first chapter of my first book was pretty damned rewarding. So was finishing my latest book. So is getting even one good page done some days.

2. Being present at the birth of my niece. I will be forever grateful to my sister for allowing me to be part of that day.

3. Watching my nephew, who has autism, learn to play with other kids. The few times he's genuinely hugged me have been pretty special, too. (He normally reserves that for his parents or his sister.)

4. Jumping out of an airplane. It was a tandem jump. But that just made it more cool because I got tossed out at 13,000 feet and got to do a free fall. (And it was easier to land with a pro on my back.)

5. Being a "Foster Parent" to a young boy in Burkina Faso. I'm not as good about writing letters and all that stuff as I should be... But I feel good knowing my small contribution is making life in his village just a little bit easier.

6. Serving on Boards of not-for-profit organizations. (Although this would also make my top 10 frustrating things list.)

7. Climbing to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. I did this just a year after I had a ruptured Achilles tendon repaired and the last however-many-feet up (the part using chains) was the most challenging thing I'd ever done at that point of my life.

8. While I'm on physical achievements... Doing the Solvang Century (100 miles with a lot of steep hills) bike ride. Sure, it took nearly 9 hours. But I finished.

9. Helping writers less experienced than me.

10. Meeting any personal goal I set for myself.

Return of quality TV

I was so excited last week to find that Six Degrees wasn't cancelled after all. I hadn't really been following this show in terms of it's life or death status... I just assumed since it was a serious and quiet kind of drama with really good actors, that I enjoyed, but hadn't been on for months, that it was toast!

Nice to see it's still bread.

I am a sucker for the interconnected storyline format and this one does it well. Introducing lots of interesting characters and then slowly showing connections developing between them, often connections the characters have no idea are there.

In it's return last week, a few of the connections were revealed to the characters... and one was resolved in a slightly cop-out way... but it was satisfying, and the more I think of it, I don't know what else they could have done. (For those of you watching, I'm talking about the public defender/limo driver connection.) The photographer/widow storyline, however, was revealed to the characters in an interesting way and in resolving that storyline, they opened up an interesting love triangle... So, that has potential.

I mentioned great actors earlier and two of my favorite actors to watch are in this series, Campbell Scott and Hope Davies. Campbell Scott is the progeny of George C. Scott and the great late Canadian actress Colleen Dewhurst (who everyone in my country remembers seeing as Marilla in the Anne of Green Gables TV movie in the 70's. Or was that the 80's? I just looked it up. It was 1985. My memory is going.)

Hope Davies... I just think she's cool. In the early 90's I was in New York on business and went to the half price ticket booth in Times Square at lunch to see what I could get for that night. One of the available plays was Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). It was playing off-off (probably a few more offs) Broadway with some unknown actors. I'd heard of the play. I knew the playwright was a Canadian. Anyway. I went to see it and was blown away. I thought it was the most clever, funniest play I'd ever seen.

About 4-5 years ago, the play was being done here in Toronto with the playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald (also a novelist and actor) in the lead. I jumped at the chance to see the play again... And was really let down. It just didn't click for me in the same way. Felt flat.

So what's the point of this rambling departure? And just how many degrees of separation is it from Hope Davies?

Well, after my disappointment I looked through my old theatre programs (I save stuff like that) and the reason it had been so amazing in NY became evident. The lead was Hope Davies and one of the male leads was Liev Schrieber. Talk about seeing two interesting actors before they were famous.

Anyway, always been a fan of hers. She always makes cool choices. If you've never seen The Secret Lives of Dentists, you can rent it and see her and Campbell Scott together in a film. Very strange and interesting movie... Dennis Leary's in it too...

So, I've gone totally off topic... But was really glad to see Six Degrees on TV again. (And Molly... I think I saw an ad that Friday Night Lights is back, too.

Is anyone else watching Six Degrees? Am I the show's only fan?

Back on the contest subject...

In very surprising news... THE MISEDUCATION OF APRIL HILLSON has finalled in RWA's Golden Heart competition.

Yes, this is the same ms whose publishing misadventures I described on Friday. Maybe this will breathe new life? (Not holding my breath, but one never knows!) That sounded pessimistic. I don't mean it that way. Finalling in the GH is HUGE. I'm super happy. Just trying to be realistic.

This development also reminded me of the post I did last week over at DWT, about subjectivity and contests. This particular project is one that typically gets strong reactions -- either positive or negative -- and therefore typically doesn't do well in contests. It doesn't follow "the rules". It has two time lines -- both told in first person. There is no hero evident in the first chapter... Well, the first 7 or 8 chapters if memory serves... and the heroine sleeps with other men before she finally gets around to even kissing the hero in like the second to last chapter... Also, the heroine comes off pretty weak and annoying at the start... She has a sharp character arc to climb... So, on most contest scoresheets, I'd fail. Miserably.

In fact, virtually the exact same entry--don't even know if I moved any commas--was entered in this same contest last year and barely made the top half. I did get three really high scores, but two judges HATED IT -- basically giving it a failing score.

Anyway... Grateful to have rolled some lucky dice on judges this year! Thank you to the five lovely RWA members who judged my entry in the preliminary rounds. Love you! Seroiusly. I really think I love you. We need to meet.

To agent, or not to agent

A funny thing happened to me yesterday and while I normally try to save my writer-heavy blogs for the Drunk Writer Talk blog... I just needed to share.

First, the back story. (I know, I know. But this isn't a novel.)

In January, 2005, with a very rough first draft completed, I pitched my ms THE MISEDUCATION OF APRIL HILLSON to an editor at Publisher X at a conference. She actually read the first 10 pages at the conference (different kind of pitch meeting) and asked to see more, which I immediately sent to her. Let's say in the first week of February, 2005. I also pitched to a few agents at that same conference, one of whom asked to see the full about a week after I'd sent her the partial in February 2005. (Ack! Remember the very rough first draft line?)

I went mad, worked 12 hour days and got a completed ms to that agent in April, 2005. Sometime during 2005, I found out that the editor at Publisher X I'd pitched to, and who had my partial, had changed to another publisher, so I wrote that editor submission off and concentrated on getting an agent. In July 2005, I pitched to Deidre Knight at the RWA National conference in Reno. She asked for a partial. In November, she asked for the full. And in early Feb, 2006, another agent at TKA, Pamela Harty, offered me representation. (Yippee!)

I sent a rejection letter to the agent who'd had my full by then for almost 10 months. (We had corresponded via e-mail a couple of times and she'd had a baby some time during those 10 months, slowing her down.) But that's not really the point of this post.

My new agent sent my ms to a number of editors in March 2006 and within a week we heard from one editor (at publisher X, coincidentally) that she loved it and was passing it around to other editors at the house to read. About a week later, we heard that 4 other editors at publisher X had all read the ms all the way through, also enjoyed it, but wondered about the structure and could I make some changes. I made the changes and to make this getting-to-be-a-long-story shorter, publisher X ultimately passed on the project in September 2006. (An aside. the editor then moved on to another house, asked for it again, but couldn't get it past all the hurdles at that house either. It's a tough market right now. Sigh.)

So, back to what happened yesterday? I got a package (via fed-ex no less) from publisher X rejecting the partial I'd sent more than 2 years ago. Not only did it take 2 years for them to respond, it was on a book that they'd seriously considered buying a year ago.

Bottom line? With an agent, my full ms was read in less than a week. Without an agent, a partial on the same ms took 2 years to be read. (and frankly, I don't think it was read at all.)

Movies opening in March

A couple of great films I saw at the film festival last September opened this weekend (in Canada, anyway, I think they opened across North America). I meant to post a blog about them last week, but somehow the week got away from me. These were actually two of the very first films I saw at the festival last year, so my brain wasn't even fried yet when I saw them. (so I trust my judgment more...)

VERY different films but both great.

First, FIDO. Hilarious.

Think of this movie as Far from Heaven meets Night of the Living Dead meets Lassie. Yes, Lassie. The references to Lassie were one of the funniest things about this movie for me.

Not only is it really funny, it's kind of subversive, too. Although it's set in the 1950's, or some kind of parallel universe version of the 1950's, I think it has a lot to say about our current culture of fear/paranoia. Also lots to be gleaned about cruelty and slavery and prejudice and intimacy and love. (On the topic of slavery... Amazing Grace opens soon. Do not miss this film.)

The night I saw FIDO I thought FINALLY. Finally a Canadian film that might actually have some commercial success (other than Porky's, which is frankly more than a bit embarassing, even if it has one of Kim Catrall's first on screen appearances.) FIDO was also screened at Sundance last month, so I hope it catches on in the States.

Here's a photo from the premiere (after Billy Connolly stole the mic from the director and pretty much started doing his stand up routine... I guess he doesn't get to talk in the film, so thought he was entitled... I'm kicking myself for not taking notes that night... Because one of the questions Billy was asked was how did he end up in this film... and the answer was great, because another actor was originally cast and dropped out. But I can't for the life of me remember who... But it was a big name... Robin Williams or Steve Martin or someone like that. Whoever it was, Billy was perfect. Amazing how much emotion he could get across without speaking, covered in blue/black makeup and with blood and flesh in his teeth on occasion. :-)

Anyway. Really enjoyed this film. May go see it again now it's in theatres. Hope it does well, but I expect it won't have the distribution to show on enough screens in the US to make a big impact. Fingers crossed.

The other movie I saw, I think the same night at the festival, that opened this weekend is The Wind That Shakes the Barley. WOW. This is a British film, set in Ireland, and won the Palmes D'Or in Cannes this year. I read an article in the paper this weekend that said this film actually didn't do very well when it screened in it's native Britain, and didn't get on that many screens. A pity. I suppose no country likes to look at films that cast a negative light on its past actions. And the IRA is perhaps still too touchy and current a subject to have a film focus a sympathetic eye on early members of a terrorist organization that was still causing terror so recently in the UK.

But this film is worth seeing for so many reasons. First a warning. The violence is very hard to watch. It's the hardest kind to watch in my opinion, because it's so real and so brutal and so relatable... Can violence be relatable? Maybe personal or intimate? Can't find the word I want... (I'll think of it a half hour after posting this.) That said, I don't object to this kind of violence in films. I just hate films that are full of violence for violence's sake.

I found the history in this film very interesting. Sure, I know a little about the Irish fight for independence, and of course the IRA and some of the terrible things they did, but I didn't really know about the Irish civil war that happened in the 1920's after an initial truce was signed with the British that many Republicans thought compromised too much.

But aside from all the history and politics... it's really a story of two brothers and how circumstances and evolving ideals tear them apart. Tragic story.

The heavy Irish accents are a bit difficult at times... But the performances are astounding not only from great actors like Cillian Murphy, but also from some of the minor characters some of whom had never acted before. I've read that the director, Ken Loach, never lets the actors see the script until just before shooting and he films as much in sequence as possible, so the actors can't let knowledge of what's going to happen to their characters later in the film, affect their performance in the current scene. Interesting. Whatever he does, he gets amazingly real performances from actors and knows how to tell a compelling story.

Here's a photo of Cillian Murphy at the Toronto (North American) premiere last fall. I saw him on that same stage a year earlier for Breakfast at Pluto, which I also enjoyed, but couldn't have been a different character. Very interesting actor, Mr. Murphy is...

Even his more commercial work like Batman Returns and Red Eye were interesting. Certainly someone to watch. And those eyes... (Red eye issues in this photo don't do them justice.)

Anyone else seen either of these? Seen anything else worth seeing lately?

The most annoying person on the planet.

Does anyone else watch The Amazing Race? I just watched last Sunday's episode on my PVR and it has hit me once again that Mirna is the most annoying woman on the planet.

What does she do that annoys me? Just about everything. I hate how she thinks she'll be better understood in foreign countries if she a) yells or b) speaks with a strange accent or c) both. (Her most common strategy.) I hate how she's always the wimpy one, the one not pulling her weight or whining and yet she constantly blames and complains about her cousin who appears to me to be twice as smart and twice as capable of doing most of the tasks. I hate how both of them have about the shadiest ethics of any team I've ever seen, and yet they seem to think they're such fair players and everyone else does them wrong. Annoying. On my list of people I'd least like to spend even a moment of time with? She'd be pretty high on the list.

Work and relaxation are incompatible

Once again, my mind boggles at the things that boggle my mind.

Why did I think I'd get any work done on my new book at a spa ? Am I insane? Did I not realize that post-massage euphoric hazes are best spent lazing on a sofa in front of a fire, not pouring over character development issues, hero's journey charts and psychology books? Do I still not realize (after trying so hard to convince family and non-writer friends that writing is work) that writing is, in fact, WORK???

That said, I did get a fair bit done last week... Just not as much as I'd hoped to. I read a few craft books that I'd only glanced at before and they sparked some ideas. I now have two of the main characters for my next book pretty well tied down... and the overall idea and concept for the book is solidifying... I'm just a little short on details... like what the character arcs are and -- you know -- minor things like "what happens in this book?"

With other books, I might have started at this point. Once I had the idea and main characters in my mind, I might have been so impatient to get going, to start telling the stories of these people who are becoming real to me that I'd just start typing...

But I'm planning on taking a bit more time with this one. I don't expect everything to be figured out before I start, but I do want to have enough so that when it goes off the rails 120 pages in, (which they all do), and I start to panic and doubt the story, (which I always do), maybe, just maybe, the outlining/plotting work I do now, will pull me in off the inevitable mid-way-through-the-book-ledge I'll find myself perched on. I'm actually hoping this up front planning will result in less time overall. (Tune in to a blog post in 6 months time where I explain why this didn't work. How's that for pessimism?)

On the upside... Had a couple of great massages this week and every inch of my skin is exfoliated and buffed to a high sheen.

Short sabatical

I'm heading off into the wild blue yonder for a few days to (I hope) work out the plot for my next book.

So, probably no blogs this week.

Hope to come back all ready and raring to write.

Good fun and entertainment

I did a blog yesterday on Drunk Writer Talk about how Will Farrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly's "comedy doesn't get respect" number during the Oscar ceremony reminded me of how genre fiction doesn't either... And how I'm learning to be "okay with that".

And on that same vein, I wanted to tell everyone about two really fun movies I saw the other night. I know I mostly talk about indie and/or foreign films -- but that's mostly because I've seen a lot of cool movies ahead of their release dates, because of the 45 or so films I see every September at the Toronto International Film Festival. And if I loved them... I want people to know about them.

Doesn't mean I don't go to see tons of commercial films, too. (That don't need my "help". LOL)

I went to the movies on the weekend with pretty low expectations for two films and loved them both.

Music & Lyrics and Ghost Rider. I guess Ghost Rider surprised me more than Music & Lyrics but both were better than I expected.

Music & Lyrics probably wouldn't have worked as well with different actors, but Hugh Grant, in particular, was perfectly cast. I loved how the entire movie pokes fun at 80's pop songs (not to mention current baby Pop Divas) and all those early videos which were so, so cheesy. But at the same time, it wasn't mean spirited about it and Hugh's character wasn't completely pathetic. Sure, he'd given up on trying to be great, but he was still earning a living at what he loved --performing music -- and seemed pretty content with his life. Of course, as in all great genre storytelling, he was a better man by the end of the film and had rediscovered his passion for music.

I actually liked the Drew Barrymore character too and think she was well cast as someone a little ditsy and vulnerable whose confidence has been seriously shaken. And at the same time, Drew has that seductress thing about her, so you could wonder whether the Campbell Scott character was right about her. (LOVE him by the way. Have never seen him do anything not interesting.)

After seeing that perfectly satisfying little dessert of a movie, I actually snuck into Ghost Rider (don't tell on me) not really expecting to like it and prepared to walk out early if my expectations proved true. But I really enjoyed it. I'm not normally into those comic book type movies but the religious element added a deeper layer to the premise and I thought the story was well told. And seriously. We do not see nearly enough Wes Bentley on the screen these days. He makes an AMAZINGLY sexy evil demon dude.

If you don't have anything nice to say....

I'm probably misquoting, or misattributing, but I think it was Eleanor Roosevelt (and not Dorothy Parker, who it sounds more like) who said:

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't sit next to me.

Well, whichever wonderful woman of the past said it, this post is dedicated to that unattractive(?) trait in so many of us, certainly me--the pleasure we take in saying bad things about others.

While watching the Oscars and the red carpet show, I had some rather catty thoughts I'd like to share.


First, I used to think Nicole Kidman was beautiful. The sad thing is, I'd be willing to wager that sans Botox , she still is beautiful. Truly beautiful women don’t become "not beautiful" as they age. They simply become older. Their beauty matures, deepens. It makes me so sad to see a woman like Nicole Kidman all frozen and paralysed like that. She looks fine until she goes for a smile that reaches for something beyond demure. Nicole, take a look at Helen Mirren, or Jodi Foster who’s five years older than you and doesn’t look all chemically enhanced. (Maybe she just has a better plastic surgeon, but I don’t think so.) IMHO a few wrinkles look more attractive than frozen faces or over pumped lips. And don't these women earn their living by emoting? Why would they put a poison in their faces that inhibits their ability to show emotions?

I first noticed Nicole's "new look" during the Oprah Oscar special when Nicole was talking to Russell Crowe. She looked frozen. Scary. She's very naturally pretty. She's got great bone structure. I can't believe she wouldn't still be beautiful without all the chemical enhancements.

Leonardo DiCaprio... First, been a HUGE fan of this boy/man as an actor since What's Eating Gilbert Grape, but did he spend too much time in the sun or have a really bad spray tan or bronzing accident? Okay, he usually looks super-pasty, so maybe it's just the contrast from his usual. But having pasty skin myself, I'm going to vote for the spray tan or bronzing accident theory. Leo, we pasty white folks all wish we could tan. We can't. Don't pretend that you can. (Actually, he looks much less freaky in this photo than he did on the TV camera with his forehead six shades darker than the rest of his face and forty shades darker than his ears.

On a back-handed compliment note... (Kind of fits with this mean-spirited post) Glad to see Cameren Diaz with a more reasonable colour of brown hair. We all know she's not a blonde. She looks good blonde, but that ultra brown almost black hair did not suit her. This is so much more flattering IMHO.

How rude was Ryan Seacrest to ask Jennifer Hudson about her weight and her workout schedule. I wanted to kick him. He's a jerk. Did he ask the skinny girls about their barfing schedules?

Onto the musical numbers now... Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose proved once again that Beyonce is more about her looks and booty than her voice. Not that the girl can't sing, but compared to her co-stars, not so much. There's just something a little cold and flat about her tone where Jennifer's is rich and full.

Okay, enough bitchiness.

I am a bit ashamed to make this post about this year's broadcast in particular. While I get what people are saying about it being a bit quiet or dull... I really liked the overall good-naturedness of it, a reflection of Ellen DeGeneres' personality. Like showing all the nominees at the beginning in those clips and having them all stand up to take a bow before any of them suffered the disappointment of not winning. I really liked that.

Ode to Jodie Foster

Posted during the Oscar red carpet....

I don't know what it is about Jodie Foster. Maybe it's that we're almost exactly the same age, (okay, I'm 6 months and 15 days older) maybe it's because I saw her in so many Disney movies when I was a kid, maybe it was because we're both blonde (well, I was) and tomboyish and (she says humbly) smart (or at least we both did well at school, which isn't always the same thing as smart)....

I don't know exactly what it is. I just know if I could be anyone in the world other than myself. I would be Jodi Foster.

And it's not the fame (although I wouldn't hate that) it's the brains and the class and the confidence and the way her blue eyes matched her dress at the Oscars. I'd die for that. (But my dress would have to be green and my eyes would have to be a different colour of green to look that great in a dress...) How great was it that she told Ryan Seacrest that she had her eyes specially died to match her dress? Wit people. That's called wit. Okay, I want her wit, too.

I once dated a man who thought I looked likd Helen Hunt (okay, before you laugh, I was thinner then) But if I was going to pick an actress my age I identify with, it wouldn't be Helen (though I love her) it would be Jodi.

Speaking of actors I remember from childhood -- Jackie Earle Haley. God I hope he wins. That would be so cool. I've blogged about Little Children before. Amazing movie. Need to read the book.

Okay, just about to post and Celine Dion walzes down the carpet... Okay, I know she has the ESL issues, but "we've been to the Oscars before". Who is she? The Queen? What's with the royal we?

It is called "Grey's" Anatomy

Spoiler alert if you haven't seen this week's Grey's Anatomy, read no further.

I am a big fan of this show. Big fan of Shonda Rhimes. That woman can write. She's one of my new heros. I thought last night's episode (the past weeks' little trilogy of episodes) was great.

It's not that I thought they'd kill off Meredith. Like I said, the show's called Grey's Anatomy. It'd be hard to kill off Dr. Grey. But the show has killed off some very likable and sympathetic characters in the past, so the very slim chance she might actually die made me just a tiny bit scared.

But really, we didn't need to think she might die in order to be interested in that episode. The fact that she gave up fighting in the water and why. The horrible things her mother said to her. Derek's obvious commitment to her. (especially since we've been given reasons to doubt him in the past.) Addison's obvious sadness in realizing Derek's feelings for Meredith. The deepening of the Christina/Meredith friendship. "You're the one person I wanted to tell." And that little bit with Denny and Izzie at the end? Heartbreaking and not entirely predictable. Because of everything else going on, I thought she was about to say something nice to Callie. With hindsight, that little encounter with Denny was obvious, but there was enough misdirection (at least for me) that it was a tender, heartwrenching little surprise.

Yes, in that episode the "will Meredith live" question was almost the frame for the other subplots, not the main plot, so it didn't matter that we all knew she'd live.

And having her nearly die seems like smart writing to me. I mean, Meredith's character needs to change and evolve. But she's deeply scarred. You can't make a deeply scarred character simply do a 180 without motivation. This past sequence of events culminating in a near death experience may provide a believable catalyst for her to change. (Assuming that's where the writers take it.) Much more satisfying than her changing simply because she falls in love. (Not that her falling in love isn't satisfying... (That scene last week when Derek was carrying her out of the water just about killed me.) I guess I just like to see a character grow for reasons other than love. Especially when the character isn't capable of love unless they change. (Guess that's why I sucked at writing romances...)

I've heard some critics of this show say they find Meredith's character whiney. I don't agree. I love her character. I love all the characters on the show. They're flawed. They're 3 dimensional. And this latest group of shows where we saw more about her relationship with her mother and how that holds her back, explains much of her "malcontent" nature, if in fact she has one.

Can't wait to see where they take her character and this show.

Done done done done done

I finally did it. I finally finished my latest manuscript. Let's call it project #2. (We don't talk about the category romances I did before Project #1. I guess they're projects -1 and -2.) I have no idea what made project #2 take so freakin' long. Okay, I have some ideas, but still. I'm shocked when I realize it's been a year since I signed with my agent and I had yet to send her anything beyond that first project.

What really, really freaked me out recently was realizing that it's been TWO YEARS since I got my first request for the full on project #1. TWO YEARS. Okay, the book wasn't finished yet when I got my first request (I'm a bad girl) but I did have a first draft done and managed to do my revisions in about 6 weeks. So, although I did more revisions after that first request, (that agent had it for 10 months before I got offered representation from someone else), it's been a long time since I finished a book.

It's not like I haven't been writing... I just had a few false starts with projects I wasn't confident enough in. And the project I just finished got temporarily stalled when an editor who almost bought project #1 told me she didn't think project #2 would be a good second book for me -- that I needed to follow project #1 up with something more similar. (See why I thought I'd sold it?)

But I should realize by now, that questioning my projects is part of my process. I hate just about everything I write at some point, so I need to remember to just keep going instead of floundering, stopping, floundering again and starting work on a whole new idea.

If I want a career in mainstream fiction -- which I do. Then I need to be able to produce books more quickly. Funny thing is I feel like I do write fast -- all evidence to the contrary.

This time I promise not to get too caught up in the various and sundry things that made this one take so long.

American Title III

My friend KJ Howe has made it to the final round of the American Title III contest!

This contest, if you haven't heard of it, is an American Idol type contest run by Romantic Times magazine. The winner will be offered a publishing contract with Dorchester and all the entrants get huge exposure to their target readers via RT's huge subscription numbers. AND IT'S DOWN TO TWO!

The final round of voting starts now and continues through March 4, 2007.

To that end, I'm hoping everyone I know (and everyone they know) will vote for her.

It's super easy to vote. Since you're here, you can just click on the "VOTE FOR KIM" button to the right. Or, simply send an e-mail to webmaster@romantictimes.com with ONE SHOT, TWO KILLS (the title of Kim's book) in the subject line. Don't worry. You won't get on any mailing lists or anything. If you have more than one e-mail address... Send a vote from each of them. Ask all your friends and family to vote too!

HUGE congrats to Kim. I really, really hope she wins.

And think how exciting it'll be to help get a future bestselling author (I'm sure) her first contract!

Winter Wonderland

Maybe it's because I spent chunks of my formative years in snowy cold places like Montreal and Winnipeg, but I love days like today.

Sure, it's cold out there. But it's sunny and there's fluffy powdery snow and everything's sparkling and fresh.

Wish I had time to go for a walk. (Must make time to go for a walk.)

Photo is of me with friends Scott and Joy during a very unexpected snowstorm in NYC a few years ago. We weren't exactly dressed for it. No boots. Pretty sure I bought that scarf from some guy on the street. Blue raincoat was borrowed from my friend Elaine, because the forecast called for rain...

Okay, as Kimber has pointed out I have been a very, very bad blogger. I'm trying to finish a ms right now and it's consuming me and I can't seem to make my brain do anything else.

Okay, I let my brain watch some of the Grammy's. (I have to take some breaks.) Did you see that song with Ludacris and Mary J. Blige? I know I'm pretty out of it when it comes to hip hop music, but I can't believe I'd never heard that song before. What an amazing song and moving performance. Made me cry.



Cool to see the Police perform again, too... Even if Sting can't hit the high notes anymore. Actually, I really enjoyed the Grammy's. For elderly people like me who don't listen to a huge amount of radio anymore, it's a great way to discover artists you shouldn't have missed. Connie Bailey Rae. How have I missed her? Must go shopping for music once this damn book is done!

(Hope that imbedded music clip is legal...)

Ready for Valentine's?

Okay, being single at the moment, I'll admit Valentine's Day isn't my all time favourite holiday -- although this year I have a couple of reasons to be more excited about it than usual. First, my CP Molly O'Keefe is speaking at the Toronto Reference Library that day as part of Keep Toronto Reading.

As if that weren't enough Valentine's excitement, one of my TKA sistah's, Renee Luke, has a new book out, containing three novellas that sound great!

Just listen to this!
Romance has never been as temptingly sweet as it is in this trio of erotic treats from an author who knows how to seduce…and deliver.

In Gimme Some Sugar…Jackson never realized how much he loved his best friend Alexis—until her wedding day was on the horizon. Now all he has to do is convince her that their harmless kissing games over the years weren’t so harmless after all. In fact, they may end up breaking his heart.

In 4 U Sweetheart…Toni never imagined that a night of speed-dating could lead to something serious. But three minutes with the hunk of her dreams changed that. Especially after he slipped her a candy heart that said “Pick Me”…

In Dipped in Chocolate…Nathan wants a special delicacy for his sister’s bridal shower. He finds it in Jayla, the owner of a decadent chocolate shop. As hot as she is, Jayla’s not looking for a fling. As hot as he’s getting, Nathan may have to abandon his bachelor ways for a piece of chocolate that’s a little more solid.

Who needs a boyfriend on Valentine's Day? I'm going to date this book.

Here are the book's vitals:

Dipped in ChocolateNAL / SignetISBN: 0451220315 (trade paperback)
February 2007

You can find Renee on the web at www.reneelukenovels.com. She also writes young adult books as Nyomi Scott.

Congratulations Renee! Can't wait to read it.

Hot Danny?

Okay.

So the latest cheesy reality show snagged me tonight. (Because I could care less about American football. Don't even know who was playing and wasn't that excited to see Prince in the half-time show.)

In this new show, six potential Danny's and six potential Sandy's are competing for the roles in a new Broadway production of Grease.

The producers have given "cute" names to each of the contestants to help we, the viewers, remember them, and my least favourite of the bunch has been dubbed "Hot Danny".

He's slick, I'll give him that, but he's arrogantly overconfident about his chances of winning. Hot? (Okay, in the shirtless shot they showed of him in his previous career as a model he does have great abs...) But his hair!!! Yuck. And his dance moves and the way he looks at the camera make me think Gay-Bar-Go-Go-Dancer Danny, not Hot Danny. (Actually, his hair doesn't look as bad in this photo as it does on stage. It totally overwhelms him. He's got this tiny face and Texas-Beauty-Queen hair.

Okay, this post is super mean. But am I wrong? Anyone else watch?

What's in a Name?

Christine d'Abo who recently sold to Ellora's Cave -- yeah, Christine! -- tagged me for a name game. I've reluctantly agreed to accept the challenge (LOL), even though it means revealing my middle name. Not that I don't like my middle name. It's original. The only other person I know who has it is my mom. Her middle name, too. In fact, I suspect my Grandmother might have made it up. (She claimed it's Welsh.)

Here goes...

1. YOUR REAL NAME:

Maureen McGowan

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle)

Mauizzle. (Everyone must address me this way from now on. Or else.)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three of your last)

Mmcg Hmmm... Well, there's a director called McG, right? Not sure how it's pronounced with the extra M.

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal)

Coral Puppy Take that. (Not sure if coral's my favourite colour... but I'm wearing it right now and just LOVED how well it went with puppy.)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, Street you live on):

Luverna Hurndale I must be the matriarch who's been on the soap since the 50's.

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name)

Mcgmadaf Ooooo. I like that, even if it's a little vowel deficient at the start.

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (favorite color, favorite drink)

Coral Martini Not sure if that sounds like a superhero, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it on a menu somewhere.

8. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dad’s middle name, 1st letter of a sibling’s first name, last letter of your moms middle name)

Agawse Doesn't sound Iraqi to me... And not sure I like the idea of making fun of another language anyway.

9. YOUR STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/body spray)

Jil Sander #4 Huh? Since when do perfume names make good stripper names. (I guess I do like a boringly named perfume, though.)

10. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle name)

Luverna Edward. Yeah, cause that name would help me blend.

Okay, I tag.... Diana Peterfreund, Mel Francis, Margaret Moore

Playing possum...

Proving once again I am completely lazy and incapable of coming up with an original blog topic, I was inspired tonight by the always funny Eileen Cook, who is blogging on hated foods.

The squirrel warning reminded me of a radio show I once heard. My parents used to own a houseboat in the Ozarks (don't ask) and I went down there a few times. While on the "boat" the radio station choices were limited, but we did get one station loud and clear from Versailles Missouri. (Pronounced Ver Sail's)

Mid morning each day, we tuned into our favourite program -- the call-in recipe show. Always entertaining, one day topped them all. The day a man called in with his roast possum recipe. The "recipe" was basically:

First ya skin it
Then ya rub in yer spices -- rub em in real good
Then ya roast it

Then the announcer made the mistake of asking the caller where one might find a possum. The caller replied, in a tone which made the stupidity of the announcer's question clear, "You go out and shoot you one."