Plot Bunny

  Hooray! Today’s mail just arrived, and I’m now the proud new owner of a purple Plot Bunny.

I’m a regular visitor at the Erotic Romance Blog, where author Emily Veinglory held a contest. The first four to post how they got a book idea won a Plot Bunny. Of course, I couldn’t resist. Here’s the answer I posted:

When I was a little girl, we traveled from Nebraska to visit the “Deep South.” At a mansion, I saw a photo of a beautiful young girl with wavy hair rippling down to her waist. The caption said she had died young by accidently setting her hair on fire with an oil-heated curling wand.

I never forgot that girl. Thirty years later, she appeared in my first novel, setting the scene for a mystery. “Who held the door shut while she burned to death?”

Sometimes, ideas can percolate for years.

That was where the idea began for my published historical romance, Gilded Splendor. 

Blogs are sure fun, and these little contests brighten a day. I placed the critter by my laptop. *rubbing his nose*  I can already feel the magic working.

Do you have a story of how you came up with a book idea? 

A Case of Bad Thoughts

  Right after the spa party, I felt soooo tired. Sure enough, that evening I came down with a bad case of cold, fever, sore throat, hacking cough, etc. It’s been nearly a week, and I’m just beginning to feel human again.

One of my girlfriends is also sick, and I think I got it from her. But, while lying there in agony, I couldn’t help thinking – I recently read The Secret, and its words came back to haunt me. It says I unwittingly attracted this illness. Hard to admit guilt, but looking back at the previous week, I’d have to say it’s true. I did attract this cold. 

I’ve been substitute teaching more than usual lately, and having more than the usual trouble with students. Last Friday, I got so mad, I actually yelled at a student, “Get out of here!” Then I muttered under my breath, “Idiot!” and I’m sure other students heard. He stood in the hall and yelled, “YOU get out of here!”

Yikes! I can’t believe I did that. Not a very nurturing thing to do, but he was horrible. Then I went to two parties over the weekend (including preparing for my own), all the while thinking bad thoughts about how stressed I was. The spa party helped to relax me, but by then, the damage was done, and I came down sick.

This is controversial. One of the detractors’ complaints about The Secret is that it’s unfeeling to say that people who have cancer, accidents, etc. have attracted their suffering by the way they’ve been thinking.  But in my particular case, it was true.

Now I have to think more positive thoughts. I hate it when one lazy student with a bad attitude has the power to hold a whole class hostage, spoiling things for everybody else. Nothing gets done as everybody’s attention is focused on him or her. However, for every horrible, disruptive student, there are 20 who are cooperative and polite. I must remember to focus on them and be grateful. Sometimes, it’s darn hard!  

Do you believe we attract our suffering with our bad thinking?

Spa Party

  I’m cleaning and cleaning today, as I’m hosting a Spa Party for a few friends.

I went to one last month at my hairdresser’s, and it was, oh, so fun. The first thing we did was soften our hands with a sugar/oil mixture. Then it was off with our shoes, on with the foot lotion and spa socks. A facial, complete with eye pads — and we all sat back with closed eyes, listening to soothing music, while the spa lady came around and gave us hand massages. By the time I got out of there, I was “limp as a wet dishrag” — one of my mother’s favorite expressions.

I’ll be offering margaritas, chips and dip, and fruit. Lots of work, but then I’ll relax.  Ahhhhhh . . .Spaaaaaaaaaa . . .

Wild Idea Buffalo

  Have you ever eaten buffalo meat? It’s a treat — lean, tasty, and sweet. Today, I got my newsletter from one of my favorite web sites, reminding me of the Wild Idea Buffalo Company.

I’ve always been fascinated by these cute, but ornery, creatures. They look cuddly, but they’re actually mean and wild, not to be messed with. The history of their destruction, and the resulting destruction of the Indian culture, is a sad and epic story.

Dan O’Brien formed his company in 1997 to restore the eco-systems of the Great Plains. Instead of growing the inevitable beef cattle, he raises grass-fed buffalo, restoring them back to their homeland, the prairie. By doing this, he works to improve the bio-diversity of wild plants and animals. He also sells ”the finest tasting and healthiest red meat money can buy.” I think this is a wonderful idea.

If you’d like to read more, you can visit the web site, http://www.wildideabuffalo.com/.  The company puts out a literary newsletter. Dan O’Brien also writes books, among them, BUFFALO FOR THE BROKEN HEART. (The Broken Heart is the name of his ranch.) I’ve read this book twice and also heard him speak at UNL. He’s a soft-spoken, earnest, and humble man with a wild idea.

Hail to the buffalo!

24

  Do you watch 24?  I do, faithfully, every Monday night. It’s an exciting show, and when I’m not on the edge of my seat, I’m laughing. It provides many giggles — unintentionally. So it’s a fun hour either way you cut it.  

The plot synopsis from the website highlights the non-stop action:  “Federal Agent Jack Bauer can’t afford to always play by the rules. As a member of the L.A. Counter Terrorist Unit, Jack must stop bombs, viruses, assassination attempts, and usually save someone he cares about at the same time. Every season of this series has 24 episodes, each unfolding in real time following a consecutive hour in one very bad day.”

The characters are interesting. Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is my favorite, of course. I’ve always had a thing for his father, Donald Sutherland. Keifer is every bit as sexy and sensitive, in my book.

Poor Chloe has an acting range from A to B. I call her “Pouty.” It’s fascinating to see if she’ll ever smile (she’s only changed expressions once in all the episodes that I recall).

The Secretary of State once played a comic villain, under the thrall of “Vigo” in Ghostbusters – so I always get a kick out of him.

Other characters have names I enjoy, like computer nerds, Milo and Morris.

Southpark did a hilarious spoof of 24. A big part of the real show consists of cell phoning and fancy computer maneuvers. (It’s no coincidence that the show is sponsored by Sprint.) In Southpark, the kids phone each other with orders to “cross-reference Mapquest with iTunes! Check him out on MySpace and AskJeeves!”

Tonight’s episode was particularly fun. Jack was torturing Fayed, the villain. At one point, he hit him across the face, then nearly fell down because it hurt his own hand so much. Dh muttered from the couch, “Get a bat, fer Christ’s sake.” Then, Jack finally found the bombs they’d been searching for all season. The characters usually cell-phone each other over every little detail. However, this time, JACK DOESN’T CALL. From the couch, Dh asked ”Shouldn’t you phone first?” No, Jack barges in all by himself. Good thing he was able to overpower six big men with guns, or the bombs would still be missing.

I’ve read that Kiefer Sutherland, who also produces the show, has acquired massive wealth for the first time in his life. More power to him. Monday night’s 24 is highly entertaining. Thanks, Kiefer!

Sweatshop Woman

  Yesterday, I was all perky with positive thinking. Today, I’m — well, not the exact opposite — but I’m tired and wondering ”why”?

Why is it that a talented English major with an M.A. has never made much money? Granted, money has never been my top priority, and I don’t work full-time at any one job. I have many part-time jobs, which I’ve always preferred because they give me more time and variety. Sometimes, I feel like I’m slaving in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory at the turn of the century, doing piece-work – some editing here, teaching a class there, selling an article to a magazine, but still . . . 

Why is it that I can work for five years on a novel that finally gets published, and earn only $6,000 from it? Granted, it was a genre historical romance, and that was the expected earn-out from a first single-title sale, but still . . .

Why is it that I have to pay through the nose for my own health insurance? Granted, RWA is working like dogs to make people “respect” romance novels  *rolling my eyes*,  but still . . . Why can’t they just offer group health insurance instead? Now that’s something we could use!

It doesn’t help that Dh is always ragging, ”Quit messing around and get a real job!”

I hate to give up the dream, but still . . .

It’s a good thing I love writing fiction, but still . . .

One does get tired.

The Secret

  Well, I’ve finally jumped on the bandwagon. THE SECRET is a book and DVD that have been wildly popular, but I resisted at first. After all, the power of positive thinking is hardly new. I also resented how it coat-tailed the popular look of THE DA VINCI CODE, saying that this is a secret that has been repressed for ages by successful people who used it.  C’mon!!  Basically, the author rewrote a 100-year-old self-help book, enlisted the comments of modern-day motivational speakers, marketed it as ”a secret,” and presented it with a lot of “Da Vinci Code-like” artwork (creamy aged parchments, scrolls and sealing wax, Vetruvian man images, flickering candles, etc.). I cynically thought it was just a savvy piece of marketing. (Which it is.) But after Diana posted about it on her blog, I caved and bought the book and DVD.

Now I’m glad I did! THE SECRET has some wonderful things to say. Yes, we’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating. Since “like attracts like,” the lives we are living are a direct result of the way we’ve thought in the past. We manifest what we think about, and most of it ain’t good. If we now focus joyously on what we want (instead of what we don’t want), our future lives will be more successful and rosy. It only makes sense, doesn’t it? Of course, the hard part is monitoring and changing our thoughts, but THE SECRET gives easy, practical ways to do that. 

What I like about THE SECRET is that the information is presented in an exciting, fun way. The images and music (especially toward the end of the video) are beautiful. Most important is the way it makes me feel. Every time I read the book or watch the video, I immediately feel more empowered and hopeful. It just makes me feel good. That’s worth the price, right there!

So, if you want to feel good, I recommend THE SECRET. It can’t hurt, and it just might change your life. At the very least, it will lift your spirits and brighten your day.

March Progress

   Time for my monthly Progress Report.

I’ve now lost a total of 6.2 pounds. This is going slowly, but steadily. I’ve stopped the climb upward on the scale, and turned it around into a steady drop downward — without killing myself. I think I can keep up this Weight Watchers thing for the long haul!

I wrote last month that I’m working on a novella for Ellora’s Cave. They asked for a rewrite and resubmission, which scared the bejeezus out of me.  I was hoping to resubmit in March, but have been waiting on critiques. So no new submissions for the month, but I’m nearly ready to send it in again. What a relief it will be to get it “out the door”! Then I’ll have a submission to report for April and be able to begin a new project.

Progress Reports may be boring for you to read, but they’re very good for me — they force me to really see how much I’m working and what I’m actually accomplishing. One thing I’ve learned from them — I could be working harder and faster!  Duh!  Think what I could achieve if I did! Always a good thing to keep in mind, huh?

Awesome Sex Scenes

 Over at the Spiced Tea Party blog, they’re posting about their favorite movie sex scenes, so I thought I’d chime in with mine.

My all-time favorite is a scene from an older movie, DON’T LOOK NOW, with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. They start out with little gestures, testing if the other’s interested, turning each other on. When they make love, they do it with their whole bodies — skin, legs, even armpits. After they’re done, he waits for her to get ready, having a drink, thinking about it, looking very satisfied. She preens before a mirror, thinking about it, dreaming about it. Then they go out, arm-in-arm and smiling, to dinner. Every little emotion is there, and that’s what makes this scene great. They were romantically involved off-screen at the time, and it shows.

  My second fave is from BODY HEAT when William Hurt crashes a chair through a glass door to get to Kathleen Turner. Pent-up sexual energy explodes on the screen. He pulls down her panties and stares in awe.

“So pretty . . . “

“Do it, Ned!”  

They have another scene later, where they have anal sex (it took watching a few times for me to figure out that’s what they were doing).  Very sexy.

Of course, this is the difference between love scenes and porn scenes — the storyline and emotions involved. And why women will take romance over porn almost every time! 

What’s your favorite movie sex scene?