Going to Orlando

A week from today, I am going to Orlando--the city, not the actor, but I still couldn’t resist putting a picture of Orlando Bloom in this blog.

When I first planned this trip to the RWA Conference, I was very excited to be going to Nashville. I’m not a big country music fan, but I’ve never been to Tennessee or to many places in the south at all, so I thought it would be fun.

Well, a few months ago, due to the flooding in the area, the conference was moved to Florida. Now, I’ve never been to Florida, either, but it does make for a longer trip. Still, the hotel for the conference is right at DisneyWorld, and so I’ve adjusted my plans and will be spending my extra day seeing Mickey Mouse instead of Graceland. J

Has anyone here been to DisneyWorld? Or how about to the RWA conference? I’ve always had a great time in previous years, and after skipping last year, I am looking forward to this trip even with the destination change!

Help Out Our Furry Friends

The Animal Rescue site has a link where you can click to donate a bowl of food to a shelter pet. You don't need to sign up and it's free to give.

The site also has daily, heartwarming adoption stories and a store where you can buy items for animals or the people who love them. I've purchased some things for myself as well as gifts for friends.

So, if you have a chance, stop by, click on the link and help a shelter pet!

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

When I first started on the road to publication, I had this grand idea of what I would do to celebrate when the call came. I was picturing dinner with all my friends at a fancy restaurant; maybe even renting a limo. As years (and years) went by, and I started to fear that day would never come, I figured if I ever sold, I'd probably mutter, "It's about time," and go on with my day.

Reality ended up somewhere in between. I DID celebrate, of course, but not in the all out way I originally pictured. My friends and I met for drinks and dinner, and one of my critique partners gave me a charm bracelet with two charms on it. A #1 to symbolize my first sale and a little envelope with a heart on it to represent my first contract. I liked the idea so much that I decided to add a charm to the bracelet for every book I sell.

In my first book, a musical carousel plays a part in the story. I had the perfect little charm in mind and no idea if such a thing existed until I went on line...and found exactly what I had imagined. (If I did this right, a picture of it should show in the little blog window.)

Now, every time I wear that bracelet, I think of my book, and this got me wondering about other ways to mark the milestones in life. We've talked recently about birthday traditions, but how have you celebrated other events in your lives? Promotions or anniversaries or achieving an important goal? For me, I combined two of my fav things--shopping and jewelry!

Furry Friends and Other Surprises

When I was thirty-five years old, I adopted a dog. Now, this might not sound that surprising except I had never had a dog before. Not as a child, not growing up. If my friends had dogs, I wasn't really that interested. So, the idea of bringing a dog into my neat, tidy, little home was a shock to me.

But I did my research, and I found my Shadow. She's a lab mix, and she loves other dogs. Sooo, a year later, I adopted Riley.

Now, I would love to tell you these are perfectly well-behaved dogs. But that would be a lie. If you look at his picture, you might notice that Riley is a hound mix. This means he is stubborn, loud and obnoxious. And while Shadow is super sweet, she also expects everyone to love her (and pet her) as much as I do! And if I don't keep up with the dusting and mopping and vacuuming, my once neat, tidy, little home starts to resemble a large kennel.

But I also wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

So, I was wondering, is there anything that YOU'VE done to upset your neat, tidy, little world?

Once More...with a British Accent

I recently discovered All She Wants for Christmas was released by Mills and Boon as a Special Moments this past December. (This is a copy of the cover.) It’s part of a 2-in-1 book along with Kathryn Shay’s Be My Babies.

I’m not sure which is harder for me to believe--that my book was being sold on a another continent or that I’m published alongside an author whose books I was reading as a struggling want-to-be-writer. All She Wants for Christmas was my first book; I checked Kathryn’s website. She has published thirty.

I am constantly amazed by my fellow authors, and in a few weeks, I will be in Orlando for the RITA awards. Have you read any of the nominees? Are you pulling for a particular author?